Leo van Tilburg

From 1985 it became clear, that for customers in England, many products had to be reforested to smaller quantities per bunch. Bunches of carnations, for instance, had to go from 10 branches to 5 branches. It was then decided that a conveyor belt was needed on which this "splitting" could be done. More and more lines were added and the demand for real bouquets increased enormously. In order to achieve this, Leo van Tilburg came to strengthen and expand the bouquet shop in September 1996.

The order was very simple: "Leo be good for the business, then the business will be good for you." Which roughly meant: Take care of all business yourself, make it a success, then everything will be fine! And Leo did just that! Upon his arrival, the bouquet shop was running three days with one band and two days with two bands.

In a very short time, Leo and his people managed to expand this and a third band came in. This band employed mostly women, who came from 09:00 to 13:00, while the children were at school. This band was called 'the housewives' band' by Leo. That Leo took good care of his staff is evidenced by the fact that there was very little turnover among his staff. Several ladies have reached retirement age at the bouquet shop.

Currently, there are two ladies who have been employed for more than 20 years. These are Gerda Ouwehand and Dwi Sutandy. With Gerda and Dwi, too, we can speak of real passion for their jobs. In February 1999, the move to the new premises took place. The bouquet shop was given its own place here. Soon, this place proved to be far too small and a special extra floor was made in the building for Leo's department. The sales market began to change. The demand for small bunches decreased enormously, but ever larger bouquets took their place. This was also because shops were hiring fewer staff, as customers increasingly sought a ready-made product. Since Leo had his hands full managing his department, he looked for a designer who could join him in expanding the bouquet range.

After several arrangers, Leo worked with Jan den Heijer in recent years. Leo and Jan were the first in Rijnsburg to purchase a machine for making Aqua bouquets. These are bouquets in a plastic sheet that already contains water, so that the customer can put the bouquet on the table right away. Success was assured. Large bouquets of customers turned out to be very satisfied, leading to another growth spurt. And the shop had to move again. Today, the bouquet shop is located in the old plant greenhouse. Leo (co)managed the bouquet shop until his retirement. Even now, he still spends a good 15 hours a week in "his" bouquet shop. The bouquets still pass over his counter like hot cakes.