North America the power of a multilocal company North America includes Canada, the USA and Mexico, all three of which are interlinked with each other in the vegetable production and seed business. Sweet pepper greenhouse varieties grown successfully for long crops in Canada and also perform well in protected crops in Mexico. Open field pepper varieties, with the full disease resistance packages, also give growers in Mexico more than satisfactory results. Canada has developed a very sophisticated high tech greenhouse business located mainly in Leamington, Ontario and in British Colombia. Growers closely monitor variety performance in the ‘home market’ of the Netherlands, similarly technology and advice flow freely across the Atlantic Ocean. The main crops are tomato, sweet pepper and cucumber. Segmentation is very strong, particularly in tomato, but still large TOV (tomato on the vine) and very large beef tomato types are the mainstay of any major grower. In the USA, Enza Zaden has research stations in both California and Florida. Two totally different climates and markets, both with their separate requirements and demands. The head office in Salinas, California runs a nationwide business that supplies growers and distributors throughout the whole country. Our main activity is in breeding new lettuce varieties for the complicated markets of the Salinas valley and Yuma. Close by, at our station in San Juan Bautista we are working on open field pepper, onions and tomatoes. Mexico is the winter fresh vegetable supply platform for the large North American consumer markets. Enza Zaden is well placed in that market with its research station and commercial office in Sinaloa, one of the main winter production regions. The Mexican market has grown and developed quickly over the past ten years, far more crops are produced under protected conditions and high tech greenhouses. Mexico is geared up to produce high quality organic vegetable products, which many of our customers grow and market under their own brands and labels. Enza Zaden | 81
