‘Where there is a will.’ 

Where there is a will, there is a way, my grandfather used to say. This certainly applies to me. I’m a real city boy and was relatively new to the agricultural sector, but if you really want something and you just go for it, you will eventually succeed. And who knows, with my dairy farmer girlfriend, I may even become a farmer one day!

Introducing Quirijn Dees, Vereijken’s new employee

I first came into contact with Vereijken in a university lecture hall, during my Master in Zoology in Wageningen. When I saw the images of the ProDromi farrowing crate, I thought: what a wonderful innovation, what company is this? I am so happy to be working there now! As a B2B account manager at Vereijken, I am co-responsible for customer relationship management and keep in touch with international distributors, to provide them with information and help them solve problems. You might run into me at fairs in the near future, at Eurotier in Germany, for instance.

Fascination for pigs and piglets

I have always been fascinated by animals, especially pigs and piglets. Before starting at Vereijken, I used to work for Anoxia, a company that specialises in animal-friendly euthanasia. Last summer, during the Fipronil contamination, was a very intense time. I was in close contact with poultry farmers while culling was carried out on their farms. I will never forget this experience. Now, at Vereijken, my education with a specialisation in pig vitality comes in handy. It is completely in line with the methods at Vereijken; focused on guaranteeing good litters by offering the best possible farrowing systems and preventing piglet mortality, in the most animal-friendly way possible.

Pragmatic solutions, financially feasible

The first thing I noticed about Vereijken’s farrowing systems? They provide pragmatic solutions that are financially feasible. Current systems are getting a lot of criticism, and Vereijken offers a good alternative. The sows can walk around freely and the animals have more space. Even if you don’t have a loose housing farrowing pen, other options are available, such as flexible building.

Quirijn Dees (30) started working at Vereijken Hooijer B.V. in January as a B2B account manager.