What's in store
Cathy Jett is the assistant business editor at The Free Lance-Star, and specializes in covering the area's retail scene.
Fresh Tulips USA is coming to K.G.
A tulip grower in Stevensburg has leased the 45-acre greenhouse complex next to the Birchwood power plant in King George County.
Fresh Tulips USA LLC, a division of B&B Quality Bulbs in the Netherlands, will begin operations there in November and have cut tulips ready for shipment a few days after Christmas.
Operations manager Coen Haakman said that the new facility will need a staff of 60 to plant, harvest and ship the flowers, as well as do quality control. Hiring will begin in November.
Fresh Tulips will continue to operate at Stevensburg until the lease for that 8-acre location expires in 2016. The business will then be consolidated in King George, he said.
Having more space will allow Fresh Tulips to have a larger cooler for bulbs, grow more tulips and sell to additional vendors. The company’s territory currently stretches from Boston to Miami and Dallas to Chicago.
“We do not have a finished business plan yet,” said Haakman, who put up a Fresh Tulips USA sign on the property on Thursday so truckers could find the site. “What we are doing at this point is building cooler storage.”
Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/whatsinstore/2012/06/01/fresh-tulips-usa-is-coming-to-k-g/
