Bloomaker USA plans to invest $2 million, create 98 jobs in Augusta County

A Waynesboro-based horticulture company is sprouting more than flowers.  Bloomaker USA Inc. announced Friday plans to invest $2 million and create 98 jobs as it triples its operation in the area.
 

The company, which has developed the new “long-lasting flowers” category, plans to build a new greenhouse and increase sales from $10 million to $25 million annually in five years. 

“We are excited for this investment, the partnership with Augusta County and continued growth for the floral industry,” said Joep Pasternostre, [resident of Bloomaker. “It is the marriage of Dutch entrepreneurship and the American drive and freedom that has created our success. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity that this great country has granted me.”

Pasternostre, the founder and owner of The Bloomaker Group, moved his horticulture business to the United States in 2002.

Bloomaker is increasing its capacity for growing, packing and shipping its patented “Long Life Tulips” and Amaryllis flowers, which bloom for four to eight weeks in the home. 

The company will work with Columbia Gas to extend a nearby natural-gas line, about one mile away, to the site.  This will help Bloomaker reduce the costs of heating the greenhouse. 

Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $50,000 grant from the Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund to assist with the project.  Through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, Bloomaker also will receive funding and services to support its training and retraining activities.

Earlier this year, Bloomaker was named to the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Fantastic 50, a list of the fastest-growing companies in the commonwealth.  Bloomaker was No. 22 on the list with a 196 percent growth rate from 2009-2012.