What makes us…
Grown, not created
for over 100 years, from animal husbandry to vegetable growing, with the knowledge of four generations – and we are always learning more
Water & Earth
Best quality and freshness for our customers, whether in traditional open land or trend-setting hydroponics – on areas totalling over 200 football pitches
Straelen – Everything in the green
The joie de vivre that comes from tasting fresh, crunchy lettuce – from our homeland, for the region
Rooted in goodness
we save water & resources with the use of state-of-the-art technology and innovative cultivation methods – for sustainable development
Welcome to the Brimmers website.
Brimmers is a company based in Straelen on the Lower Rhine, specialising in the production of fresh salads. We produce outdoors and in protected cultivation, there with the innovative hydroponics, weather-independent, fast, healthy and sustainable. From the German-Dutch border area, we supply the food retail trade and the food processing industry with fresh salads such as iceberg lettuce, endive, frisee, salanova and trio lettuce made from oak leaf, lollo rosso and lollo bionda. As a regional producer, we are affiliated with Landfrisch AG and can supply customers throughout NRW from our site.
What makes us special
Straelen, located in the German-Dutch border region, is known for its distinctive horticulture. Although it is in a rural location, a huge conurbation can be served quickly and cheaply from here. More than 15 million people live within a radius of 100 kilometres, who can be supplied with fresh lettuce from Straelen regionally and with low transport costs.
The hydroponic technology allows lettuce to be grown regardless of the weather and thus all year round. Fast, healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly. With the know-how of four generations and our innovative cultivation technique, we are pioneers in Germany.
About us
In 1920 Heinrich Brimmers sen. founded a livestock farm in Straelen, which he handed over to his son Josef in 1960. Over the decades, livestock farming was abolished and instead Heinrich jr. expanded outdoor crop production. From 1990, protected cultivation in greenhouses was added and, at the same time, specialisation in salad crops. A relocation of the business within Straelen led to the expansion of the area. Today, the family business, which is currently run by Heinrich and Marlies Brimmers and son Michael, has 150 ha of cultivation area in the open and 2 ha of greenhouse area. A team of about 30 employees works in the company. In 2018, the company invested in a completely new technique for protected plant production, hydroponics. With this innovative way of cultivation, Brimmers is for the first time completely independent of the weather and can harvest fresh lettuces all year round. The company supplies supermarkets and food discounters as well as the food-producing industry.
Hydroponics
Brimmers is one of the first companies to use the innovative technique of hydroponics for lettuce production in Germany. So far, this technique is mainly used in Belgium and the Netherlands. The advantages over the conventional method are immense:
With hydroponics, there is no soil involved. The plants are placed in plastic floats that float on a surface of water about 25 cm high. The roots spread out there and absorb the nutrients directly from the water. This is not only clean (no soil residues in the lettuce), but also much more sustainable, healthier and environmentally friendly than conventional methods. The use of pesticides is very low, as there are neither weeds nor soil-borne diseases. This technique saves over 70% water, yet the plants thrive excellently and have a high vitamin content. In addition to daylight, lighting is provided by energy-saving LED lamps. This means complete independence from the weather. We believe that hydroponics is the future of protected cultivation. With us, it is already a reality!
Outdoor
Lettuce grows all season long in our large outdoor area. It is mainly iceberg lettuce, endive and frisee lettuce that we produce here. A team of 30 is busy planting, tending and harvesting the plants. We deliver most of the lettuce directly from the field to the regional supermarkets and discounters. A smaller part of the harvest goes to large food processing companies.
Currently, our range consists of five high-quality salad crops – iceberg lettuce, endive, frisee, Salanova and Trio lettuce.
Iceberg lettuce
The crunchy all-rounder has a long shelf life and is fresh. It is often used as a salad base for burgers, baguettes, wraps and the like. The name, by the way, comes from the fact that transport wagons used to be cooled with blocks of ice.
Endivie
The hearty salad contains many minerals and tastes spicy-tart. It adds a special note to any salad mix and is also a hit warm as a vegetable. In the Lower Rhine region, “endive mash” with potatoes is a well-known speciality.
Salanova
The new variety Salanova is available in green and red. The head has four times as many leaves as a normal lettuce. The highlight is the one-cut preparation. The stalk can be cut out with a single knife cut and the leaves of the same size fall apart ready to eat. There is virtually no waste, as even the outer leaves are beautifully tender. Salanova has so far been used almost exclusively for the production of salad mixes, but since 2021 it has also been available on the fresh produce shelves at supermarkets and discounters.
Frisee
Frisee lettuce is also called “curly endive” and it has – especially the outer leaves – a lot of vitamin C, B vitamins and minerals. It tastes particularly good with fruity dressings but also with hearty ham or bacon.
Salat-Trio
Triple good is our mix of oak leaf, lollo rosso and lollo bionda. As a “living lettuce” with a root ball, it not only stays fresh for a long time, it is also the perfect portion for the small household. Where three large heads of lettuce would be too much, it offers triple the variety in one head.
Brimmers Gartenbau
Kempkensweg 3
47638 Straelen
Telephone number:
0 28 34 / 20 56
E-Mail:
info@brimmers-salat.de
