IGOTY 2019 winner
IGOTY 2019 winner

Gediflora, Belgium has been awarded the accolade of International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) 2019 by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).

Gediflora won the coveted ‘Gold Rose’ award, presented by Steven van Schilfgaarde of Royal FloraHolland, and were also Gold award winners in the ‘Young Plants’ category at the AIPH IGOTY Awards on Tuesday 22nd January 2019 at IPM Essen, Germany. The awards, now in their tenth year, are held annually to celebrate excellence and best practice in ornamentals production.

Overall winner Gediflora is a breeder and propagator of potted Chrysanthemums. Now a third generation business, it services more than 30 countries and has over 50% market share in Europe, 30% in the US and 40% worldwide. The company’s mission is to make growers successful with their ‘golden genetics’ which produce a wide and innovative variety of easy-to-grow ball-shaped mums.

The AIPH IGOTY Jury, comprised of six internationally renowned horticulture experts chaired by AIPH Vice-President Tim Edwards, said “Gediflora excels in its field and is true to its motto: ‘Dream, dare, do and do better’. As a worldwide leading specialist in Chrysanthemums, this business demonstrates outstanding innovation and production and is a reliable and inspiring partner for growers.”

Other IGOTY 2019 category winners were:

Young Plants

Gold: Gediflora, Belgium
Silver: Clematis The Source of Good Climbers, Poland
Bronze: Sichuan Colorlink Co. Ltd. China

Finished Plants & Trees

Gold: Clematis The Source of Good Climbers, Poland
Silver: OK Plant, the Netherlands
Bronze: Fujian Hongzhan Landscape Engineering Co. Ltd. China

Cut Flowers

Gold: Oserian Development Company Limited, Kenya
Silver: Jiangsu Zhonghe Flowers Co. Ltd. China

Sustainability

Gold: Inner Mongolia M*Grass Ecological Environment (Group) Co. Ltd. China
Silver: Butterfly Garden, Denmark

Bernard Oosterom, President of AIPH commented: “The 2019 IGOTY Awards provide an opportunity to put a spotlight on the best in our industry, showing the world the quality businesses that exist. This year’s event was another extremely enjoyable occasion!” The awards are held alongside IPM Essen, each year, and attract a list of global industry players.

The AIPH IGOTY 2019 Awards were supported by headline sponsor Royal FloraHolland, founding partner FloraCulture International, venue partner IPM Essen and sponsors Pöppelmann, Kuehne + Nagel, Florensis, GreenTech and Flormart.

Entry to The International Grower of the Year Awards 2020 will be open from March – July 2019.

For more information on the AIPH International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) Awards visit:  www.aiph.org/groweroftheyear

For more information on the AIPH International Grower of the Year Winner visit:  www.gediflora.be