A reliable partner for generations

Westfort Vleesproducten is a family business that has specialised in pork processing for many generations. All our pigs come from Dutch farmers, many of whom are also running solid family businesses.

At our completely renovated location in IJsselstein, we process pork into hundreds of different products. Although we mainly serve our European home market, our pork specialties are exported all over the world, from Europe to Asia, Africa, America and Australia. In recent years, Westfort has developed into an innovative global company, where over 1,500 people work every day.

Our history

1935

Cees and Jaap Lunenburg start processing pork in their own slaughterhouse in Woerden.

1980

Egbert Kruiswijk starts his own meat business. On a daily basis, he cycles across Loenen and the surrounding area to slaughter pigs and cattle on site for farmers, processing the meat in a converted barn on his parents' farm.

1994

Lunenburg Vlees B.V. is established as an independent meat processing company in Oudewater. Inkoop Oudewater is established as a pork supplier in cooperation with cattle trader Jaap de Wit.

2003

The first pile is driven for a brand-new slaughterhouse in Gorinchem. This joint venture between Lunenburg and Kruiswijk is named Westfort, a combination of 'West' and 'Fort'. 'West' because it is the only pork slaughterhouse in the west of the Netherlands, and 'Fort' in reference to the motto of Gorinchem: Fortes creantur fortibus, meaning 'The strong breed the strong'.

2011

We jointly acquire a majority interest in the organic meat producer Deli Harmony owned by Henk van Oers. This marks the start of a line of organic products for Westfort.

2012

The Sustainable Pork Value Chain (KDV) is launched. The KDV is an independently operating chain promoting an integrated approach to animal health and welfare, and the environment. From 1997 to 2011, we operated in accordance with the requirements of Milieukeur, the Dutch environmental quality label.

2013

The companies Egbert Kruiswijk Vleesproducten and Lunenburg Vlees merge after many years of successful cooperation. They continue their operations jointly under the name Westfort Vleesproducten. The merger marks the start of one of the world's most cutting-edge meat processors with one of the most comprehensive product ranges.

2015

Completion of Stage I: the construction of a new hyper-modern slaughterhouse in IJsselstein with far-reaching innovations in animal welfare, automation, and energy recovery.

2017

Pork with Antibiotic-free Life Guarantee is launched. This is a great achievement for the KDV chain, largely thanks to our special partnership with the chain's farmers.

2018

Definitive breakthrough of the electronic ear tag. After years of research, Smart Farming technologies are ready for use in day-to-day operations. Through its use of these technologies, Westfort positions itself in the vanguard of Smart Farming worldwide.

2019

Start of Stage 2: the construction of a brand-new central processing facility with built-in cold-storage and freezing warehouse and a floor space of 38,000 m2. This state-of-the-art facility is expected to be fully operational by mid 2021.

Facts & Figures

100% Dutch — All of our pigs are born and bred on Dutch farms.

100% vpork — Our slaughterhouse processes pork exclusively.

personel — We employ more than 1500 people.

kilos — We process approximately 1200 tonnes of pork products daily. On an annual basis, this amounts to more than 300,000 tonnes.

revenue — The prices of pigs and pork can fluctuate considerably.

domestic-export — Consumers in different countries have different preferences. 65% of our products are sold to Dutch clients, while 35% is sold to clients all over the world.

concepts — Sustainable Pork from KDV, KDV Better Life, Antibiotic-free Life Guarantee, hand-selected by Patron, and Organic.

locaties — Westfort is based on 4 locations in the Netherlands including the new innovative slaughterhouse in IJsselstein and our location in Hedel.

Family business with a global presence