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‘The Fiberglass Greenhouse Roof’ is nominated for the GreenTech Innovation Award 2019!
Fiberglass: an innovative material that is now also making its mark in greenhouse construction
In the evolution of the horticultural greenhouse, the next phase has begun: a fiberglass roof. Instead of using aluminium, people are opting for a new and innovative material with many advantages. ‘The Fiberglass Greenhouse Roof' significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared with the production of aluminium. Fiberglass will also outperform aluminium in daily use. After all, many sectors recognize the added value of fiberglass, which is also known as glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). Components made of fiberglass can already be found in the aircraft and automotive industries. And it is the great innovator Piet Bom who is now predicting a great future for the material in greenhouse horticulture.
Piet Bom Innovations: A new name with decades of experience
While he has already passed the 80-year-old mark, he is still keenly interested in finding the next new development in greenhouse horticulture. This is the perfect description of Piet Bom. Since first entering the world of greenhouse construction in the 1960s, Piet has consistently sought to optimize the concept of a ‘greenhouse’. This search has been producing revolutionary inventions for more than half a century.
Such inventions included the eight-metre trellis greenhouse, extending the span of the Venlo greenhouse and making it a multifunctional greenhouse suitable for all crops, and his most recent development: a fiberglass roof construction. Making a roof construction from fiberglass had never been done before in greenhouse horticulture, even though it offered unlimited potential. These are innovations typical of Piet Bom, innovative and always useable in a practical sense.
The face behind the innovations
Despite being over 80 years old, Piet Bom is still working on improving horticultural greenhouses. His inventions used by both the company that still bears his name, the Bom Group, and other leading greenhouse builders around the world.
The name Piet Bom was first thrust into the spotlight in 1966, when he built his first Venlo greenhouse. It was this same greenhouse that would become the most used type in international greenhouse construction, thanks to his innovative ideas. Within his own company, he primarily focused on working on new innovations in the years that followed.
From green naar greenhouse
When he took a step back from his company in 2002, Piet Bom had many patents to his name. He continues to innovate in ‘his’ greenhouse construction, with his most recent contribution being the developing a slip element to counteract premature wear in ventilation mechanisms.
As an avid golfer, he then created an alternative to the ‘traditional’ golf bag that resembled an umbrella box. His creation was smaller, lighter, and collapsible. This is made possible through the use of fiberglass, a material that he came across during his search. The versatility of fiberglass inspired Piet Bom to go a step further, which is when he turned his attention to greenhouse construction. The Fiberglass Greenhouse Roof was born!
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Discover it hereOthers speak
Rob Grootscholten - COO Bom Group
“Continuing to innovate in greenhouse construction is an important vision and goal in the life of Piet Bom”.
Kees Duivestein - Concept development
"We see today that greenhouse builders are successful by choosing and following a strategy. Piet Bom's strategy has been" Product Leadership "all the time; with his innovations he always took on and still occupies a special position."
Sjaak van der Tak - Chairman Greenhouse Horticulture the Netherlands
"What a high-tech top and sustainable innovation for Dutch greenhouse construction:" Fiberglass Roof" by Piet Bom Innovations. Made from fibers instead of aluminum, shown during GreenTech 2019 and nominated with Innovation Award. Of great importance for @GlastuinbouwNL"