Rene Mulder, Director
Born “between the roses” of his father’s rose farm in Holland in 1967, Rene Mulder has a long association with high quality roses. Together with his father, Rene worked to ensure that the roses from De Driesprong were nothing but the best – something particularly important when supplying special orders for the likes of Queen Beatrix (Holland), President Francoise Mitterand (France), Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom) and for other exclusive events.
One aspect that set De Driesprong apart from all other farms was its early adoption of all new technology: From lighting and humidity control systems to grading and postharvest machinery and even packing and wrapping equipment, Rene and his father sought out innovative ways to serve the needs of their customers.
When Rene began running De Driesprong on his own in 1993, he began travelling the world to learn how other growers had expanded their farms. While he was very impressed with what he saw in Ecuador, transporting flowers from South America to Europe was just too expensive. He continued his search until one day he visited the slopes of Mount Kenya. There he found an excellent location at just the right elevation (2450 meters above sea level), complete with an ideal combination of climate, humidity and infrastructure.
Today, this location is Batian Flowers, home to the world’s finest large headed roses.
George Murikunki, Farm Manager
One of the first workers at Batian, George has learned the rose business quite literally from the ground up. As Batian’s manager, George is responsible for security; maintaining our supplies of fertilizer, chemicals and packing materials; and making sure that every technical aspect of the farm (including water pumps, cars, trucks, irrigation equipment and much more) continue to run smoothly.
Dirk Looy, Production Manager
Dirk and Rene first worked together in 1994, when Dirk joined De Driesprong in Holland. While he eventually became the farm manager, in 2005 he and Rene made the difficult decision to close to the 32-year old farm due to the extremely high production costs in the Netherlands.
Dirk then moved down to Kenya to continue his work with Rene at Batian. As Production Manager he controls the production, quality, post harvest, pack house, irrigation programs, pesticide control, crop management, propagation unit, and the test area for new varieties.
Pricilla, Head of Human Resources Department
After working for another big farm in Kenya, Pricilla joined Batian in 2003. She brings a lot of expertise with labour issues and is key is finding and keeping our excellent staff.
Lawrence, Head of Accounts
A member of the Batian family since 2006, Lawrence is responsible for our accounts.
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