Koos Lamboo Dried Flowers

HISTORY OF KOOS LAMBOO DRIED & DECO

1982: the early years

Koos Lamboo started cultivating dried flowers - Rodanthe, Acroclinium, Statice surowi, Ridderspoor, Delphinium, Amaranthus, Helichrysum, Nigella - in early 1982. The company had an abundance of work in the summer, and then sold the dried flowers in the winter. In those days, dried flowers were in vogue in the Netherlands and the Dutch market was a good outlet for a starting company

1988: a significant year

In this year, Koos' son Jan became fully involved in the company as co-owner - director. Jan and Koos divided the tasks and began a cooperative relationship that has continued in harmony to this day.

The dyeing room was also set up in 1988, in response to increasing demand for dyed materials. Contact was established with domestic and foreign paint specialists; no one had the specific knowledge required for dyeing dried natural materials. Research and testing ensued. Nowadays, dyeing dried flowers is such an important component in the company that a special
'dye man' is responsible for the entire dyeing process. In our professional and innovative dye-works, years of experience are your guarantee of the most beautiful results that can be achieved in our industry.

Koos Lamboo Dried Flowers, as it was known at the time, began to export dried flowers. Though the Dutch market was on the decline, other countries with a lively demand for dried flowers beckoned. The first countries to which we exported were England, Norway and Belgium. In the years that followed, customers came from all over the world.

1995: import from Asia

To allow us to respond optimally to market changes and demands, we began to import custom-made products from China and India. Since that time, based on years of intensive cooperation with our Asian suppliers, we have established an extensive assortment of exotic decorative materials of the highest quality, at competitive prices. The dyeing and finishing of imported articles always takes place on our own premises.

1997: glitter & glamour

1997 was the year in which we began experimenting with a wide variety of Christmas finishings. Gold, silver, and glitter made their debut. The company's response was one of immediate change: one could no longer imagine our products without glitter and glamour, both literally and figuratively. In fact, over the course of time the Christmas assortment came to represent no less than 60 percent of our total sales.

1998: a real family company

In 1998, daughter Ruth entered the business. Thanks to her language skills, countries with a language barrier suddenly became potential markets. Export to France, Spain and Italy was in full swing, and continued to expand.

2000: ornamental picks and fresh flowers

Keeping time with the growth of our Christmas assortment was the increased demand of the larger flower exporters. They were seeking added value for their bouquets so that they could stand out in the market. We answered their question: "how can we make a Christmas article out of a bunch of flowers?" with a variety of products with Christmas finishing. The other theme days such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, etc., followed. Since that time we have constantly been searching for innovative and trendy 'picks' that give products added value. These days, one out of every three articles in our assortment ends up somewhere between fresh flowers and plants.

Now……… more than 25 years later

Over the years of its history, our company has evolved from a dried flower cultivator to a supplier of a wide range of natural decorative materials for the broadest conceivable range of customers: we supply the Netherlands’ largest flower exporters, window-dressers in Italy, wholesale florists in Paris, and a wide range of supermarkets, builder’s merchants, and garden centres throughout Europe. We develop consumer products, from concept to end product, in close collaboration with the customer.

Ready for the future!

Koos Lamboo Dried & Deco continues to hold a strong position in the market, partly thanks to its loyal customers who have provided input and have grown along with the company. We will continue to invest in sustainability. Sustainable products, sustainable relationships with our customers, and sustainable bonds with the people who work on our behalf: our employees, growers and foreign suppliers..

We are working on the certification of Asian suppliers with the so-called ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) certificate. This is an initiative the goal of which is to guarantee the working conditions of companies operating in the chain. If they meet the established requirements, they become certified.

In our company we use only 100% certified raw materials and paint products. All of our products are certified according to the so-called ‘Speelgoedbesluit’ (Toy Directive). The directive refers to the safety requirements that toys must meet and to the European standards for the production of safe toys.

Our company uses its very own water purification plant. Wastewater is cleaned and recycled or discharged safely via the sewage system.

We have always held a strong position with a good quality product and will work on maintaining that position in close cooperation with our employees, clients and suppliers.

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