Jan Leenders BV specialise in packing plants, like roses, shrubs and fruit trees for sale in supermarkets, garden centers and DIY [Do-It-Yourself] shops. They export their products all over Europe and even to countries in Asia and America. They started as breeders (see BREEDERS: Leenders, for more information about their roses) and now specialise in packing plants.
Jan Leenders BV was founded in 1944. The small company of those days has been developed into a worldwide operating trading enterprise which specialises in packing roses and other garden plants for sale in retail stores. Jan Leenders BV has become the trendsetter in this part of the nursery trade, and is now one of the market leaders in Europe.
The founder, who gave his name to the company, was a descendant from an illustrious family of nursery growers. In the beginning he traded in Fruit Trees and small Fruit Shrubs, but very soon he switched his attention to landscaping of gardens and parks.
When in 1955 Jan Leenders started wrapping the first Rose Bushes in plastic in his own wine cellar, he laid the groundwork for the trade in prepacked nursery products. In those days the production was 2500 plants a week. He appeared to have been a visionary, for nowadays at Jan Leenders more than 6 million plants are packed during one season, or about a quarter of a million per week.
Only a small part of these plants are from Jan Leenders' own nursery. The remainder orginate from both Dutch and foreign growing centers.
A lot of attention is paid to quality control and meticulous care is taken of the plants, before, during and after the packing process. Large cold storage faciluities are available to store plants in the best possible conditions.
Although Jan Leenders BV grew to become a worldwide trading firm, it kept the valued characteristics of a family enterprise. The adage 'the customer is king' still has real meaning. Jan Leenders BV tries to combine old and trusted values with a flexible response to customer wishes and market demands.
References in Rose Literature:[From the
American Rose Annual 1950, p. 187:] Leenders, M., & Company, Steyl-Tegelen, Netherlands.
[From
Gemak in Tegele, 2013, by Paul Seelen, p. 90-91:]... In 1943 Jan Leenders, son of Mathieu, started his own nursery in Kaldenkerkenweg in Tegelen together with Henri Vanhorst. Roses were grown on a small scale beside road and fruit trees. ...In 1958 the first own roses and shrubs for sale in stores were packed under the name LEJA (Leenders Jan)...When Jan retired in 1983 his sons Pieter and Bark took over. ...In 2002 the operation was taken over by the Cooperative of Rose Nurseries in North Limburg under a different name and a more modest scale.
