It’s fair to say that Van Zyverden, Inc., is one Meridian business that is really “blooming.”

What started as a small family business in the Netherlands has evolved into one of the world’s largest wholesale flower bulb distributors, shipping approximately 450 million bulbs annually to the 50 states and Canada.

Some 135 community leaders heard Van Zyverden, Inc.’s remarkable story at a recent meeting of the Meridian Community College Foundation President’s Roundtable. The company’s chief executive officer, Jacqueline Van Zyverden Hogan, and members of her administrative staff told the gathering in MCC’s Dulaney Room about the company’s origin and dramatic growth, spurred by aggressive and ever-expanding marketing efforts.

“I’m really proud of the heritage and evolution of our company,” Jacqueline said. “We have tried very hard to maintain the same commitment to excellence that my great grandfather, Dirk Van Zyverden, had when he and his brother, Corstiaan, started the company in 1919.”

Meridian is typically identified with several famous figures, ranging from Jimmie Rodgers to Sela Ward to Sonny Montgomery to Hartley Peavey, but within its own industry Van Zyverden, Inc., has also helped to put Lauderdale County on the map. Besides operating a 425,000-square foot employee plant in the northeast sector of the county (constructed in 1973), Van Zyverden, Inc., also has two other 60,000-square foot facilities in Burlington, WA, and Sassenheim, Holland.

Considering its annual sales and 480-employee payroll, Van Zyverden, Inc.’s economic impact on the East Mississippi region is easily in the millions of dollars.

It’s big business, but Jacqueline emphasizes that it’s still a family business with strong family values. Robert, Jacqueline’s brother, serves as the company’s chief operating officer. The brother-sister duo began working in the business under their father, Paul, during school vacations.

Jacqueline and Robert, both of whom are alumni of MCC and Mississippi State University, joined the firm full-time in 1990 and 1993, respectively.

Their father retired in 1996, confident that his children were well-prepared to take the company to an even higher level.

They’ve done just that.



Tough job



Running a firm the size of Van Zyverden, Inc., is a demanding job, to say the least, but it’s not all-consuming for Jacqueline. Besides serving on numerous boards such as the Mississippi Arts & Entertainment Center and the Community Foundation of East Mississippi, she’s found time to birth two children, Alexa and Chandler, and design a new home adjacent to Northwood Country Club, staying close to one of her and husband Tim Hogan’s favorite hobbies — golf.

“Because our company is located out in the county, there are probably some local people who are not aware of the scope of our business,” Jacqueline said. “I doubt many people realize that we employ several hundred individuals, most of whom live right here in Lauderdale County. I love Meridian, and I’m proud that our company is a major contributor to the area economy.”

Jacqueline attributes the company’s phenomenal growth to the quality of its workforce.

“I’m blessed to work with some truly talented and totally committed professionals,” Jacqueline said. “Many of our key people have been with the company for the duration of their careers. They are very innovative and imaginative. That kind of talent and continuity has enabled us to keep the company on a high-growth path. And our people in the plant have a strong work ethic. They take great pride in getting our shipments out in a timely fashion.”



Continued growth



Jacqueline sees continued growth in the company’s future.

“We are constantly examining new methodologies in promoting our products, looking to add new products, and penetrating new markets,” she said. “Sometimes growth involves buying out smaller, yet successful competitor firms and sometimes it involves utilizing new technologies, such as Internet sales. We have been fortunate through the years to have made some astute, well-timed decisions in making acquisitions that have played out nicely for us.”

That may be an understatement. For instance in 2003, the company was producing 18.5 million packages annually. By 2005, that figure had already risen to 20.3 million. Annual sales have taken similar quantum leaps.

So far in 2006, the company has shipped out 1,512 full truck loads of merchandise and 6,345 limited truckloads, utilizing seven different carriers.

Those shipments supply colorful display racks of products all over the nation in major stores such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Lowe’s and Fred’s. Landscape contractors, growers, and independent garden centers, such as Meridian’s own Plant the Earth, are also important clients.

To showcase its products in such stores, Van Zyverden, Inc., has built 42,878 display racks in its own in-house lumber shop.



Not surprised



Jacqueline’s success has come as no surprise to people who know her. Kathy Brookshire, as an example, was Jacqueline’s first-grade teacher at Northeast Elementary School.

“She was my little Jackie back then,” Brookshire, now Executive Director of the MCC Foundation, recalls. “She was one of the brightest children I ever taught. I knew she was going to grow up to be something very special.”

Tommy Dulaney, owner of another of Meridian’s most successful businesses, Structural Steel, has worked with Jacqueline on the EMBDC Board of Directors.

“Jacqueline is an example of a highly competent CEO who took the baton from her father and ran with it,” Dulaney said. “Jacqueline, Robert and their team took a great company and made it greater still. It’s been a true blessing for Lauderdale County to have benefited from that kind of success.”

So, somewhere across America today there are people in a theater watching “The Guardian,” Sela Ward’s latest movie. There are other people buying Peavey amplifiers and guitars in far off states and countries, and there are yet others working in buildings supported by beams from Structural Steel. And there are also folks beautifying their homes and gardens with plants and bulbs from Van Zyverden, Inc.

All those people, whether they realize it or not, have an association with Meridian, and that’s something very special — thanks to leaders like Jacqueline Van Zyverden Hogan, Robert Van Zyverden, and their winning team.