The PP Group (originally a shipping company) consists of seafood businesses and processing companies in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Lithuania, the Faroes, Suriname, British Guiana and Morocco. In addition, the group has shareholdings in, among other countries, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Ivory Coast and Madagascar. All the parts of the group – each with its own specific knowledge and technology – together contribute to the strength of the whole family business. The parts of the PP Group are:
Pelagic Fishing
Parlevliet & Van der Plas B.V. – Valkenburg/The Netherlands >
A fishing company (established 1950), founded by Dirk Parlevliet and brothers Dirk and Jan van der Plas. Parlevliet en Van der Plas BV fishes mainly for pelagic fish species such as herring, mackerel and blue whiting in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco and Mauritania and in the international waters of the southern Pacific Ocean.
Demersal Fishing
Doggerbank Seefischerei GmbH – Bremerhaven/Germany >
A subsidiary (part of the group since 1986) operates mainly in fishing for redfish, cod and pelagic fish species.
Mecklenburger Hochseefischerei GmbH – Sassnitz/Germany >
A subsidiary (part of the group since 1998) fishes mainly for redfish, cod and halibut in the waters to the west and east of Greenland and to the north of Norway.
GSF German Seafrozen Fish – Bremerhaven/Germany >
www.seafrozen.de
A subsidiary (part of the group since 1999). A company trading in deep-frozen fish products (including redfish, cod, halibut and saithe).
Tuna Fishing
Compagnie Française du Thon Oceanique (CFTO) – Concarneau/France >
www.cfto.fr
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2016). A producer of sustainably caught tuna and tuna products.
Fish Processing
Ouwehand Visverwerking B.V. – Katwijk/The Netherlands >
ouwehand.com
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2009). A producer of, among other things, soused herring, pickled herring, marinated and pickled herring, kippers, rollmops, sweet and sour herring, mussels and pickled liver sausage.
Profish Food B.V. - Twello/The Netherlands >
www.profish.nl
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2018). A producer and distributor of prepacked fresh and frozen fish products.
Platvis Holland B.V. - Edam/The Netherlands >
www.platvis.nl
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2019). A producer of baked fish products.
Euro Baltic Fisch Verarbeitungs GmbH – Sassnitz/Germany >
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2003). A processor of herring and semi-finished products.
Seafood
Heiploeg International B.V. – Zoutkamp/The Netherlands >
www.heiploeggroup.com
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2014). A supplier of shrimps, prawns and seafood products.
Deutsche See Fischmanufaktur GmbH – Bremerhaven/Germany >
www.deutschesee.de
A subsidiary (part of the group since 2018). A producer of, among other things, fish products and seafood.
Shareholdings
In addition, Parlevliet & Van der Plas Group has shareholdings in:
- UK Fisheries Ltd (United Kingdom)
- Euronor SAS (France)
- Compagnie des Pêches (France)
- Pesquera Ancora S.L. (Spain)
- Absolutely Genuine Unipessoal (Portugal)
- Sp/P.P. Faroe Pelagic (the Faroes)
- Atlantex SP Z.O.O (Poland)
- Scodi (Ivory Coast)
- Pêche et Froid Océan Indien (Madagascar)
Parlevliet & Van der Plas, founded since 1950
Katwijk resident Dirk Parlevliet and brothers Dirk and Jan van der Plas, who also come from Katwijk, started a herring business. Their startup capital was 50 Guilders and an old lorry. The three of them bought herring at the herring auction in Katwijk and sold them successfully in the domestic market. Very soon they were looking for business beyond the borders and they decided to invest in a boat and catch the herring themselves. ‘Jan Maria’ was the name of the first trawler that the business started using in 1959, followed in 1967 by the first freezer trawler, ‘Annie Hillina’.
Originally the firm traded in pelagic species such as herring, horse mackerel and blue whiting. In later years they added other demersal species such as prawns and shrimps (since 2014 with the acquisition of Heiploeg International) and tuna (since 2016 with the acquisition of CFTO).
Parlevliet & Van der Plas’ growth began in the 80’s and 90’s. With the founding of Doggerbank Seefischerei GmbH in 1986, Parlevliet & Van der Plas bought its first business in Germany and then strengthened its position by taking over Mecklenburger Hochseefischerei GmbH (MHF) and by founding German Seafrozen Fisch Handelsgesellschaft GmbH (GSF).
With the takeover of Mecklenburger Hochseefischerei GmbH (MHF), Parlevliet & Van der Plas also became involved in fishing for demersal species such as cod, redfish and halibut. German Seafrozen Handelsgesellschaft GmbH (GSF) specialises in the sale of demersal fish species that the group produces. 2003 saw the launch of Euro Baltic Fisch Verarbeitungs GmbH.
Ouwehand Visverwerking B.V. was taken over in 2009. With this, PP Group took the first step in the direction of processing consumer products, a new area for the company. Then Heiploeg International B.V., a seafood processor, and Deutsche See Fischmanufaktur GmbH were acquired. Deutsche See Fischmanufaktur GmbH is a leading company that specialises in the entire seafood range for retail, wholesale and top-class catering.
PP Group has also established a base in France. Following the start of collaboration with the Compagnie des Pêches, the major tuna supplier Compagnie Française du Thon Oceanique S.A.S. was taken over in 2016. The group also has shareholdings in France, Spain, Portugal, Poland and The United Kingdom. Ivory Coast and Madagascar.
Since 2002, PP Group's head office has been located in Valkenburg, South Holland, near Katwijk, the home of both the Parlevliet and Van der Plas families.