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When he startedgrowing bed-ding plants for ahobby in 1943,Ray Olson did
not know he was cultivating whatwould become one of the largestbedding plant operations in theIntermountain West. With severalgreenhouses built at the San-taquin, Utah, location, the hobbyblossomed into what is nowknown as Olson’s GreenhouseGardens. But like so many green-
house operations, there was noroadmap or design to pave theway: Growth simply led to furthergreenhouse additions.
The original Santaquin opera-tion became “a hodgepodge ofbuildings with no real rhyme orreason as to why we did things,”described Bart Olson, the currentowner/operator of Olson’sGreenhouse Gardens. As the mar-ket expanded and with son Chadand son-in-law Brian at Olson’sside, there were discussions about
buying more land to add to the15.7-acre tract and again augment-ing the 602,000-sq.ft. greenhouseconglomeration. But the threewanted to start from scratch: “Wewanted to draw it out on paper, tohave a master plan and say, ‘Thisis where we want to be someday,’” explained Olson.
These thoughts began to sim-mer in 2002, and the search fornew ground led to Salem, Utah, 10miles north of Santaquin, wherethe company purchased 68 acres.Gradually, they put the desiredoutcome of their build on paper.“My son-in-law is a pretty gooddraftsman, and we just startedtalking it through and drawing,”said Olson. Once their vision wasconceptualized, the team started toinvest time and research intochoosing exactly what they wantedfor the new range.
Making Informed DecisionsTo observe firsthand how oth-
ers in the industry were incorpo-rating the various elements theywanted for their new site, Olsonand team embarked on a summer-long circuit of greenhouse facili-ties across the United States “Wejust talked to different peopleabout how they had done things,what they liked and didn’t like,”explained Bart.
The process was not as simple
as picking and choosing products,because one factor impinged onanother to affect decisions. Therewere some operational elementsthey knew they wanted, such as apad-and-fan cooling system. The350-ft. greenhouse length was setby determining the maximumlength of boom irrigation theycould install and yet still pullenough air with the pad-and-fansystem. Olson also chose aboomerang system for hangingbaskets after checking with themanufacturer ahead of time tomake sure the system wouldextend the 350-ft. length.
The team resolved the concrete-versus-gravel issue when theyconsidered how much more effi-cient the operation would run onconcrete — from production topulling orders to shipping. “Inour minds, concrete was a lotmore expensive, but it would payfor itself fairly quick with laborsavings,” recalled Olson.
Choosing The Right Structure
After deciding which greenhouseelements were important to them,the three considered greenhousestyles and structures. Natural venti-lation was a must. Olson considereda gutter-to-gutter open-roof green-house style as well as the NexusDual-Atrium greenhouse, which �
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TToopp:: Olson chose a boomerang system for hanging baskets once he made sure the system would extendthe 350-ft. length of his greenhouse. BBoottttoomm:: Currently, Olson grows on the floor; he eventually plansto put in some kind of system to move plants more efficiently. (Photos: Nexus Corporation)
By Clare Adrian
To avoid a hodgepodge of buildings at their new site,the growers at Olson’s Greenhouse Gardens created a master plan for their new Salem, Utah, build.
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has two vents per house, each ofwhich opens 4 ft. from the gutterand then outward to 85º.
Once the Olson team narrowedtheir options, they took a final lookat the different greenhouse manu-facturers’ pros and cons. Pricinghad to be an issue but not the onlyfactor. They looked for reputablecompanies and met with represen-tatives of each to see who couldbest meet their needs.
“We asked others if the compa-nies were good to work with. Ifsomething goes wrong, would [thecompany] follow through? We satdown with each company to makesure their products would workwith our design.” Ultimately, theNexus representatives worked outall the details to meet Olson’s crite-ria from ventilation specificationsto structural components to pric-ing needs.
“We felt that the Nexus stylewouldn’t restrict us,” said Olson.“We would still get the air move-ment and everything we needed forless per square foot. At the time, itwas a new greenhouse, only out fora year or so. We consulted with peo-ple that went through one entireseason with it, and they said itworked great.”
Payback ConsiderationsAs ideas came together, another
step was to consider the endeav-or’s cost. With quality and effi-ciency in the forefront, the teamprojected the cost, payback timeand labor savings of the entireproject. As Olson realized, “Whenyou are building a brand newfacility, you’re guessing because
you’ve never pulled an order inthis facility before, and you don’tknow for sure how much laboryou’re going to save.”
Their calculations projectedthey would triple their labor effi-ciency with the new facility. Butthey also wanted to know howquickly all the components theywanted would pay for themselves.“We knew we could sell the plants.And with the cost accountingmethods we use, we knew ourprofit margins and the loan on thebuilding, so we knew we could doit,” explained Olson.
Keeping ControlThe element of control — moni-
toring the operation as a wholeplus all the individual activities inthe greenhouse — was a vital com-ponent to the design of the green-house. Olson told his Nexus repre-sentative, “I want to stand at oneend of the facility and look to theother end and be able to see everyemployee.” The solution was fourglass walls between the differentclimate zones.
Olson is pleased with the holis-tic viewing capability and ease ofdoing inventory. He also likes thathis workers are protected from theelements the minute they walkthrough the front door. The offices,warehouse, loading docks, ship-ping area, staging area and green-house production area are allunder one roof. “Whether rain,wind, snow or 100° F temperatures,his crew does exactly what theydid the day before without MotherNature affecting them at all,”explained Tom Tinsman, Nexus
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The Nexus Dual-Atrium greenhouse has brought the Salem operation closer to the level ofefficiency that Olson and his team are striving to reach.
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Corp. At the Santaquin facility,employees have to work in the ele-ments and might be in the rainpulling and assembling orders.
To Tinsman, Olson is a modelgrower, and he recommends othergrowers visit Olson’s to observehow Olson has evolved his opera-tion. “Bart is doing exactly whatgrowers in the North should do.”To address heating expense con-cerns, Olson uses insulated blan-kets, high light covering and effi-cient bottom heat. With his ownelectricians and plumbers on staff,he is in a constant state of mainte-nance. According to Tinsman,Olson has less viral and bug prob-lems with the concrete flooring andbecause he keeps his facility sterile,well swept and in good order.“Bart is the cleanest grower in my2-state territory,” said Tinsman.“He does a wonderful job. Even inhis busiest time, his place is prettymuch immaculate.”
An Ongoing Plan The Nexus Dual-Atrium has
brought the Salem operation closerto the level of efficiency that Olsonand his team are striving to reach.Eventually, the entire 68-acre par-cel is destined for greenhousedevelopment.
At this point, 10 acres of the tractare occupied by 450,000 sq.ft. ofgreenhouse, comprised of a 130,000sq.ft. of Nexus greenhouse built in2003, a 200,000 sq.ft. flat-roof build-ing constructed in 2004 and the lat-est 100,000 sq.ft. Nexus Dual-Atrium, which was built last year.
According to Tinsman, Olson’soperation is state of the art for cold,high-light, open-roof growing usingtwinwall. It has outdoor weatherstations that are all computerizedand programmed into a Performa,exactly to Olson’s specifications.
Olson is enjoying his latest laborof love and preparing for severalphases of the overall plan that areyet to come. “We’ve laid this facili-ty out so we can add other thingsdown the road. We eventuallywant to put in a Dutch tray systemor some kind of system to moveplants more efficiently. We growright on the concrete floor. That’s alabor savings because I can wheelmy shipping racks where I want togo, right to the product.”
While the whole piece of proper-ty is laid out for greenhouse devel-opment, Olson is ready for a rest.When the next construction phasewill occur is uncertain, but Olsonsaid it definitely will not be in 2007.When it does occur, the plan is in
place. Shipping will eventually bepositioned at the opposite end ofproduction at roadside. Currently,the warehouse area is big enoughfor both, but the drainage andcatch basin are laid out for futuregrowth. “We know where we are
going, but not when we will go,”said Olson.
Clare Adrian is a freelance writerbased in Columbia, Mo. She can bereached at [email protected] or(573) 356-0375.
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