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When Jan Hilverda took the train to Moscow and Saint Petersburg in 1910 to be the first Dutch ornamental plant trader to sell flowers in Russia, it was a bold move, but not impetuous. As a man of enterprise, he saw an opportunity, weighed up the pros and cons and packed his suitcase. It was more a well-reasoned step in the right direction than a leap of faith. Entrepreneurial spirit, pioneering and the power of a family business were and still are embedded within the business story.

Over 110 years later, Royal Hilverda Group has grown into an international organisation of leading breeding and propagation businesses in the ornamental plant cultivation sector. A group represented at the start of almost everything that blossoms and flourishes in the living room and garden. If you are wondering what the secret of our success is, you have to go back to the very beginning, to young Jan. The ability to innovate and a pioneering spirit combined with well thought-out entrepreneurship have become the beating heart of our family business, now with the third generation at the wheel.

After the Second World War, Hilverda & Co. switched to carnation propagation. Having developed an ingenious system of mother plant benches, it was the first flower company to produce virus-free carnation cuttings. Hilverda & Co. changed the fields internationally by opening up new markets for export as well as moving the (cuttings) production to countries with more favourable environmental conditions. It merged with other businesses and invested in the newest technologies in plant tissue culture, breeding and propagation.

Looking at the highlights separately might make them seem modest, but taken together they tell a grand story. The story of a world player that has always stayed true to its Dutch roots: a down-to-earth business that is just as proud of its reliability as it is of its progressiveness. Because everyone knows plants don't blossom until they are deeply rooted.

The world changes and Royal Hilverda Group changes with it. Obviously. We will focus even more on the source of our flora to create flowers and plants that are even stronger, more beautiful and more sustainable. We will collaborate and combine high-quality knowledge and skills from home and abroad to give even more colour to people's lives.

Royal Hilverda Group

Gives colour to our lives

A LEADING POSITION

GRAND STORY

Royal Hilverda Group grows with it

THE FOURTH GENERATION OF HILVERDA