For many years, Grodan has partnered with Broekman Logistics to ensure that growers receive their substrate slabs on time and with maximum efficiency.
Based on shared values and close logistics alignment, a sustainable and reliable collaboration has been built, one that goes beyond warehousing and transport alone.
Grodan, a producer of substrate solutions for greenhouse horticulture, has worked closely with Broekman Logistics for years. What started as a relatively small-scale operation in Poland has grown into a strategic partnership that now operates both in the Netherlands and in Poland.
Frank Douven, Global Supply Chain Analyst at Grodan, explains: “In Poland, almost all warehousing and transport for Grodan is managed by Broekman Logistics. They handle sea freight, container transport, and part of our road freight. In the Netherlands, the focus is mainly on warehousing.”
The cooperation has evolved over time. “Around 2010 we started working with Broekman Logistics, initially in Breda and Oosterhout. A year later in Roosendaal, but that didn’t work out,” recalls Douven. “We then consolidated everything in Breda, which resulted in an excellent year: hardly any complaints, zero damages. That laid the foundation for a long-term relationship. We communicate very openly with each other.”
The relationship between the end-to-end supply chain solutions provider and manufacturer is about more than transport and warehousing. “We are not looking for suppliers, we are looking for partners,” stresses Lieke van Stekelenburg, Global Head of Corporate Communications at Grodan. “It’s not about the lowest price. We want to build a stable relationship that lasts 10, 15, 20 years. Broekman Logistics understands that. We build up stock buffers, and they facilitate the warehouse space and facilities. In the second half of the year, we use their warehouses and logistics services. In the first half, when we don’t need the space, another customer can use it. This is an efficient supply chain solution where the available capacity is optimally utilised. Thanks to this flexible and thoughtful approach, there is always space for our products when the peak season comes, ensuring we can deliver to our customers.”
Robbert Wouters, Operations Manager at Broekman Logistics, confirms this: “Grodan has complete confidence that Broekman Logistics will handle every incoming and outgoing pallet with the greatest care.” And with good reason, he adds: “Delivering a pallet to the wrong place can mean a grower coming to a standstill. Twenty people may be ready to fill a greenhouse, so if that delivery is wrong, the impact is immediate and significant.”
Broekman Logisitcs Grodan Long Term Partnership in Greenhousing
Grodan faces clear seasonal patterns. “Most greenhouses change their substrate slabs in the darker months of the year,” Van Stekelenburg explains. “But we can’t produce everything in December and January. That’s why we start production in May already. Thanks to Broekman Logistics, we can absorb the peak in market demand. For example, in Limburg we share warehouse space with another of their customers, a construction machinery and equipment supplier. Their delivery peak is in spring, ours is in autumn. We complement each other, which also creates continuity for the workforce.”
According to Douven, Broekman Logistics excels in customer focus and responsiveness. “If you email their team in Poland, you’ll get an answer within an hour, usually with several solutions. That’s truly distinctive. They’re proactive: you only need to say a few words, and they’ll arrange it.”
In the Netherlands, the setup is equally efficient. “From Roermond, ecocombis go to larger warehouses closer to the customer. From there, we can deliver three to four times a day to the end customer using smaller trucks. This is essential in the Benelux, where greenhouses have very limited storage space.”
For a process where logistics pressure is concentrated in just a few months a year, and where close coordination between client and logistics provider is vital, flexibility is key. “Grodan produces enormous volumes in a short period of time,” explains Wouters. “That means we as a logistics service provider must be able to scale up and down quickly. Our strength lies in organising flexible and non-standard warehousing solutions. That is part of our strategy: Looking Beyond.”
Van Stekelenburg highlights the added value Grodan provides as a supplier. “We don’t just deliver the product, we provide advice. Through our e-Grow suite, growers can process data. We provide sensors and guidance from Horti-managers. It’s about getting the most out of the substrate and the plants. That’s why delivery has to be right and the whole process has to run on time.”
Douven adds: “The benchmark for delivery performance is above 98.5%. That’s very high, especially when you include delays, damages and incorrect products. Broekman Logistics meets that standard. They’re reliable, and that’s why complaints are almost non-existent.”
Every year, the cooperation is reviewed and fine-tuned. “Together with Broekman Logistics, we assess the external context. How do we make sure they can retain their core team year-round? Oud-Gastel, near Roosendaal, is an example of a fixed site we keep throughout the year, which helps us build continuity together.”
Alongside physical flexibility, Broekman Logistics also invests in digital innovation. Ralph Adams, Director Contract Logistics at Broekman Logistics, explains: “Where we used to work with paper checklists, we now use a digital application. This allows us to record, monitor and document product quality in real time, fully traceable.”
For Van Stekelenburg, Grodan’s contribution to society is a strong motivator. “We really contribute to the global food supply. Especially in Europe, where land is scarce, our solutions allow growers to produce more on less land, with fewer pesticides and less water. That makes our work meaningful.”
Her colleague Douven agrees: “I have a global scope within Grodan, so I see how operations run in Poland and Toronto. It’s vital that we can rely on the expertise of a logistics partner like Broekman Logistics to deliver on our ambitions.”
Since the start of the cooperation in 2011, much has changed, but the close connection remains. “We know each other inside out. That makes it easy to act quickly,” says Adams. “If the customer calls today with a problem, we’ll be at the table tomorrow morning with a solution.”
Looking ahead, plenty is on the agenda. Grodan’s season requires early preparation and fine-tuning of processes. “We want to prepare even better for seasonal peaks, possibly with new quality improvements and warehousing innovations,” Adams concludes.
In short: What began as a logistics collaboration has grown into a strong partnership built on mutual trust, expertise and a shared commitment to quality. Grodan, the market leader in substrate solutions for horticulture, and Broekman Logistics — specialist in high quality logistics services — show what is possible when client and provider truly work as partners.
Since 2010, Andrzej Stec has led Broekman Logistics in Poland as General Manager, building the company from the ground up. “I was the first employee of the company in Poland,” he recalls. “The following month, our current team leader joined, and from there we grew.” A turning point came in 2011, when Broekman Logistics Poland began working with Grodan, part of the well-known Rockwool Group. “Rockwool has long been a household name in Poland,” Stec explains. “In 2011, they decided to move production of Grodan products from Denmark to Małkinia, Poland.”
This presented a significant logistics challenge: coordinating transport, storage and distribution for Grodan. Broekman rented a warehouse of nearly 10,000 square metres near the factory. “We started with international transport and also handled daily domestic shipments between the factory and the warehouses to build up stock. And we’re still doing it to this day.”
The scale is impressive. “At one site we have 16,000 pallets. At another, 10,000 square metres,” says Stec. The goods are shipped worldwide, from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. “Sometimes we have to empty an entire warehouse within a month.”
What has made the cooperation with Grodan successful for more than a decade, Stec believes, is the partnership itself: “It goes beyond logistics. We trust each other.”
