Den Hartigh and Solana: 25 years of successful partnership

Important milestone: This November, Solana GmbH & Co KG celebrates 25 years of collaboration with Dutch plant breeder Den Hartigh. In 1987, both partners decided to establish a new Dutch company – today’s Den Hartigh B.V. Solana now holds major share in the traditional potato breeding and trading house. In order to meet the occasion, there will be a ceremonial event with customers and business partners on the evening of November 6th, 2012.

This event preludes the annual Open Days in Emmeloord from November 7th to 9th. The old-established variety exhibition has been taking place for about 30 years in the first week of November to give local breeders the opportunity to present their potato varieties to a large, international audience. Traditionally, the visitors take a three-day round trip to visit all breeding companies, compare and evaluate current developments on the market. Solana and Den Hartigh will display the most successful German and Dutch varieties of this season: Toscana, Red Lady, Verdi and Caruso. The exhibition will take place in line with an Open Day in the stockrooms of Den Hartigh.

„Our longtime partnership with Den Hartigh has turned to account in various ways“, comments Torsten Spill, Managing Director of Solana. „Through the extensive business connections of Den Hartigh, our group has achieved synergies, developed new trade channels and strengthened the basis of breeding. We are very happy about Managing Director Bernard Krijger and his team being an integral part of our group.“ Likewise, Den Hartigh benefitted from the extensive cooperation: „We appreciate the exchange of varieties and the joint production of high-grade material in independent breeding stations“, says Bernard Krijger, Managing Director of Den Hartigh. „The combined export to different countries makes it possible for us to use Solana’s vast contacts and pool of information. We are looking forward to many more years of this successful partnership!“