180th anniversary of the company

A special anniversary year: the family business HAVENS is celebrating an impressive 180 years.

The family business traces its roots back to 1845, when Godfried Kaanen—ancestor of current directors Joris and Alex Kaanen—laid its foundations. He purchased a watermill in Vierlingsbeek, in the Dutch province of Brabant, marking the first step toward what would become a successful family enterprise. This decision turned out to be a wise one: thanks to its favorable location near the peatland area ‘De Peel’, there was always a steady water supply, allowing continuous operation of the watermill—an important advantage over other water- and wind-powered mills.

In 1923, the company moved to its current location in Maashees. At that time, the founder’s grandsons, Godfried Kaanen Jr. and his half-brothers Harrie and Martin Havens, took over the company and established a grain trading business: J.P. HAVENS Graanhandel NV. To this day, this remains the official company name of HAVENS. In the 1930s, the first grain silo was built in Maashees, enabling the purchase and transport of grain shipments via the river Maas.

HAVENS was not spared during the Second World War: the entire company was destroyed and had to be completely rebuilt in the post-war years. In 1947/1948, the first silo was reconstructed, this allowed for bulk deliveries of raw materials by ship once again, resulting in more cost-effective procurement. In 1970 the second storage silo was build. And in the years that followed, the HAVENS factory continued to undergo further modernization.

Even before the second silo was built, HAVENS had already launched its bestseller, DraversBrok, in 1958. Gradually, other horse feeds followed. Around 36 years ago, in 1989, HAVENS expanded its market and began selling feed products in Germany for the first time. In 2004, HAVENS became the official feed supplier for the international equestrian event CHIO Aachen—a partnership that has now lasted 21 years. Today, HAVENS exports to 55 countries worldwide.

In 2018, another major renovation project began, including the construction of a new storage silo. This renovation was completed in mid-2021. Unfortunately, in that same year, we had to say goodbye to our director Han Kaanen, who passed away in March 2021 at the age of 64 after a long and serious illness. His son Alex Kaanen has since taken over his role within the company.

Today, we are proud to say that HAVENS remains a true family business—still run by Joris and Alex Kaanen—and that our products are sold in more than 55 countries around the world.