History: the roots of the Nijhuis Group

The Nijhuis Group, with Herman and Carolien Nijhuis as owners and Carolien as Managing Owner, is formed by the Ter Hart BV and Nijhuis MiTech BV teams. The history of the Nijhuis Group goes back a long way.

Entrepreneurship from an early age

Herman and Carolien’s roots are in a rich history of entrepreneurship. G.J. Nijhuis, Herman’s grandfather, started Machinefabriek en IJzergieterij G.J. Nijhuis back in 1904. From this company the companies Nijhuis Pompen, Nijhuis Water and Nijhuis Slaughter Technology were born. All these companies sold their products worldwide.

After first working in the family business Nijhuis Pompen, Herman has been self-employed in the manufacturing industry since 1984. He has worked for various companies in the food and semi-finished products industries. In 1993 Nijhuis MiTech was founded. Over the years this company has made a U-turn from environmental technology and recycling to trading in parts for pig hair removal.

Become the best in a niche for a living

A good reason for a company’s existence is to want to become the best in a niche. That is why Herman wanted to manufacture the pig dehairing products himself. He decided to make these parts with an improved design, based on years of Nijhuis slaughtering technology knowledge. This was a good choice, as these products are now among the best in the world. In 2008, Carolien returned to Winterswijk to also set to work on her father’s mission – making the best scraper block in the world.

Nijhuis MiTech and Ter Hart prove to be a fruitful match

Due to Nijhuis MiTech’s growth, a search for a larger site was initiated in 2017. As of January 2018 Ter Hart BV, which has a working area of over 2,200 m2, was therefore taken over. This enriches the history of the Nijhuis Group.

In 2020 we celebrated the 175th anniversary of Ter Hart!

Ter Hart also has a very rich history, dating back to the forge in 1845. This means that in 2020 we have celebrated our 175th anniversary!

It turns out that the cooperation DNA is not only a good match in the present. The ancestors of the Meerdink family, the former owners of Ter Hart, also worked together with those of Nijhuis in the past. Together they took care of the reconstruction of trains after the Second World War. Ter Hart also contributed to the strong growth of Nijhuis Slaughter Technology in the 1970s and 1980s. During those years Ter Hart produced almost all stainless steel parts for the slaughter lines.

Quality products and relationships create sustainable businesses

Years of experience in the manufacturing industry have taught us above all that everything ultimately revolves around delivering quality and having excellent relationships with suppliers, customers, colleagues and other stakeholders. That also means doing your utmost every day to deliver good work together with your team. There’s no shortcut.

The nice thing is, we still work with ‘our family companies’ today, which are now operating under the Nijhuis Pumps Pentair, Nijhuis Industries and Marel operate. That’s a great example of sustainable working relationships!