The Vlotlaan industrial estate in Monster is the location of both the ultra-modern KUBO head office and the production plant to manufacture the high-tech greenhouses. The plant is equipped with the most innovative installations, such as welding robots and laser cutting machines. From today, the machine fleet is powered by electric current generated by solar panels installed on the roof of the factory hall.
Royal Brinkman has mounted a total of 2,267 solar panels with a total installed capacity of 623.42 kWp. According to Wouter Kuiper, the Managing Director of KUBO Group, this is a profitable investment.
‘Like our greenhouses, the final result should be both sustainable and profitable. That principle applies equally to our own investments.’ The collaboration with Brinkman was very satisfactory. Wouter Kuiper: ‘The crew switched quickly and adequately, the proposal was on the money, and the quality was excellent. What else could you ask?’

The solar energy facility will generate steam used to make heavy oil more fluid so that it can be pumped out for further use. Currently, steam is generated through burning natural gas, which is a scarce resource in Oman needed for higher value uses. Smart and sustainable technology is being used for this special kind of oil extraction.

The solar technology uses large curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate steam from water. The mirrors are housed inside a greenhouse, protecting the solar collectors from high winds, sand and dust common in desert oilfields.

The greenhouses, provided by KUBO, will be fitted with deck wash robots, high-tech greenhouse technology, and overpressure and filtration systems to keep moisture and dust out of the greenhouse.

The solar plant will be built on the edge of the Amal oilfield in the south of the country for Petroleum Development Oman in which Royal Dutch Shell has a 34% share stake. PDO is the Sultanate’s largest Oil & Gas producer and is working in collaboration with GlassPoint Solar to deliver the Miraah project.

KUBO projects in Russia

KUBO has both traditional and Ultra-Clima projects running in various Russian towns including Lipetsk, Balakovo, Magnitogorsk, Shakhty and Vyborzhets. There are already around 30 ha of greenhouses in Russia that feature the Ultra-Clima concept. It is a greenhouse that combines all the requirements of modern growers while managing higher yields, maximum food safety, minimum energy and water consumption, minimum CO2 emissions and improved returns.

The RusPrix Award

The key aim of the RusPrix Award is to encourage and stimulate Dutch companies, public organisations and people in politics and culture who have achieved great things for Russia. RusPrix is an initiative run by the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands. For more information about the RusPrix award, visit www.rusprixaward.nl

One of the machines was bought together with KUBO’s permanent agent, DutchTec. KUBO has been operating in Scandinavia together with DutchTec for many years. This machine, appropriately named ‘Copenhagen’, left for Denmark at the beginning of the summer, and will be travelling around the north of Europe full time from project to project.
Apart from the KUBO construction machines, there are even more on order for Glasspoint. The first machine has already been delivered and is being used on the Miraah project. This project, in which KUBO is a partner, is being built on the edge of an oilfield in Amal, Oman, and is destined to be the largest solar energy project in the world.

Many parents keep their children out of school so that they can work to earn money and buy food. Providing the meals at school is an incentive for the parents to let their children go to school and to encourage them to learn. Impact ministries www.impactministries.ca thanks to all the sponsors in the Netherlands and Canada, the lives of more than 1,500 children have now changed through the construction of this greenhouse. But they’re not there yet by any means, and the work must and is continuing.

More Land

In the meantime, more land has been added so that the agricultural potential can be expanded. There are plans to open an orphanage in the future, and it is looking like what has been a dream for a long time is now finally going to become reality.

Container

At the beginning of this year, a container was loaded and shipped off under the leadership of Eef ter Laak (a Kubo supporter from the word go). Among other things, the container carried second-hand school furniture (tables, chairs and cupboards), clothing, shoes, prams, child seats, beds and so on. Gathering all these things started last year among KUBO staff and the clients, and soon enough equipment and items to fill a container had been collected. At the beginning of this year, a group of enthusiastic volunteers got together to load the container and it finally arrived last week!

Ultra-Clima

Not only do they lead the way in innovation in terms of products and unique flavours, but also with the construction of the 11,000 m2 Ultra-Clima greenhouse concept. This greenhouse is the first in Scandinavia with this worldwide-proven technology. Under supervision of cultivation consultant Tomas Larsen, they will increase productivity and minimise the use of energy and pesticides. For the Wiig family, this will lead to improved product quality and better prices. This greenhouse is intended for the cultivation of tomatoes.

KUBO has realised the last three projects for this company in cooperation with KUBO’s agent Henk van Tuyl of DutchTec. The 11,000 m2 greenhouse for the cultivation of tomatoes was finalised last winter.