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A LARGER INTERNATIONAL MARKET

Ruud has been a strong force in the VAEX family for sixteen years now. With lots of enthusiasm and extensive knowledge and experience, he has shipped out numerous pigs and piglets during his time at VAEX so far. His affinity for the world of farming is a family thing. He previously ran a regional pig and piglet trading business with his father and brother. With their small fleet of lorries, they primarily served farmers from Germany and the Benelux countries. But the international market also appealed to Ruud. After meeting Dirk, Pim, and the rest of the Govers family, he decided to join VAEX with all his staff and lorries. At VAEX, he got a lot of freedom to put all his ideas into practice. He grabbed challenges with both hands and ultimately became a proud and key player in VAEX's sales team.

What do you think the pig and piglet market will be like in 5 years’ time?

With the tightening of existing legislation and regulations and the introduction of new restrictions on cattle farming in the Netherlands, quite a number of farmers will decide to pack it in over the coming years, meaning that there will be fewer pigs in our country. Besides that, regulations for long-distance transport have also been tightened in the Netherlands. How this will affect the market remains to be seen, but I don’t think it will make things easier. We are also increasingly seeing animal rights activists targeting our industry, which has put our entire industry in the spotlight. These three factors make that we need to start focusing on a larger international market. We are, in fact, already doing that in Denmark and Germany, but how to handle this further and how to grow in the international market... that will be the real challenge!

What is the biggest blunder you’ve made at work?

One day, during the loading of a shipment of pigs in Eastern Germany, I realised that my car door had locked. I couldn't open it, because the key was locked inside, in the boot. We called German roadside assistance, but they couldn’t help us either. After we broke a window to get in, we realised we had no other option than to have the spare key sent over by international parcel service. In my overalls and Crocs, I had to wait for the package to arrive the next day. Luckily, the local farmer gave me fifty euros to, in my overalls and Crocs, go eat a schnitzel and check into a hotel for the night.