As early as 1975, Jaap Kleinjan made his first strides in the potato trade. At first he just supplied greengrocers in the area, but soon he ventured out abroad.
Together with his brother Piet, he built the first large shed in 1977, on the Zuidoordseweg in Goudswaard, where the company is still located today. This was necessary to meet the growing demand for their potato exports. A second and third shed soon followed.
In 1986, Kleinjan's Aardappelhandel Ltd. was one of the first sellers of the more environmentally friendly AM varieties (who were resistant to potato eelworm). Due to their continued success, the company soon ran out of space again, and a large shed of about 1,250 m2 was built in 1991.
Two years after brother Piet left the company in 1991, Jaap's eldest son, Adrie Kleinjan, joined the family business. Through the newly acquired Van Hennik company - in Oudenhoorn - he was able to learn the finer points of the potato trade.
In 1999 a completely new sorting company was started in Aardenburg, in Zeelandic-Flanders.
To secure the future of the family business, Adrie Kleinjan took over the entire company in 2002.
In 2005, the warehouse in Goudswaard was expanded with 700 m2 extra floor space and 2 dock shelters for fast and proper loading.
In the years since 2006, with the installation of new packing lines from Manter and palletizers from Symach, Kleinjan has made sure to always stay up to date technologically, always ready to meet the growing demand.
The machine park was expanded in 2013 with two poly-sewing machines, which meant that potatoes could be delivered in 5-kg poly bags from then on as well.
More construction work in 2014 allowed the company to increase its storage options, both loose and in boxes. Two additional dock shelters were also added. After closing the Aardenburg site in 2014, the machines were moved to Goudswaard.
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