John Brabander started as a 12-year-old school helper with Ton and Theo ten Have. ‘I remember well that my first job was to remove the roots under the pots Campanula’s, on my knees. In 1984 I officially entered the service, because school wasn’t really for me. And really, I always had a great time at Ten Have. When I started it was with Theo, Ton and Ben and most of the cultivation work was still done manually. Pots were filled with wheelbarrows and everything was still grown on the ground. It was hard work in those days, but when the weather was nice, Theo and I took our surfboards and went to the beach.
Modern, automated company
With the arrival of Dion, Vincent and Rob, the company has been greatly modernized and automation and mechanization of operations have taken off. The company has grown larger, and the workforce has increased to 35 people. I now take care of potting and minor maintenance. And at peak times, of course, I help out with the guys in production. It’s nice work because everyone works independently. There is great collegiality. We work together to always make the same good quality. And do you want a day off? Then you make sure that there is a replacement for your work, so that everything continues as usual.
As far as I’m concerned, the company doesn’t need to grow any bigger; it’s still nice to do the work with a regular team. We know what we can do with each other.
