De Lier, The netherlands
October 11, 2010
Vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan from De Lier again tops the list of the Hillenraad 100, the overview of the 100 leading companies in Dutch food-producing glasshouse horticulture. This was announced on Friday 8 October during the Hortigala of the Year in Delft.
The 2010 winners on the stage. From the left: Jet Sol (presentation). Willem Vermeend (committee of experts), Marco van Leeuwen (Rijk Zwaan), Art van Duyn (Dutch Flowr Group, winner of the life-time achievement award), Martien Penning (Hillenraad) and Joost Wesselman (Wesselman Flowers, no. 100 on the list) (Photo: Hillenraad)
Last year, Rijk Zwaan surprisingly reached the highest position on the list for the first time. The Hillenraad committee of experts, chaired by Willem Vermeend, intimated that Rijk Zwaan had surprised them this time. “Even in these troubled times, this by now international concern does not make any concessions. The momentum does not slow down.” Hillenraad also assessed the 100 companies separately on running their enterprise in a socially responsible way and on innovation. This earned Rijk Zwaan first and second place, respectively.
Strong company culture
According to the jury’s report, Rijk Zwaan thanks its highest ranking in the Hillenraad 100 in part to a high place in the R&D Top 30, which also includes names like Philips, ASML and Unilever, and its outstanding creditworthiness, assessed by Dun & Broadstreet as ‘triple A’. Mention was also made on Friday of the way in which the company’s continued growth is managed and its strong company culture. “From De Lier to China, everywhere in the world the company projects the same spirit and approach,” according to the jury’s report.
Director Marco van Leeuwen was present during the announcement on behalf of Rijk Zwaan. “We are very proud of this. In particular also because our human approach, towards our employees and those outside the company, is appreciated for the second time.” This is a reference by Van Leeuwen to Rijk Zwaan's being declared Best Employer of 2010, which took place a month ago. “Both number 1 places are a huge sign of appreciation and strengthen the good commercial and social positioning of Rijk Zwaan.”
Rijk Zwaan is an independent, international organisation which focuses on developing high-quality vegetable varieties for commercial food-producing horticulture. With its 25 subsidiaries and sales in more than 100 countries, Rijk Zwaan belongs to the top 5 of worldwide-operating breeding companies. The 1,800 Rijk Zwaan employees work in many different parts of the world with great involvement, loyalty and dedication.
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