At that time, we knew that Brazil was and would stay the biggest market in that region. Other markets are important but relatively small compared to the enormous market of Brazil. So a choice for Brazil was easily made and we concentrated on the area in which the lettuce, tobacco and other vegetables play an important role.

During the period of November 98 until February 99, we explored several sites in the São Paulo state area which could be optional places to put up a factory of Incotec. The most important issues to screen were the reliability of operations with regards to electricity, telephone, and other infrastructure needs, the agricultural environment, the benefits and level of support that could be expected from the local municipality, and the level of education of people in the area. We found our best options in the Holambra area, which also happenes to have a rich history with the Dutch.

From January 99 onwards, an engineering team became active to realise the set-up of this facility from blueprint to factory. We had a huge task to realise this in less than 9 months, since we wanted to be operational in October 99. The team made sure that a project plan was put together in which this demand was expressed based upon facts and commitments from suppliers, constructors etc.

In June 99 we saw the initiating of the foundation of a pre-cast structure. Despite some minor delays, construction proceeded on schedule. After very turbulent months of construction, imports, supplies etc., we were able to declare the facility "operational" on October 20^th 1999.

Meanwhile, for several positions, we selected people that met our high standards for this market in terms of commitment, commitment to customer service, and technical skills. Many of them went to Holland for training. Our pelleters stayed almost 3 months to be fully trained and well prepared for the needs of our South American customers. On top of that we had some exchange of skilled people from Holland to do the same on the spot. This procedure will continue until the required level of Incotec skills has been achieved.

The factory and its logistic set-up are prepared initially to produce all lettuce and tobacco coming from South America. In a second phase, it is easy to add a new building which can cope with all needs of the continent. Expansion will take place whenever the volumes are getting too high and the diversity of products will increase.

The weather on inauguration day was beyond expectation. We welcomed a bright and sunny day. The number of visitors reached a level of approximately 150-160, including many of our customers. The official program started with a number of speeches by Antonio Marino Brandão de Alemeida, Mayor of the Municipality of Holambra, Alejandro Rodriguez-Graue (President, Seminis Vegetable Seeds), Jan Willem Breukink (General Manager, Incotec Worldwide), and Henk Satter (General Manager, Incotec Brasil). We continued with a tour of the factory and showed the people the main part of it. We experienced a very pleasant exchange of information and had the impression that people were very satisfied with the plant, information and atmosphere. After concluding the tour we went to a restaurant in Holambra in which we enjoyed a well prepared buffet in an informal atmosphere.

We concluded the day and were happy to see that all preparations delivered a very good impression to our guests. We want to thank our customers, suppliers, colleagues and family for joining us.