Lincoln, ON, Canada – Boekestyn Greenhouses is taking a significant step toward fully automated plant production. The company is investing in an advanced Plant Order System from WPS, allowing it to manage strong growth while reducing labor costs.
The investment follows the second construction phase of the new facility, completed by Havecon. With this expansion, Boekestyn’s production capacity is set to increase by approximately 70% over the coming years. Without automation, managing such growth would pose a major challenge for daily operations. Thanks to the new system, Boekestyn can handle this expansion with only a limited increase in staff. The system is scheduled to go live in mid-2026.
The system
The Plant Order System automates the entire process from harvest to order fulfillment. Two harvest robots pick plants directly from the container system and place them in specialized holders. A vision system evaluates each plant for maturity and height, automatically sorting mature plants for buffering or tray storage, while immature plants are returned to production.
The system also includes:
- Fully automated transport via conveyors, tray stackers, and destackers (over 3,000 meters of conveyor)
- Intelligent robotics for loading and unloading trays for cold storage
- Order Control Software (OCS) for seamless order processing, integrated with labeling and packaging lines
- Automated box loading machines to increase packing capacity
The system is designed according to Just-in-Time principles, based on Lean methodology. This ensures that orders are processed efficiently and precisely when needed, minimizing waste and maximizing production capacity.
With this setup, Boekestyn will be able to process approximately 4,000 plants per hour, with the flexibility to easily switch between different pot sizes, colors, and varieties. A minimal expansion in a future third phase could increase capacity to over 5,000 plants per hour.
Strong business case supported by consultancy
The investment is built on a comprehensive Lean Scan conducted by Optimize by Nexus. This consultancy analyzed where the greatest labor savings could be achieved and helped Boekestyn develop a solid business case for the future.
Proud of the Partnership
According to Digna van Zanten, owner of WPS, Boekestyn Greenhouses’ investment marks an important milestone for the industry: “Boekestyn is one of the first Canadian potted plant growers to adopt high-tech automation on this scale. We expect this development to set the standard for other professional growers considering further automation. We are proud to support them in their growth and to count them among our valued customers.”
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