In 2017, Altena Potatoes moved to Veen, the Netherlands, after having packed and sorted potatoes from Wijk and Aalburg for years – the Schouten family has been active in the potato trade for 90 years. On Saturday 20 May, the Schouten family used the occasion to present their new location to their relations by means of a well-visited open day. About 350 people from the potato sector visited, after about 500 people from the neighbourhood visited the company in the morning.
Eddy, Kees and Joop Schouten
“The activities have increased considerably particularly in the past 15 years. When we came across this building, we therefore took the chance,” Kees told those present. He said he was proud of his brother Joop, who took care of all of the logistics in the new building, from reception to shipping. He also thanked his colleague traders Jac van den Oord, Jansen-Dongen and Quiks, for the help they offered during the move to the new building, for example. All of the colleagues made sure everything looked splendid, and colleague Andries Mans was thanked in particular, who worked day and night with Joop to make sure everything was in its place, as was daughter-in-law Nathalie, who organised the day perfectly.
All details were thought of…
Kees, 66, and Joop Schouten, 67, are the third generation of the family company that’s been active in the potato trade for decades. When son Eddy, 35, made his entrance in the company a few years ago, the brothers – who aren’t even considering retiring yet – decided that it was time for an investment in the new building. At the new location, they’re using the opportunity to immediately extend the building with 1,100 square metres so a new sorting line can be installed.
Altena has five cooling cells, which can each store 400 tonnes of potatoes. In the former barrel warehouse, the packing machines have now been set up. The company also invested in a modern weighbridge with a capacity of up to 70 tonnes; after weighing the customers are sent an automatic email with the weight. In total, the building has a surface of 6,500 square metres, and an additional five hectares of adjacent land were included in the purchase.
Management and staff
Altena Potatoes supplies potatoes to both national and international customers. Last Saturday, a lot of their relations therefore came to Veen to congratulate the potato family. The family company also imports. They’re active with productions in France, Spain and Malta, among other countries, to have as extensive a range as possible. Altena managed to build a good reputation with potatoes from Malta over the years. Supplier Raphael Scerri was therefore put in the limelight on Saturday, because of their fifteen-year cooperation.
Supplier Raphael Scerri from Malta
Please click here for a photo report of the open day.
For more information:
Kees Schouten
Altena Potatoes
Veensesteeg 15
4264 KG Veen , the Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0) 416 39 25 65
Mobiel: +31 (0) 6 53 12 74 88
kees@altena-bv.nl
www.altenapotatoes.com