From start-up to a global market leader In 1967, cucumber grower Jan Koppert searched for a new solution for fighting pests and diseases as the pesticides he was using were less effective every year. He was the first to find and introduce a natural solution: a natural enemy, the Phytoseiulus persimilis mite, to combat spider mites. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and went looking for an alternative. While battling the notoriously stubborn spider mite he wondered what would happen if he introduced their natural enemy, the Phytoseiulus persimilis mite, to the crop. Not only did it work, it was much more effective than the chemical pesticides he’d relied on in the past! He decided to share his discovery with fellow growers, it worked for them too. And so, Koppert was born. 4
5 Online Touch History Home