Waterman Grean

‘Waterman Grean’ is Waterman Onions’ own interpretation of Lean. Working according to the Lean method means constantly focusing on optimising processes in order to eliminate waste.

“You can do that by collecting data on the various processes and departments to see how a department is performing. We then use that data to analyse what’s going well, and what could be done better to accommodate our customers’ preferences”, explains Arjan Dunnewind, Operations Manager at Waterman Onions.

He continues: “Then we want to seize as many opportunities as possible; from quick wins to solving complex problems. We want to create a culture in which we grab problems by the neck and constantly look for solutions together. With Waterman Grean, we aim to work on making structural improvements for our customers’ benefit!”

As Arjan explains: “That will require different knowledge and expertise from us Watermanners. So we’re now offering training courses. Under the leadership of Menno Dijkstra, Director and trainer at Greansucces, around 30 of our colleagues are currently being trained in the Grean method. We’ll really start implementing Waterman Grean in late February. We discuss our results, activities and projects together in the employee cafeteria every day. Everyone, from purchasing to shipping, will be involved in Grean and can make a positive contribution. Because we have to seize opportunities together!”

Together we’ll make Waterman Grean exceptional; for our customers, our employees and our company!

A look back on a momentous year

In early 2020, Waterman Onions announced that the Purchasing Team would be reinforced with the arrival of purchaser Jelmer Elzinga in March. Since then, Jelmer has been responsible for the product flow of carefully chosen onions together with Remko Wilms and Nathan Rommens.

How it all began
Jelmer has been working as a purchaser at Waterman Onions for almost a full year now. He started in a turbulent period, just as the first intelligent lockdown was implemented in the Netherlands. Since then, the Netherlands has been forced to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purchasing team has noticed some of its effects in its day-to-day work. As a purchaser, Jelmer tries to evaluate the onions purchased or offered together with the growers whenever possible.

Jelmer looks back on his first year: “Waterman Onions is a great company to work for. A lot is going on here, but we also see some room for improvement. Together with my colleagues in the Waterman Onions purchasing department, we try to keep the production lines supplied with the best possible input of onions. The onion sector is growing in the north and east of the country at the moment. When I first arrived at Waterman, I had the opportunity to purchase quite a few onions from a lot of growers, and many of them have already been processed and packaged for our buyers. It’s great to watch that happen!”

Quality in storage
Jelmer continues: “At the moment, we’ve noticed that there’s some variation in the quality of onion storage. Red onions are especially susceptible to damage from thrips, which can cause problems with peeled onions. It seems like thrips are causing more damage lately, in part due to the prohibition on IC seeds and the warm, dry summers. We’ve also noticed some problems with quality, bacteria and damage in yellow onions. But many parties don’t have these problems, and we’re still able to find enough high-quality onions to package over the coming months.”

 Next season
“We’re all looking forward to a world without COVID-19. But here, we’re also looking forward to the new growing season. We expect a slight increase in acreage planted, and a shift in the growing area from the south to the north and east of the country”, says Jelmer.

Growers can also rely on us for another season’s supply of onion seeds via the recently launched website www.uienzaadonline.nl or by contacting Nathan or Jelmer. Jelmer: “Several popular varieties are already sold out, but we can still offer suitable recommendations for the grower regarding quality, transparency and a fair price.”

Waterman Onions and more?

Did you know that Waterman Onions also supplies vegetables other than onions? Thanks to our broad network of suppliers, Waterman Onions can quickly package and deliver a wide range of fresh vegetables. That includes potatoes and cabbage, but we can also supply products such as garlic and ginger.

Waterman Onions offers one-stop shop service, where buyers can purchase, load and ship onions and other vegetables.

To find out more, please feel free to contact Waterman Onions Sales Manager Michel Veltman at
tel.: +31 (0)6 10 09 83 82 or e-mail: michel@waterman-onions.nl.