Inspired by other sectors and by thinking creatively, the brothers, along with Wilfried Martens and Patrick Franke, are the driving force behind Nova Lignum. Sustainable business is the objective of the 'Green Brothers’, as their eggplant nursery is called.

The company devised a new technology, using the fibres of the harvested eggplant (or other green waste products) to be recycled into high-quality environmental cladding with a long service life. Johan Groenewegen, one of the brothers, said, "The cladding combines the advantages of wood, fibre cement and plastic. This process, which we call petrifaction, uses but little energy, making it very friendly to the environment.”

Eggplant fibers, roadside grass or reeds as building material, may sound almost too green to be true. However, the process is said to be showing great potential. Groenewegen adds that by 2020, the company’s goal is to make 80% of a prefab house from Nova Lignum products. While the business is still in its start-up phase, he says that the potential is already there.