Rosa Flora rebuilding

One of the biggest employers in Haldimand County is slowly rebuilding. Two weeks after a massive fire caused tens of millions of dollars in damage — Rosa Flora Greenhouses has bought new space. They acquired Peter Bulk Greenhouses in Welland. So what does this mean for the Dunnville based company?

40% of Rosa Flora’s operations were affected when a raging inferno destroyed their green houses and offices on March 6th. However Rosa Flora wasted no time with its reconstruction efforts.

Joshua Bulk is a co-owner: “We started three days after the fire — we started pulling stuff out of plant five which was the least amount damaged.”

The fire investigation is now closed and the cause of the fire is undetermined.

“It’s heartfelt to see all the people that surround you, but its also devastating half your biz has been destroyed and half your heart is missing.”

In an effort to provide one locally grown flower in particular, Rosa Flora bought Peter Bulk Greenhouses in Welland.

“We needed to establish a presence in our snap dragon market and the only way to do so was to purchase another business.”

The greenhose that Rosa Flora bought in Welland is about 30 minutes away. But it means the company gets to add 90,000 sq. ft. of greatly needed growing space.

“We like to say in the office ‘it’s the new normal’ so this is how were doing business now. It’s going to be different, but we want to service our customers to the best of our ability.”

One of the concerns about this fire was the harm to the environment. We know the MOE has issued a provincial order to Rosa Flora. It’s an agreement that outlines their remediation obligations. It was issued by the ministry on March 12th. Right now, the first deadline Rosa Flora must meet is to present a plan on how to remove affected soil and sediment from the area by the end of March.

We know Rosa Flora has hired a consultant and that Rosa Flora will be financially responsible for all remediation costs. The ministry today said that the analytical results for water samples they took are still pending.