Signify Expands in Belgian Horticulture Market with New TOMCO Project

Eindhoven, Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced its second horticulture project with tomato grower Luc Coghe to install full LED lighting in a newly built 10 hectares greenhouse in Roeselare, Belgium. Since 2014, Luc Coghe, Owner of TOMCO and his wife, Greet Biesbrouck, have increased yields and improved the quality and taste of high wire tomatoes grown under a combination of Philips GreenPower LED interlighting and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting at their Biesbrouck Company. Based on this success, they are moving to a full Philips LED lighting system for their newest greenhouse.

The new greenhouse is equipped with a combination of Philips LED toplighting and interlighting that produces a total of 225 µmol/m2/s. LEDs produce little heat so planting can start earlier and therefore the plants can be given more light in the spring and summer. “I expect this system to bring in higher yields and more predictable production for my customers. LEDs should also help us differentiate ourselves in terms of quality and taste, as we have experienced at our Biesbrouck location,” said Coghe. “More importantly, my greenhouse is future proof with full LED.”

“We are seeing a great demand for our Philips GreenPower LED solutions in the Belgian market,” said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Signify. “Not only has Luc Coghe decided to reinvest in LEDs. Other companies in Belgium that have made that move recently include Den Boschkant and Tomaline with hybrid toplighting combining LED and HPS and Ceulemans. That is because they trust that our Philips products will help them achieve higher yield and a better-quality crop.”

TOMCO is planning to grow the variety Xandor in the new greenhouse. The project is being carried out with Philips LED Horti Partner MAIS AUTOMATISERING NV and the plants are expected to go in in June 2019.

Source: http://www.lighting.philips.com/