NEWS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
In Memory of Cees Nijssen
By John Ackermann and Jan Lievens
CEES NIJSSEN 28 SEPTEMBER 1944
– 30 JULY 2020
A TRIBUTE FROM JOHN
ACKERMANN
After visiting South Africa from his
hometown of Leiden in Holland for the first
time in June 1998, Cees made many visits
to the country to share his experiences
and expertise in the post-harvest handling
of fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Cees followed in the footsteps of
his father who started his career as a
refrigeration contractor in Holland in
1948. The Netherlands being a major
international trading hub for fresh
produce, cut flowers and bulbs, there
were many that required the committed
services of Nijssen Refrigeration.
In 1964 Cees joined the family business
and soon afterwards the business invested
in its own experimental growing rooms
to research the impact of light intensity,
humidity, soil composition, environmental
temperature etc on the growth and
quality of products for which they
designed cooling systems.
Networking with local universities,
colleges, nurseries gained Cees wide
recognition for his expertise in humidity
and temperature control to enhance the
quality, appearance and shelf live of fresh
produce.
On his many visits to South Africa he
paid visits to growers and distributions and
as a true gentleman shared his expertise
and knowledge. After one visit, he even
developed, within their experimental
tunnel in Holland, a carton that would
reduce the cooling time of export table
grapes of a South African grower.
Cees was clear in his advice based
on years of research: start cooling the
product as soon as possible after harvest,
forced cooling with high humidity air
instead of at the lowest temperature and
good air circulation through the cartons.
With Cees it was not just talk, but action.
The Filacell system was one of the
products he introduced to prevent the
loss of product moisture content during
cooling. He often commented that he
had seen the best quality of fruit in South
African orchards, but that quality needed
to be transferred to export markets. He
advocated that the quality after weeks of
shipping should be the same as that in the
orchard or vineyard or nursery.
Cees was a true gentleman and always
presented himself well and was easy to
talk to. His sudden, but very peaceful
death, was received with much sadness.
May he rest in peace and we salute
him as a honoured icon in the extensive
field of post-harvest cooling and
technology.
John Ackermann
A TRIBUTE FROM JAN LIEVENS
For many years after his last visit to South
Africa, Cees remained in close contact
with Jan Lievens.
By coincidence and through a senior
manager of Trust Bank, we met in 1998.
Cees developed the Filacell and this
concept is to-date, still one of the most
revolutionary energy efficient cooling
systems for the precooling of fruit,
vegetables, and flowers.
Nobody up to now can cool for an
hour using energy for only 20 minutes.
From that moment on, he introduced me
John Ackermann
Cees Nijssen during a visit to Cape Town on
31 August 1999.
to the finer details of what postharvest
treatment really means and made me
realise that the value for the grower lies
in applying the correct technology with
the correct timing. From that moment on,
Cees ignited my postharvest technology
fire and I went on doing what I am doing
in becoming a specialist in this field with
an esteemed, information-sharing mentor.
Cees was and will always be unique.
More than 34 years ago, in 1986, he
patented as the first Dutch supplier, LED
plant growing lights. In joint research
with the University of Wageningen he
explored the potential of LED lights for
plant growth. He sold the ‘Nijssen Light
Division’ to a renowned worldwide
lighting manufacturer and Nijssen
concentrated on developing cutting
edge climate rooms.
I still remember vividly that the
daughter of one of the farmers who had
invested in a Filacell at the time, had a
school project to grow a vine. Cees gave
her one of his patented LED lights and
said: “You put your vine under that lamp
and look after it and just watch what it
will do to the growth.” Her plant outshone
every other plant in the school.
He came various times to South Africa
to give seminars, as he believed in sharing
information to the benefit of the industry
was the only way forward. Most South
African refrigeration engineers came to
the seminars to hear what he had to say.
Some of them are not here anymore or
are not active, but some of them still are
and will no doubt remember Cees.
The continuous drive for innovation
led to the phenomenal growth of his
company in various specialised fields.
Besides that, he was also of enormous
importance to the industry and the
local Dutch industry bodies. He was the
first to stress the importance on getting
a specialised technical education
academy going to train young
professionals in the refrigeration industry.
During one of our last cross-continent
conversations, Cees expressed his
concern that there is still a huge shortage
of qualified technicians.
Cees, I will never forget you and I will try
to continue the incredible work you did for
the industry. Even in our last conversation,
you again reminded me to continue with
your work.
Maybe he had a premonition that
his time left was short. Our sincere
condolences go out to his wife, Trix, his
three children and grandchildren. Rest in
peace my friend. CLA
Jan Lievens
Tragic loss of an icon:
Wayne Giles Refrigeration
The tragic death of Wayne (57) and
his wife Janique Giles (56) at their
home in Elandsfontein in the early
hours of Monday 3 August 2020, shocked
the industry to the core.
Wayne Giles Refrigeration is a highlyrespected
contractor and the sudden
death of Wayne is a great loss. As an
industry, we mourn the heavy loss of a
gentleman and his caring wife.
CLA
8
Our sincere condolences to the
Giles family for their loss.
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www.coldlinkafrica.co.za COLD LINK AFRICA • October 2020