History
 |
 |
 |
1939 |
Grower Carl Jepsen buys five hectares of land at Norring Mølle, north of Aarhus in Denmark. |
1962-63 |
Carl Jepsen's son, Knud Jepsen, takes over half the nursery with his wife Ellen. The couple establish a new nursery, comprising four 550m2 greenhouses, for the production of cucumbers, begonias and kalanchoës. In the years that follow, the nursery is expanded to 14,000m2 to meet growing demand for kalanchoes. |
1975 |
Knud Jepsen purchases an additional nursery in Søften, a neighbouring village. This increases the size of the nursery to 23,000m2 and output by 50%. |
1982-85 |
A new 1,200m2 stock plant department is built. Construction of a 4,430m2 breeding department then follows. Modern, more cost-effective greenhouses replace those built by Carl Jepsen in 1947. |
1990 |
Faced with growing competition from the Netherlands, the nursery starts its biggest investment ever - a 38,000m2 extension. The first phase includes automated production facilities with computer-controlled temperature, humidity, CO2 application and sprinkling. |
1993 |
The nursery establishes two of the first local combined heat and power plants, meeting 77% of the nursery's heating needs. |
1994-95 |
Queen® is introduced at a Danish exhibition - the first kalanchoe brand on the market. A new greenhouse department is built to accommodate growing exports of cuttings to the US, Canada and Japan. |
1997-98 |
Knud Jepsen hands over the reins to his son Frands Jepsen, who becomes managing director and co-owner. Frands Jepsen increases the total stock plant area to 27,000m2 and adds a new packing area, innovation centre, and administration and canteen building. |
2001 |
The introduction of Queen® RoseFlowers revolutionises the kalanchoe market. |
2002-2008 |
The nursery in Søften is modernised and several large extensions added at the Norring and Søften sites. |
2009-10 |
Two unique, new variants are added to the Queen® range - Queen® WildFlowers and Queen® MoreFlowers. |
Today |
Queen® is a leading kalanchoe brand, produced by one of the world's top award-winning breeders. Horticulture companies around the world pay royalties for the varieties developed in the Queen® innovation centre. |
 |
 |
 |