Sjef's company is growing significantly. With 50 hectares of peat fields and 100 employees, he is making great strides. Speaking of roads: in 1940, Sjef buys his first lorry. His company is becoming increasingly professional. With his lorry, he can transport his products further afield.

After the Second World War, demand for turf decreases. This is because people are heating their homes more and more with coal and gas. In 1945, Sjef’s four sons take over the company. They continue under the name the ‘Gebroeders Swinkels’.

In and around post-war Venlo, horticulture is on the rise. The Swinkels brothers move with the times and make the transition from fuel peat to potting soil. Using a converted threshing machine, they mix peat and farmyard manure to create a successful product for professional horticulture. The horticultural sector continues to grow, and with it the demand for quality. That’s exactly what Gebroeders Swinkels delivers.

Mushroom cultivation is on the rise and calls for innovation. Growers need casing soil, as Harrie Swinkels also recognises. He is leaving Gebroeders Swinkels to continue on his own under the name Legro. That stands for ‘Living Soil’. A name that still suits us perfectly.

At the beginning of the 1970s, gardening becomes popular. We see a new market emerge and capitalise on it. We buy machines for filling bags of potting compost. The consumer market grows into an important pillar for our company.

In that year, Sjef Swinkels of the 3rd generation of Swinkels becomes director. With his arrival, our focus shifts to professional horticulture. We split our casing soil and potting soil activities. We also get our own transport division. We are becoming increasingly specialist and professional.

Operating in a border region, exporting has always been a natural part of our business. But in the 1980s, we truly went international. We found new markets in England, America and Australia, among others. We also sourced the raw materials for our products from various continents. From the 1990s onwards, we sourced coconut from India and peat from Eastern Europe. In 2005, we purchased our own peat fields in Eastern Europe.

Around 1990, Sjef Swinkels sees potential in a new raw material: coconut. Coconut has good properties, but also contains many salts that negatively affect crop growth. We develop a method (so-called buffering) that makes coconut safe to use in cultivation. From that moment on, you will find coconut in many of our blends.

Our market is continuing to grow. Demand for our products is increasing sharply, particularly in the soft fruit market. To ensure that we always have a sufficient supply of raw materials, we are investing alongside Kalloveen in a large-scale expansion of peatlands. The acquisition of AS Seda in Latvia is now a fact.

We are joining forces with Botanicoir and acquiring 50% of the shares in this British-Sri Lankan coir producer. This partnership will enable us to jointly meet the growing global demand for high-quality substrates, with our focus firmly on the fruit and vegetable market. By combining our knowledge and expertise, we can focus even more strongly on innovation and quality.

In 2020 we acquired Aurichs-Wiesmoor Torfvertrieb. This acquisition added 230 hectares of peatlands in northern Germany (Wiesmoor) to our portfolio, thereby strengthening our raw material position for the production of casing soil for mushroom cultivation.

After more than half a century of hard work, Sjef and Lisette Swinkels are officially passing the baton to their children Franc and Sjellie. They have already spent years working in various roles within our family business. Now, the daily management is in their hands.

With the same dedication as previous generations of Swinkels, we work every day on the best substrates for our customers. We are driven by craftsmanship and innovation, and have a clear mission: contributing to a sustainable and healthy food supply for a growing world population.