Wans Roses has been growing roses since 1975 and is now managed by the third generation of the family. The portfolio consists of 30 different rose varieties that grow in coconut substrate on culture channels, thus facilitating harvesting work. The production volume is currently around 5.6 million roses per year.
Spotlight on our members: Wans Roses
Straelen, Germany
The most important facts at a glance.
Our members are more than just facts and figures for us.
The horticultural company Wans Roses specializes in the production of cut roses under glass in the premium segment. Varieties with particularly unusual flower shapes are marketed under the Royal Beauties® brand. The energy supply for the greenhouses is generated by waste heat from three combined heat and power plants, which are operated exclusively with energy from renewable energy resources, and a wood chip heating system. Electricity is supplied by our own photovoltaic system.
1950
Year of foundation
20
Employees
Straelen
Germany
42,500
Acreage for cut roses
Q and A
Our members’ concerns are our concerns.
Christian Wans
Director
1. What are your responsibilities and tasks and how long have you been doing this job?
I took over the business from my father and as the director I am responsible for every area, from accounting and operations to marketing the roses. Fortunately, I don’t have to do all this on my own, but have the support of my wife and a well-trained and experienced team.
2. What emotion(s) do you associate with your work?
When roses come to mind, we automatically think of their elegant appearance and intense fragrance. For this reason alone, a walk through the greenhouses evokes many emotions. It’s a good feeling to be involved in something that will later mostly be used to make other people happy.
3. In your opinion, what makes your company special?
We constantly strive to renew our range of varieties, especially in terms of flower shape and colors. That means our work is very varied. By closely monitoring the market, we recognize trends – and niches – at an early stage and adapt our range accordingly.
But it’s not just the roses that we focus on, sustainability also plays a major role in our work. We heat our greenhouses exclusively with sustainable waste heat from 3 combined heat and power plants and we cover our electricity requirements for machines almost exclusively with photovoltaic systems. We use biological plant protection, have a waste water recycling plant and pack our roses in paper instead of plastic bags.
4. Who are your customers and where can your products be found?
Our roses are sold at Veiling Rhein-Maas by Klokservice and at Flora Holland. There they are purchased by flower wholesalers and export companies and then distributed to flower stores worldwide. Since 2021, we have also been selling our goods via a web store for wholesalers, who link our store to the exporters’ digital sales tools.
5. What challenges are you currently faced with in your daily work?
We are currently in a very good position as far as the size of our company is concerned, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness and infrastructure such as sorting and packaging equipment. However, we want to become even more self-sufficient in terms of energy supply and are working hard to develop solutions.
6. Have you ever had a damage event in your company and if so, what kind of damage was it?
Fortunately, we haven’t had any significant damage events yet.
7. How have you experienced the support provided by Gartenbau-Versicherung so far?
Actually, we have always been insured with Gartenbau-Versicherung, right from the time the company was founded. We particularly appreciate the competent and prompt consulting services we receive for all our projects.
8. Is there anything you would like to see Gartenbau-Versicherung do in the future?
Faced with current rapidly rising operating costs, we hope you will work as efficiently as possible and keep the upper hierarchies lean so that the premiums remain affordable for us members.
