Leveraging tradition, innovation & intention

When Joop Overgaag moved his family from the Netherlands to California in 1978, he left chrysanthemum growing behind and hit Carpinteria with rose-fueled dreams. Joop’s son Toine (pronounced 'Twaan'), then just six years old, says his father came prepared: “He had studied and spent a lot of time with rose growers in Holland. There weren't really any roses grown in this area when he got here, and he felt like he could distinguish himself with that.” And he did.

Within 20 years, Westerlay Roses grew millions of cut roses annually, with Joop’s product in demand nationwide. As Toine grew up, though, he never planned on joining the business. “I tried really hard to get away,” he says with a laugh. He went to an East Coast college, followed by a few Westerlay years, then got an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC) and branched out. Until a layoff came.

Back at work for his dad — just until the next opportunity came — he made a startling discovery: he really enjoyed it. While Joop thought that was all well and good, his life was at a point where he was considering next steps for himself and his business. If Toine was interested, Joop said, they could talk about it. Otherwise, the business would probably transition or be sold.

So, father and son sat together and discussed Westerlay Roses, its viability and its future. Toine credits Joop with the vision for Westerlay Orchids, which now produces four million orchids annually in 800,000 square feet of coastal greenhouses.

“He said, ‘We’ve had a really good run, but the economics of cut roses have changed so dramatically, we really do need to look for something else,’” recalls Toine, now Westerlay Orchids’ owner and president. “That’s how we started the transition into orchids, and that’s over 20 years ago now.”

From big pond to big partnerships

Westerlay Orchids’ first crop of potted cymbidiums hit the market in 2003. Phalaenopsis soon joined the mix and dominated production as demand for the easy-care beauties began to explode. In 2009, Toine officially took over the business. The transition in ownership and leadership was smooth, but differences in leadership styles were distinct.

“I think my father comes from a generation where you show up to work, you grind, you make it happen and you lead from the front,” Toine says. “I come more from the idea that you need an organization around you. You need to delegate. You need to plan further out than the next quarter, the next year.”

Perhaps each time frame had the leader it needed. “What my father accomplished was really remarkable,” Toine says. “When you talk about vision, he was always extraordinarily focused on product quality, extraordinarily focused on applying the latest technology. He was really at the forefront of that.”

Now faced with a different world, Toine also focuses on those things — plus organization and building a resilient team. As president and owner, his vision for planning came to the forefront. Within a few years, the company made inroads with major local and national retail chains that comprise the bulk of Westerlay customers today. A dramatic growth trajectory began.

Toine explains that Westerlay Roses was “very much a small fish” in the huge cut-flower pond. Orchids are a much smaller category, despite being America’s best-selling potted plant. Plus, Westerlay has become the third-largest orchid grower in the country.

“Now we're at a scale for our product category where we can partner with those companies, both from a quality and from a pricing standpoint, which was not something we could do when we were in cut flowers,” Toine says.

Deliberate goals for growth

Toine emphasizes articulating the company vision and setting conscious, intentional goals. Westerlay is now four years into a detailed seven-year plan that includes some new products and doubling production.

“I think part of growing up as an organization is being very deliberate about the goals you set, and about moving towards those and communicating it as a team and delegating responsibility for achieving those goals throughout a team,” Toine shares.

Production goals include overall numbers and how they’re achieved. Most U.S. orchids are grown in Taiwan from tissue culture until the finishing stage, with only the flowering phase happening here. Toine estimates that model describes half of all U.S. orchids and two-thirds of California’s.

But Westerlay is different: It receives tissue cultures and grows its orchids “from flask to flower,” producing finished plants in 17-18 months. “To my knowledge, in North America, there’s only two or maybe three other major growers who do that,” Toine says.

The choice has pros and cons. Costs and risks are much higher. But increased control allows Westerlay to capitalize on market trends and minimize disruptions.

“Now we’re able to control exactly which varieties we grow and when we’re flowering them, so that we can hit market peaks,” Toine explains. Noting pandemic shipping upheavals, he adds, “That was something we never had to deal with. We were always able to control when our product was flowering and make sure that they got to the customers when they wanted it.”

Two-inch mini orchids are an exception, but that’s changing soon. At year’s end, Westerlay will transition its minis to “flask to flower” production and gain home court advantage for that category, too.

Prioritizing sustainability

Another deliberate goal from Westerlay’s seven-year plan is to work more with partners to significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

Toine acknowledges that a farmer never wants to spend more on inputs than necessary, but his motivation transcends that: “I think for me personally, and us organizationally, we have become much more focused on externalities and climate change and what we can do.”

With changing technology, he believes many opportunities for improved sustainability exist that also make economic sense. “The paybacks can sometimes be pretty long, but the paybacks are there,” he says.

To help drive improvement, Westerlay joined the Netherlands-based MPS (More Profitable Sustainability) global horticultural certification program eight years ago. The rigorous certification process of the long-established program, now active in more than 50 countries, attracted Toine. He looks forward to robust annual MPS audits.

“What we do this year is not going to be good enough next year, because they constantly are upping the standard, which makes it hard on us. But that’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for something that is challenging us and making us better,” he says.

Westerlay partners with many companies for green technologies ranging from automated heat-retaining greenhouse curtains to CO2 capture technology, climate control, high-efficiency irrigation and beneficial insects.

“Certainly coming from the Netherlands myself, we really benchmark ourselves both formally and informally against what we see happening in Europe,” Toine says. The road of discovery often naturally leads to European vendors. However, Westerlay is actively working to bring as much of its sourcing back to North America to reduce freight costs and its carbon footprint.

Positioning for the future

As he looks to Westerlay’s future, Toine is grateful for his leadership team. “I’ve got some really awesome people in growing, operations, finance, admin and a really, really strong sales team. Makes my life a lot easier. I’m just very thankful for my team.”

Leadership is critical as Westerlay faces one of its biggest goals: expansion planned for a nearby property. Despite three years of effort, permits have stalled. “We’re running into some realities that have to do with permitting in the area where we live specifically. It’s just been extraordinarily difficult to get the permits,” Toine says.

Even so, expansion plans continue. He’s particularly excited about technology that will “really move the needle.” One example is a switch from boilers (paired with misting and cooling systems) to electric heat pumps that provide heating and cooling. In a best-case scenario, he calculates an 80% reduction in natural gas usage to just 20% of what Westerlay uses now.

Opportunities at existing properties are also being explored. Solar power at one facility meets 90% of the electrical needs. Later this year, Westerlay will trial glass panels embedded with solar photovoltaic cells to produce electricity from the greenhouse roof.

Another planned trial involves dehumidification technology to extract moisture from greenhouse air rather than venting roofs and losing heat — a practice accelerating among European greenhouses facing soaring energy costs. If a one-acre trial goes as planned, Toine anticipates reducing the facility’s natural gas usage up to 20%.

Referencing expansion again, Toine says, “We would be applying some really remarkable technology that we think would allow us to save a tremendous amount of energy, a tremendous amount of labor costs and grow a healthier plant.” It’s a step he sees as essential for the business’s long-term health.

When permits eventually get approved, Westerlay production could double. “We feel like we would be in a position to produce at a price point and a quality point where we would be able to make that work, either expand the market or even potentially take some share,” Toine says. A lack of overall investment in orchid production, especially on the West Coast, has created an opening Westerlay could fill.

And, incidentally, Westerlay has a little corner of bromeliads — about an acre — that Toine’s pretty excited about. “We’re looking for an opportunity to expand that program, too,” he says.

Jolene Hansen is a freelance writer specializing in the horticulture and CEA industries. Reach her at jolene@jolenehansen.com.