Horticultural Pellet Line for Growing Media Production — Installation Begins at Facility in the Netherlands

Installation has begun on a 3 t/h horticultural pellet production line at a growing media manufacturer's facility in the Netherlands, a country with one of the world's most developed horticultural and greenhouse production sectors and correspondingly sophisticated demand for growing media products.

Horticultural pellets in this context refer to compressed growing media components — in this buyer's case, a coir (coconut fiber) and peat-alternative blend, reflecting a broader shift in the Dutch horticulture sector away from peat-based media toward more sustainable alternatives, driven by both environmental policy and grower demand.

The pelletizing process here serves a different purpose than fuel or feed pelletizing — these pellets are designed to expand when wetted, similar in concept to how coir blocks expand when soaked, but in a smaller, more uniform pellet format suited to mechanized seeding and potting line equipment used by larger greenhouse operations.

Equipment includes a mixing stage (for blending the coir and peat-alternative components — in this case a wood fiber product — to the buyer's specified ratio), a fertilizer granulator machine configured for the lower-density, fibrous growing media material (different operating parameters than a typical biomass pellet mill, given the goal isn't maximum density but rather a pellet that holds together for handling while still being able to expand properly when wetted), and a controlled drying stage (the pellets need to retain enough structural integrity for packaging and transport but shouldn't be over-dried to the point where expansion characteristics are affected).

Pellet diameter is 8mm, sized for compatibility with the automated seeding line equipment used by the buyer's greenhouse customers.

Installation this week has focused on positioning the mixing and pelletizing equipment within the buyer's existing production hall — space was somewhat constrained, since the buyer is adding this pelletizing line alongside their existing growing media production equipment rather than building a new dedicated facility, requiring some adjustments to the original layout plan to fit around existing infrastructure.

Commissioning is expected to follow within the next two to three weeks, once positioning and electrical connections are finalized.