Our story

Over 100 years of history in animal nutrition

Meet our CEO's

De Heus Animal Nutrition is led by the fourth generation of the De Heus family. Koen & Co de Heus both have the role of CEO and lead the company together.

“Every day, we work towards creating better access to safe and healthy food for a growing world population. We do so by providing our customers with the products and services they need to look after their animals and manage the sustainable development of their businesses.”

How it all started

The milling history of the De Heus family can be traced back 300 years to the windmill in the famous painting of Jacob van Ruisdael ‘The mill at Wijk bij Duurstede’.

From the very start of De Heus family business, heritage and stewardship have been key

More than a century ago, on 28 April 1911, Hendrik Antonie de Heus founded his grain and flour trading company De Heus Graan- en Meelhandel. Several generations later, his company had become a global player in the world of animal feed. From the very start of the family business, values such as heritage and stewardship have been key, moulded into the way they think and operate. Meanwhile, the 4th generation is taking responsibility for the future. The company has always stuck to its conviction that you need to cherish what you have and take care of your business, while keeping an eye on the future. So that the company can be transferred from one family generation to the next, responsibly, and in a viable condition.

Our passion for progress

Our company culture is characterised by passion for progress. Driven by this passion, we have always focused on the needs and interests of our international livestock and fish farmers. The agricultural sector is always in motion, and the needs of our customers change accordingly. We can only continue contributing to our customers' progress if we can adopt new developments fast and flexibly. Speedy decisions, actions and implementation are therefore key features which connect the past and present of De Heus and which will continue to be key in the future.

At De Heus, we are proud that we have been a family business for over one hundred years. We believe in holding on to our people for as long as we can and building a relationship with them. This enables us to better achieve the transfer of knowledge and expertise to each subsequent generation. And maintain De Heus’ heritage. Many of our customers also work in a (farming) business with a family structure. As a result, there is great mutual loyalty. We are happy to share our knowledge, experience and innovations with them. At De Heus, we have known for decades that sharing means multiplying.

Worldwide support for livestock farmers and fish farmers in their business development

With dozens of country locations and more than 90 plants all over the world - from Europe to Asia and from South America to Africa - and exports to more than 70 countries, as a family business, De Heus Animal Nutrition has become a global producer of high-quality animal feed, producing compound feed, concentrates, premixes and special feed for different animal groups, including poultry, swine, ruminants, fish and shrimp. Worldwide, we supply our animal feed to livestock farmers and fish farmers – the producers of meat, fish, milk and eggs. In response to the growing global population and rising living standards, agricultural activities involving food production will continue to increase. De Heus responds to that growing demand for animal protein among an increasingly large part of the global population by particularly investing in those countries where we can play a prominent role in the further development of livestock & aquaculture farming. Stimulating local production and making optimal use of locally available nutrients. Here, too, De Heus tries to respond wherever possible to the welfare growth and progress of the local farmers.

Knowledge sharing is key

We share our knowledge and experience related to animal feed, livestock and fish farming and animal health with as many livestock farmers and fish farmers as possible all over the world. We provide livestock and aquaculture farmers with technical training in animal care, animal health, water and air management and on how to keep their livestock and aquaculture in the best possible condition. At De Heus, we call this targeted and supportive approach to the farm our 'on-the-farm approach'. As such, we contribute to the development, professionalisation and productivity improvement of local livestock farmers and fish farmers and help them innovate and become more sustainable so that they can respond to the future demand for food.