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Application specific solutions!
Five TrueLeaf products for five different applications. That is what
Charles Schroeder has at his two facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
About three years ago with the need for floor and bench heat in his propagation
areas, Charles hooked up Starfin, Duofin, and HDX to his wood burning
boiler (which had once been a coal boiler, then an oil boiler, and now
a wood boiler). The HDX was for the floor heat, the Duofin for under
the bench heat, and the Starfin for additional house heat. Within the
last year, Charles has started to replace his forced air units
(of which he has 100) with Lennox units.
He recently realized he needed to add the Combustion
Air Separator to those units and has done so on the newest
units. These units are mainly used in his finishing area.
Last year, in order to heat a work area, Charles purchased
a TrueLeaf ERMAF direct-fired unit so that it would be
both portable and efficient.
The history of Schroeder’s
goes back to around 1898 when his great grandfather
came to Green Bay from
Germany bringing not only a love of
horticulture, but also of that great German beer.
The
first greenhouses were erected in around 1903 so the
family has celebrated over 100 years in the business.
Charles has a unique niche. |
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He provides “parking lot greenhouses” to a
variety of locations (many are near hardware stores where
they can offer the additional “tools” to take
care of the garden).
He has about 30 large greenhouses and 100 or so of the
smaller ones. By doing this marketing (unique color— bright
yellow) he assures himself of a captive market and many
of his
parking lot clients have been with him for over
20 years. Between his own retail space (with 2 acres of
greenhouses) and his parking lot clients, 90% of the products
produced (in his total of 9 acres of greenhouse) are retailed
through these outlets.
Charles also does a big business
in his retail store with plants and cut flowers.
He is a FTD florist, delivers
within a 10 mile radius, and has over 25 vehicles in
use for his more than 100 employees for delivery and
hauling. Charles participates enthusiastically in the
work program with international students. Currently he
has 10 employees in this program from around the world.
The next 100 years will see more changes and more opportunities
for TrueLeaf to add to the list of applications at Schroeder’s.
DuoFin under bench
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