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ABOUT

Growing excellence

Our commitment is to produce high-quality, productive young plants while maintaining the highest standards in biosecurity.

North America's leading provider of young plants for greenhouse growers.

Ontario Plants specializes in growing and distributing high-quality, productive young plants to greenhouse growers across North America. Our two high-tech facilities prioritize world-class biosecurity and sustainability, ensuring that each year more than 60 million young plants thrive to supply consumers with nutritious, flavorful produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries, and raspberries.

We are dedicated to being a trusted partner for greenhouse growers and a positive force in fostering a more productive, resilient, and sustainable food system. As part of COFRA Holding’s sustainable food group, Ontario Plants contributes to the growth of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), striving for long-term partnerships, investment in cutting-edge technology, biosecurity, and sustainability

FACTS AND FIGURES

60m+

young plants delivered annually

49 acres

of growing space across two sites in Ontario, Canada

2002

founding year

Where we grow

Ontario Plants operates under 49 acres of glass across two locations, Glencoe and St. Thomas, with 36 more acres of state-of-the-art greenhouses under development.

Glencoe

The Glencoe greenhouse, launched in late 2024, is a 13-acre facility that grows high-quality, productive young plants using the latest in growing techniques, emphasizing biosecurity, quality assurance, and sustainability.

13 acre

Greenhouse area

6 acre

Solar installation (launching in 2025)

2,800

Hybrid LED/HPS lights

45m liter

Pond, recycling over 90% of rooftop water

St Thomas

The 36-acre St. Thomas greenhouse follows strict biosecurity and quality protocols to grow high-quality, productive young plants.

36 acre

Greenhouse area

25 acres

Outdoor propagation fields

8,000

Hybrid LED/HPS lights

41m liter

Pond recycling around 90% of rooftop water

What we grow

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Bell peppers
Strawberries
Raspberries

Leadership

Mathieu van de Sande
Mathieu van de Sande
President & CEO
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Mathieu van de Sande
Mathieu van de Sande
President & CEO

Mathieu brings 20 years of leadership experience in Controlled Environment Agriculture, in North America and the Netherlands, to his new role of CEO.

He joins from Dutch-based PlantLab, a leading indoor farmer, where as Head of Business Development he helped to scale the company through a series of partnerships and joint ventures. Previously, he served as sales or account manager for several US and Dutch based horticulture businesses.

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Pieter van Dijk
Pieter van Dijk
Chief Operating Officer
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Pieter van Dijk
Pieter van Dijk
Chief Operating Officer

Guiding the Growing and Operations departments, is Pieter van Dijk, Chief Operating Officer. With 27 years’ experience as the owner-operator of a large scale tomato production greenhouse in The Netherlands, Pieter innately understands Ontario Plants’ clients. After his lengthy time in tomato production, Pieter became the Head Grower at the largest vegetable plant propagation company in The Netherlands. Joining Ontario Plants in early 2020, Pieter brings with him a lifetime of greenhouse operations experience and an international network of subject matter experts ready to support Ontario Plants’ continued growth.

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Collin Phillip
Collin Phillip
Director of Sales
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Collin Phillip
Collin Phillip
Director of Sales

Collin is responsible for further strengthening Ontario Plants’ relationships with growers  in North America. He brings strong commercial acumen, leadership skills and a customer mindset to the role, having previously been Chief Commercial Officer at a leading forest seedling company.

At Ontario Plants, Collin leads the sales, marketing and business development functions. He is accountable for the development and execution of Ontario Plants’ commercial strategy.

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Andrew Heinen
Andrew Heinen
Head Grower
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Andrew Heinen
Andrew Heinen
Head Grower

As the Head Grower in charge of cultivation and facilities at Ontario Plants, Andrew leads an extensive team and has been providing improvements in plant quality, productivity and growing innovation for the company since 2012. Andrew’s experience spans over 27 years working in all departments but particularly in plant propagation. He is a graduate from Niagara College and expanded his education at the University of Guelph. Andrew played an active role on the Niagara College Program Advisory Committee assisting with curriculum development to mold future growers for the industry. With the combination of his knowledge and experience Andrew has culminated a growing career worthy of recognition and was awarded the Canadian ‘Top 10 Under 40 Growers Award’ in 2018.

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Theun Peters
Theun Peters
Director of Operations
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Theun Peters
Theun Peters
Director of Operations

Theun Peters holds the role of Operations Manager at Ontario Plants. Recruited from The Netherlands in 2013 for his greenhouse operational experience with emphasis on vegetable propagation which spans more than 25 years, Theun manages production, warehousing, and labour efficiency operations at Ontario Plants. He leads a sizable workforce with a never ending focus on performance and plant quality objectives. Theun is a graduate of Hogeschool HAS Den Bosch in the Netherlands with a Bachelor of Horticulture.

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Our purpose

Our purpose is to empower our customers by delivering the highest quality plants and innovative solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Our success depends on our customers' success, and we are committed to building long-lasting partnerships founded on trust, collaboration, and mutual growth. By pursuing excellence in every area of our work, from plant propagation to customer service, we help foster sustainable growth for our customers and contribute to the horticulture industry's advancement.

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