About us
WHO WE ARE
Nooyen has been producing floor systems since 1978, when Grard Nooyen started the company together with his six sons. Nowadays, Grard's grandson Gerben leads a company that has now become an international company with business in several countries operating in several industries. The production of flooring systems for the pig sector remains central to Nooyen's strategy. Although nowadays Nooyen even sells modern industrial wall cladding that is used in parking garages at Schiphol Airport. Furthermore, Nooyen is also active as a producer of fencing, dog kennels, farm and barn equipment, kitchen worktops, and Nooyen owns their own private meat-label El Porquero where Nooyen breeds and slaughters their own Iberico pigs of which the hams are being dried in the Nooyen ham-drying facilities in the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain.
Innovators by tradition
History
The Nooyen family is rooted in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, in the Peel region where some pioneer farmers started farming pigs on the poor soil that was left behind after peat had been dug here in the second half of the nineteenth century. A combination of their pioneering spirit and hard work enabled them to build an existence for themselves. In 1978, Grard Nooyen started producing slats for the farm's own farrowing and piglet stalls at the Kanveldweg road in the Dutch town of Deurne. Together with his sons, he devised a V-shaped steel slat which provided an optimum surface for pigs to live on 24/7.
Two generations of the Nooyen family in the late 1990s: Grard Nooyen (centre) with his sons Jan, Wies, Tonny, Theo, Arie and Benjamin (left to right)
Fifteen years later, the Nooyen brothers started coating expanded metal and woven steel wire. This led to a revolution in worldwide pig farming. The late 1990s saw the birth of the next innovation, which is still unique: the Balance floor. This farrowing box automatically creates a difference in height between the piglets and the sow whenever the sow stands up, thus greatly increasing new-born piglets' chances of survival. The Balance floor is now also applied in the WellFarrowing free-range farrowing pen. This innovation allows farrowing sows to walk about freely without reducing the chances of survival for the piglets.
When you ask people in the small Dutch town of Deurne about Nooyen, they will almost certainly refer to the pigs and pig flooring systems. Today, Nooyen has grown to become an international group of companies with production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium, China, and the United States of America. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are the basis of how we operate” says CEO Gerben Nooyen.
Besides innovating pig slats, the Nooyen Group has been expanding its steel activities to other sectors, such as architectural façade cladding and stylish industrial and practical applications (Tribar), fencing & kennels. Nooyen has also successfully expanded a company that markets natural stone-like kitchen worktops (Jetstone). All these companies have one thing in common: they are innovative, achieve a high product quality, and have employees who have a hands-on work mentality. The pioneering spirit from the early days can still be very much recognised in the company.
The Nooyen family has not forgotten where its roots lie. Nooyen Group farms 4,500 sows in Spain, selling the well-known Ibérico pork through its own shops. Everything changes, but the pigs stay…
Today, in our Mt. Sterling Kentucky plant, we manufacture pig flooring, cattle flooring and farm equipment for distribution throughout the United States and Mexico. We have a factory with an in-house galvanizing facility. From steel coil to finished product, we do it all in one location. The same craftsmanship that has made Tri-Bar pig flooring a success, has carried over to the dairy industry with our Tri-Bar Weep Wall manure management system. Now, with over fifteen years of experience in producing these Weep Walls.
We are unique in a way that we try to bring as much manufacturing in-house as we can. Instead of outsourcing, we have always thought of ways of doing it by ourselves. Almost every machine in our factory has been custom made by ourselves to fit our goals. That way, we can produce efficiently on one hand, and most importantly, we have complete control over the quality. Our years in this business have given us an opportunity to learn how important customer service is to business success. The finest product in the world is of little value if not delivered accurately, on time, and in optimal condition.
Here, in the United States, we cooperate with dealers who can advise you extensively in determining your choice. In close cooperation with your dealer you can decide which product best matches your farm and which farm equipment you can optimally combine with it.
Naturally, you’re assured of excellent service and guidance by both Nooyen and your dealer. Not only before sales, but definitely after as well.