They can be found in places where, once upon a time, the thought of growing vegetables would have been considered science fiction: in mega-hot deserts and close to the polar circle. To say that KUBO’s Ultra-Clima greenhouse has revolutionised the greenhouse industry would be an understatement. Fifteen years after their introduction, these greenhouses now cover more than 700 hectares across the globe. And to think that it all began with one single question posed to Wouter Kuiper by an American crop grower… ‘Casey Houweling (an American grower of Dutch descent – ed.) wanted to stop using flyscreens. He asked us if we could come up with a greenhouse based on the principle of overpressure.’ Fifteen years later, the company is by no means done developing the Ultra-Clima greenhouse. ‘Soon growing produce will be easy as pie.’
It may sound like quite the success story now, but it was a long time in the making. Thanks to Casey Houweling and KUBO’s Wouter Kuiper, the Ultra-Clima greenhouse proved to be a keeper. ‘Others would ask me if I was insane. A greenhouse manufacturer wanting to come up with a different concept for a greenhouse – what was I thinking?’ says Wouter. ‘But Casey believed in the concept. He knew that overpressure was the key to a different way of growing plants. Over the course of the innovation process, we began to see more and more opportunities and benefits.’
A trial greenhouse measuring 7,000 square metres was erected on Houweling’s commercial premises in California. ‘This was when we found the principle actually worked. Casey was successful with it right from the start. After five months, he said: “I want 16 hectares of this.” We felt it was a huge step to take, but he was motivated to do well with it. He soon began to produce more than one hundred kilos of tomatoes per square metre, right in his first season, while also consuming less energy and reducing his carbon dioxide emissions.’