How it started...

Van Gerrevink has a rich history, which goes back to 1685: the year in which Dirck Werners van Gervinck is a paper maker in Vaassen (Gelderland, The Netherlands). However, the paper makers Van Gervinck became bankrupt in 1879 due to the significant increase in the use of modern machinery. Their mill got sold and with the money from the auction, Reinier van Gerrevink (1831-1891) could start again from scratch.

He started a business in rags, skins, waste paper, and bones, and after his passing in 1891, firstly his wife, and later on his sons Derk (1871-1920) and Reinier (1873-1947) took over. In 1900, the company name was changed to ‘Gebr. van Gerrevink’ (‘Van Gerrevink Bros’).

Around 1925, the son of Derk van Gerrevink, Reinier van Gerrevink (1907-1944) got incorporated in the business. During the Second World war (1944) Reinier got arrested for helping persons in hiding and allied pilots and was executed by the German Sicherheitsdienst. In memory of this event, Reinier’s name is – together with a number of others – immortalized on a monument on the ground of ‘s Heerenloo, Apeldoorn. After ‘25, his sons Reinier (1911-1990) and Jacob Derk (1922-2009) formed the new management.

The business on the Nieuwstraat was expanded and renovated multiple times, until the company, after various negotiations with the local authorities, settled on the current location (Sint Maarten 2) in 1972. In 1991, the name ‘Gebr. van Gerrevink’ was altered to Van Gerrevink B.V.; this mainly happened because of the entry of a non-family member to the board of directors. Together with Rinke van Gerrevink (1952-2012), Dick Klein Geltink is responsible for further developing the company into the modern business it is today.

By now, in the person of Marc van Gerrevink, the fifth generation of Van Gerrevink has made its entry in the board, which is further formed by Dick Klein Geltink and Adriaan de Putter.