- English
Every day, Roseworld sells and processes around 45,000 roses. Less than 24 hours after harvesting, they find their way to the global flower market. ‘And this isn’t even our top priority,’ says Dave van Leeuwen of Roseworld. ‘We believe it is important that everything we do benefits us as people and the environment around us. We take this into account at every level, including the treatments needed to keep our irrigation water clean. Sure Flow chlorine dioxide is a responsible choice with excellent results.’
For many years, we have been using a UV disinfectant in combination with Super FK to disinfect our water. This is an old principle that is considered to be very reliable. Every year, we carried out measurements to assess our water based on facts and figures. However, we noticed contamination in our system, which continued to increase. Slowly, we reached a point where improvements were really needed. In order not to make hasty decisions, I talked to acquaintances to gather information. A friend advised me to contact CH2O.”
“Now – about nine years ago – I took that step. In addition to chlorine dioxide, CH2O also uses an active chelate that is present as a basic element in the Sure Flow chlorine dioxide solution. This ensures that all (precipitated) fertilisers remain in the solution or are reabsorbed into the solution. This, combined with their knowledge, convinced me: go ahead and install that dosing computer. This allows us to alternate between chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide and biostimulants. An alternation that works extremely well for our crops,‘ says Dave. ’You don’t eat cauliflower every day, do you?” he continues.
And then, of course, things don’t always go smoothly. I can still clearly remember a moment in 2020 when the pH value plummeted. Of course, it happened on a Saturday afternoon, during the Formula 1 qualifying session. Immediately after my phone call, someone from CH2O got in the car to come and take a measurement: the water in the well is fine, everything is fine with the units, and fortunately the roses are still looking good. But what was the problem? It turned out that someone from another maintenance company had tampered with the controls, causing the acidity to rise and the pH to plummet. When you’ve just had new plants in your department store for eight weeks, it gives you a real shock. CH2O was very sharp and had identified the problem within an hour of my phone call and restored calm. That Saturday afternoon, all the values were reset to their previous levels by the installation company. CH2O really helped us enormously here and, in the end, despite the fact that it was Saturday afternoon, they did all this at their own expense and in their own time, which deserves a big compliment!
“And this is where Dave immediately touches on the biggest advantage of taking regular measurements,” adds Wilfred from CH2O. “Even when things are going well and it doesn’t seem necessary. That way, if there is a setback, you can immediately fall back on old values that worked well. It keeps you on top of things.”
Every advantage has its disadvantage
‘Sure Flow chlorine dioxide has many advantages, but also one small disadvantage: it slightly lowers the pH value of your drop value. How much depends on the amount of bicarbonate in the water. When I turn the system on and off, you can see a difference here. Fortunately, it is so minimal that it does not cause any problems. Otherwise, I would not dare to recommend it.’
“If this were a problem for me, I know I can turn to CH2O to discuss it and find the best solution that works for me. That personal touch and proactive thinking is exactly the added value I look for in a partner. There is so much going on in every area of the company. I look for partners around me who can take care of everything in the areas they know about, so that I don’t have to worry about it myself. In CH2O, I have found that in the area of good irrigation water.”
