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itizen -- Fuesday, JR 1991 Flower auctions: the sweet -§mell of successful bidding Even at 5:15 in the morning, ene is*almost overwhelmed by the sight. Flowers. Everywhere the cye moves. Flowers of every kind and description, every hue and colour, Though the colours and, the delicate fragrance are a delight 10 he senses; (even at 5:15 in the morning) most of the people walking around the huge cement tloor warehouse are there for one reason: to buy flowers and green plants. The Ontario Flowers Growers Association Auctioh is a big business that just happens 10 be in flowers. Three mornings cach week, wholesalers and retailers start, arriving at the auction building about 5 a.m. The building is located in a dreary industrial sec- #=ion of Toronto, west of the International Airport. The business starts carly and hat business is flowers. The buyers move quickly around the hundreds of carts two-tier carts tat contain the * flowers. They are checking to see which ones they'll bid on when the actual auction starts at 6am, Ron Redman of Port Perry is one of those buyers. He's bee making this carly morning trip to the May a least once a week since he and his wife Eva bought Ives Florists sevéfal years ago. Former owner Vic Ives intro- duced Ron to the flower auction, showed him what to look for before the auction starts, and how the "Dutch Auction" bid- ding works, a system that is a bit complicated to the first time visitor. It's the largest auction of its kind in Ontario and it's fair 10 assume that most of the fresh cut flowers and*plants bought in florists shops-all-over Ontario made their way their way through thigauction. * At 6 a.m, the buyers (retail and wholesale only) are in their seats in the aucgibn hall! * At the front of the hall are two large clocks. Thg Tarts, laden with flowers, mdyc into the auction hall vil conveyor belts in the fJoor, and the bidding starts, Unlike some auctions, there is no shouting of bids er the twang of an auctioncer's voice. Everything is done clectroni- cally. The "buyers sit-at what look like, school desks equipped with an electronic button system. The flower laden carts, are num- bered and the buyers know ahead of time what carts they w want to purchase. from. PORTRAIT SITTING 1 - 8x10" Print Offer ends Oct. 31/91 Drop by for details. » WIN a FAMILY (Maximum 4 People) yn PHOTOGRAPHY Located at Perry Street, Port Perry between the Royal Bank & L.C.B.0. PASSPORTS While-U-Wait 985-1415 ONE HOUR PHOTO FINISHING "Same Day Service at No Extra Charge' CUSTOM FRAMING - ALBUM CAMERAS - PHOTO RCOESSORIES ALCAN "DOORS & WINDOWS z5 i ALCAN CASH & CARRY on all products for those - DO-IT-YOURSELFERS ~~ - . * 5" We supply and install all our products, at your request! For Free Estimate contact - ROB ALLEN or MIKE ALLEN Allen's : Siding = Products |... FN Building Products cam Limited SALES & INSTALLATION | DOORS - WINDOWS - TROUGH - ADDITIONS - SOLARIUMS LINDSAY (705) 328-1402 (705) 878-2023 OSHAWA (416) 434-0047 Reach Industrial Patk - Regional Road 8 (1/4 Mile East of No. 12) * STEEL * VINYL * ALUMINUM * SIDING & SOFFIT SEAMLESS EAVESTROUGH PORT PERRY (416) 985-3333 ° "lots of roses, mums, snap drag- When the buyer wants to bid, he/she presses a button on the desk and the price is recorded, along with the quantity and the buyer's number. It all happens in the blink of an eye. Ron says you have to be on your toes to get the flowers you want at the price you want to pay. "If youssnoeze, you lose," is the way he sums it up. The initiah auction price is set by the growers and often if a bid price falls too low, the grower will jump in with a higher price to protect his prod- uct. The big clocks blink away recording prices and buys. + It's all very confusing at first, but thegnore than 200 buy- ers in the room seem cool and calm. Rop said the prices are totally dependent on the age-old law of supply and demand. If flowers come onto the floor that buyers want badly, the bidding starts immediately. * And the week before impor- bids are made). See story. etic Above, Ron Redman appears pleased with his selection of flowers that morning. Below, a cart laden with flowers on the auction block (above the cart Is the clock which shows Price changes as tant "flower events" such as Mothers Day, Easter, Valentines and Christmas, Ron says the bidding is frenzied, a seller's market with sky high prices. By 7:30, Ron has made his purchases for the morning. He takes his number to the cashier where everything he bought has been recorded electronically and punched onto.a computerized " invoice. He pays and heads to the warehouse to pick up the ons and various plants, loads them into the back of the van for the trip homg to Port Perry. Ron said it's more than worth it for him to get up at ° three in the morning and drive * to the auction."He can personal- ly inspect the flowers he wants to make sure they are top quali- ty, and he can look for flowers from particelar growers. He almost always buys Sweetheart Roses, for example, from the same grower. And by bidding, he has'some eontrol over price, rather than buying from wholesalers. After a quick stop at a wholesalers to pick up a special order of roses, Ron is on his way back to Port Perry, the van filled with fresh flowers and plants.And next "Bhursday morning about three o'clock, he'll start the.same thing all over again, s THE REGIONAL HO) MUNICIPALITY Sau OFDURHAM 7» HOLIDAY CLOSURE OF - SANITARY LANDFILL SITE "The CARTWRIGHT TRANSFER STATION and the SCUGOG, . TRANSFER STATION will be closed on Monday, October 14; 1991, for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday. ® Normal aperations will resume on Tugsady, October 15, 1991. : VA. SILGAILIS, P.ENG. COMMISSIONER OF WORKS No scraps! The winners of the Port Perry High School composting contest and garbageless lunch contest showed their environment talents by devouring their pizza prizes in: record time. Pizza Delight generously donated the food for this scientif- ic experiment. Not one scrap of pizza left for the landfill! The cardboard 'boxes and-pop tins went directly to the recycling bins. This awareness week has helped us all remember the 3 R's. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Key words which will improve our future environment,