A career in football beckoned, but injuries made that impossible for Rick Slingschröder. Despite contracts at several professional clubs and the dream of making his job of sports, Rick is now in a totally differente field. He finds his way in the green sector. Rick knows cyclamen, Primula and Ranunculus like no other in his role as growing supporter at Schoneveld Breeding. Does a grower have a problem during cultivation? Rick will check it out and find a solution.

"During my education in greenhouse horticulture I worked at a production grower during holidays. I was really happy there. During an internship at Schoneveld Breeding I was given the chance to learn more about plants. After my education I stayed at Schoneveld Breeding. I kept developing myself further there."

Health of plants
"Schoneveld is really different than the production grower. At this company, you really dive deep in the world of plants. What happens when you make an adjustment in nutrients? How do you prevent diseases? Beint fast is hier less important. The product is so valuable, you really get the time for that. In everything I do, plant health is most important."

Chances
"It makes me happy that I start with the seed at Schoneveld and stay engaged until the final sales. That means I see and learn a lot. And not just about plants. I know everybody within the company. That's nice. Schoneveld is a really open company with very relaxed employees. I felt right in place from the first day and got many chances to keep developing myself.

New challenges
"After my internship, I became crop care worker. After a while, I sort of worked on automatic mode. That's why I developed myself to the role of growing specialist. A great chance to deepen my knowledge. I beared all responsibility for my own crop in that role. However, this also became a routine for me. I pointed that out internally and soon after that I was given the chance to become growing supporter. I felt a bit too young for it, but they gave me the possibility to find out if it would fit me. And it really dit."

"Especially when things don't work out well, I can be of great value."

More value
"Now, I visit growers in South Europe. The goal of my visits is not to sell products, but to realise the best cultivation together. My addes value is visible when growers experience a problem. Especially when things don't work out well, I can be of great value. Sometimes it happens we make adjusments in a series and the next year the genetics suit the grower much better. When a grower puts a big smile on his face and places a great order at Schoneveld, that makes me really proud."

Teamwork
"Of course, I'm not doing this job on my own. Together with my colleagues of the growing support department I set out trials for cultivation of new crops and colours. We also evaluate the cultivation at growers and talk about cultivation problems. At every grower thinks work diffferently. You can't give support from a distance, you really have to see things with your own eyes. But I don't know everything for myself so it is nice to be part of a team full of professionals. They come with bright ideas when I run out of ideas myself."

Unique
"Amongst growers, Schoneveld is known for the growing support. We are worldwide unique with that service. We are a reliable partner for growers. And we really work together with them. We deliver the best genetics for real uniform series. This uniformity makes the production process relatively easy for growers. Because everything flowers at the same time, the production is finished with 2 or 3 times harvesting."

Freedom
"Working at Schoneveld means getting much freedom. As long as you do your job. People in this company all work for many years here, that tells me much about the company. You get trust, which also means responsibility. That suits me really well. I'm not made for sitting at a desk all day, I like to be on the road and making my own planning. I get the confidence that I'm doing my job the best I can when I'm on my way. That's how I can make my job to a success. And with that, the future of Schoneveld."

Join us
Working at Schoneveld means working in a green environment. Working toward a sustainable and innovative result with committed colleagues. Does that suit you? Take a look at all vacancies on the vacancy page.