Marginpar has moved into a new home. A state-of-the-art building next to Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer offers a great working environment for office and warehouse workers. The opening was visited by many floral relations, eager to take a peek at this modern floral facility. Come and see for yourself.
Feeling Welcome at Marginpar
It was just a few hundred meters that the people of Marginpar had to move. The old building was just across the road. But it had become too small and did not have a direct connection to the flower auction. This one has all that's necessary to work in a pleasant space, employees enjoy a nice, light, modern, green, inspiring, and comfortable workplace.
Visitors feel welcome in the open atmosphere that the building radiates. Flowers are on the tables everywhere, both as inspiration and for testing purposes. What a nice place to be!
The Entrance
Marginpar loves stories and that starts at the entrance. A vase wall shows a cheerful glimpse of its product range, while an illustrated green wall intrigues visitors as they climb the stairs to the 1st or 2nd floor. The specially designed illustrations can be seen throughout the property. The design for each wallpaper, window film, and signing differs per room. Before taking going upstairs, first, let's visit the logistics hall.
Marginpar's new premises
Helena van Achterberg, Creative Content Specialist at Marginpar
The Logistics Hall
The big logistics hall is located on the ground floor. The 9,000 m2 hall is extra light, due to the skylights installed in the roof. The hall is air-conditioned so that the flowers can be processed at the optimum temperature - which contributes to a longer vase life. The logistics are set up with four processing lines, which can process almost 1.5 million stems every day (with the potential for more).
One of the most striking parts of the mechanization is the yellow robot, which helps to fill buckets with water. This robot was specially developed for Marginpar and processes four times as many buckets as a human worker. The human workforce is now more efficiently placed by stacking the filled buckets of flowers on the trolleys, ready for the customers.
But it doesn't stop there. Marginpar flowers are flown in daily from production locations in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. Thanks to inbound mechanization, aircraft plates can be offloaded efficiently 24/7. They are then transported with a metal rolling bench to the cold store or sorting pit. The two sorting pits sink into the ground as soon as they are loaded, allowing the employees to stack the boxes horizontally efficiently without having to reach too high; a process that is both health and safety-proof.
Marginpar's cooling capacity has tripled with the new cold store. For an optimal cool chain, the 3,800m2 cell is divided into different temperature zones: flowers in a box at 2 degrees Celsius, flowers in a bucket at 3 degrees, and distribution and order picking is done at 4 degrees Celsius.
Physically Connected to Royal FloraHolland
One of the major advantages of this new location is the physical connection to Royal FloraHolland's logistics. Where the trolleys for RFH Aalsmeer used to be driven in trucks at the end of the day, the full carts now go directly to the auction several times a day via the product street that is connected to the building. This further intensifies the collaboration between Marginpar and Royal FloraHolland.
The Offices - 1st Floor
Visitors are received at the reception, after which they can relax with a coffee or tea in the work café. This same work café is often used as a meeting place between colleagues and partners, not least for lunch together every day. Flexible workplaces are available on both the 1st and 2nd floors to provide space for foreign colleagues.
Whereas the Flower Lab on the 2nd floor has a more technical character, the many desks, counters, and low cupboards on the open-spaced first floor are used to impress and inspire the Martinpar staff and their visitors. Here, some sneak peeks of future success stories are shown, like the next big eryngium, astrantia, clematis, gloriosa, sanguisorba, and many more you will love to get your hands on soon.
Eryngium Questar Titan
Sanguisorba Red Dream
The 2nd Floor
The fact that Marginpar is an international company is also noticeable on the 2nd floor. Special call rooms have been set up for digital meetings with colleagues in Africa.
On this floor you will also find the Flower Lab; a special test and flowering room where flowers are tested according to the highest specifications. The tight lines and round walls of this floor form a special whole and draw your gaze through the loft towards the roof terrace, The ideal spot for summer work meetings or a sunny lunch. Just in front of the roof terrace is the photo studio where the marketing department creates content for its social media.
Room to Grow
Marginpar has invested in a sustainable building. This is reflected, among other things, in the materials used, the insulation, the cooling and heating installation, and environmental measures. With solar panels, Marginpar works from an almost energy-neutral building. The new head office is designed to meet its growth ambitions and is geared to the new way of working in every possible way.
Welcoming the World
Everything falls into place. With their new premises, Marginpar makes a clear statement, welcoming the world in a sustainable atmosphere of beauty, openness, and friendliness, making employees and visitors feel at home instantly.
