From grower to exporter

" Important in our work is the personal relationship with the grower and the client"

In the ‘80s, I started as a grower in the western part of Holland, called Westland. The glasshouse was a family business where we grew various fruits and vegetables: cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, endive, etc. In that time I drove the truck with our vegetables to the auction.

A lot has changed in the world of fruit and vegetables: the emergence of grower associations, central sorting and a larger scale of production. In the 90s we have founded our own grower association, called Skyline. The resulting trade attracted me so much and I have chosen to sell our glasshouse and continue with the trade of fruit and vegetables.

 

Besides the grower association Skyline, we founded our import and export company VMP 10 years ago. In the early years, we were focussing in particular on the import and export of vegetables. But, due to customer demand, we gradually started to import and export various other products. At this moment, our focus is the entire spectrum of fruit and vegetables. Since three years, for example, we have our own import and export of Turkish citrus fruits and vegetables. This is a great addition in the winter season.

What we consider important in our work is the personal relationship with the grower and the client. We work with short Lines to the grower, what makes our clients very satisfied. This openness and product knowledge are strengths of VMP.

We also focus actively on the English market, where Peter Grootscholten shares his knowledge and experience at the service of VMP. He focuses on the specific requirements relating to product development, food safety and certification.

We have obtained access to the Turkish market in collaboration with Ruhi Ayyildiz. His family business is the link between the Turkish supply en export to VMP. This fruitful collaboration provides a wide range of products.

Diana Koppenol ensures that the administration is conducted in an appropriate manner. This means that we can speak of an organized and proper handling of financial accounting and tax issues. Work together with BDO and Atradius.

We expect in the future a normal and healthy growth of VMP. My son Lennart, has recently been employed. His commitment, vision and serious approach are a welcome addition for the company.