Organic Trade Company Holland is celebrating its 10th anniversary on the 1st of April, 2014. In those ten years, OTC-Holland, an importer and exporter of organic fruit and vegetables from the Netherlands and other countries, has evolved into a company with a workforce of 22 and branches in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States. At the head of the company are Fred Kloen and Edward Out. This year they will also be celebrating their 12.5th anniversary of organic entrepreneurship. 12.5 years ago: young, ambitious and full of ideas. The changes that were taking place in the organic market at that time made them both think: “Things can be done differently, better.” And that’s precisely what happened ...
Young and ambitious
Fred and Edward both ended up in the organic sector by chance when they were in their twenties, Fred as a salesman and Edward as a purchaser. Their shared interests, passion for their work and confidence in the development and professionalisation of the organic sector forged a close bond that was later to form the basis for the establishment of their own company: Tellus Produce B.V.
Then and now
The organic market has become a lot more professional in recent years. Lines between producers and consumers have become shorter, and substantially more products have become available. Whereas ten years ago, fruit and vegetables from the Netherlands and Belgium were still the basis at OTC-Holland, today the company’s range is much wider, and OTC-Holland has had to push back frontiers both literally and figuratively. The growing demand for a wide, year-round range of produce has led to OTC-Holland being active all over the world.
The future
Fred Kloen is very optimistic about the future: “There’s still plenty of room for development in the market, and together with our employees, suppliers and customers we will be able to raise this fascinating market to the next level in a sustainable way. Our aims are to further strengthen our market position and further improve our services. We hope to make improvements in, for example, distribution and packaging, and we want to create a digital portal to enable suppliers/buyers to consult relevant documents. OTC-Holland aims to be a full partner for both retailers and organic specialists. After a crisis of five years the end of the tunnel seems to be in sight. A period of economic slump which, just like the recession that followed 9/11, has once again not affected our sector or our company. That gives us great faith in the future. ” The managers of OTC-Holland would like to thank everyone who has in one way or another contributed towards the company’s success. “We hope that we will be able to enjoy this beautiful market together for many more years to come! Without our employees, suppliers, customers and service providers we would not be celebrating this anniversary today.”
