Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv

What Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv does

Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv is a fourth-generation Dutch family business founded in 1897 and headquartered in Sluiskil, Zeeland, that specializes in the breeding, contract cultivation, and processing of flax fibre and agricultural seeds. The company operates across the full flax value chain, producing long fibre, short fibre, hackling sliver, flax shives, and bolkaf from flax sourced in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, alongside a seed portfolio covering fibre flax seeds, oil flax seeds, linseed, blue poppy seeds, evening primrose seeds, and winter wheat — sold under both conventional and SKAL-certified BIO/organic lines. Its core customer base includes spinneries in China and India (long fibre), flax growers worldwide (sowing seeds), food and pharmaceutical processors (oilseeds), and livestock/horse owners (animal bedding by-products).

The company's operations are anchored by proprietary technology: a unique pluk-repel harvesting system developed with engineering partners that pulls flax standing so seeds never touch the ground, preserving sowing seed purity and boosting thousand kernel weight; LINIPIANTI hackling processing lines capable of producing sliver in NM15–NM42 grades per customer specification; and extensive seed cleaning/sorting installations featuring pre-cleaners, trieurs, SG tables, de-stoners, electronic magnets, and colour sorters, supported by large drying and storage capacity. Van de Bilt runs its own breeding programmes for fibre flax, oil flax, and winter wheat, with variety trials across six European locations and a southern hemisphere test point, and holds proprietary varieties including Hera, Ariane, Hermès, BILSTAR, BATSMAN, BOWLER, BRIGHTON, Avian, Nathalie, Lisette, Noemie, Suzanne, and Sofie.

The business model is a vertically integrated mix of seed production and trading, fibre processing and trading, contract cultivation services with fixed-price and quality-bonus arrangements, and third-party processing (loonwerk) such as receiving, drying, cleaning, bagging, and storage. Long fibre is exported primarily to spinneries in China and India, with more than 90% of revenue generated outside the Netherlands via an in-house export team that handles door-to-door logistics from Sluiskil, complemented by French subsidiary Textilin in Normandy and a dedicated Chinese sales team operated through partner Harbin Conco. The company holds an unusually broad certification stack (European Flax, GOTS, FSSC 22000, NAK GZP, EKO, GMP+, SKAL, gluten-free) and was awarded the Dutch Royal Warrant (Hofleverancier) in 2001, trading on a 128-year heritage with only 13 direct HQ staff and a wide contract-grower network across the Netherlands (Zeeland, West-Brabant, Biesbosch, Haarlemmermeer, Zuidelijke Flevo) and France.

Name

Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv

Legal name

Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv

Website

https://vandebiltzadenvlas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv is a fourth-generation Dutch flax and seed specialist (founded 1897) breeding, processing, and trading flax fibre, linseed, and niche oilseeds, with over 90% of revenue generated outside the Netherlands for textile and food buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Seeds and Flax Fibre

NAICS

Grain and Field Bean Merchant Wholesalers (424510), Fiber, Yarn, and Thread Mills (31311)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150), Textile Mill Products (2200)

akta.pro primary industry

Flax Farming (Fiber/Linen Flax) (AFAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Flax fibre processing
• Agricultural seed production
• Linseed breeding trade
• Flax cultivation services
• Bio fibre manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sluiskil

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Seed production and trade: Production and trading of sowing seeds including fibre flax seeds, oil flax seeds, linseed, blue poppy seeds, evening primrose seeds, wheat, and other agricultural seeds. Seeds are certified by NAK (Dutch General Inspection Service). Trading activities since 1897.
2. Flax fibre products: Production and trade of long fibre, short fibre, hackling sliver, flax shives, and bolkaf from Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Fibres go primarily to spinneries in China and India.
3. Contract cultivation services: Contract farming arrangements with growers for flax, blue poppy, evening primrose, and other niche crops. Services include screening of new genetics, seed production on customer specifications, harvesting activities, and processing.
4. Processing services (loonwerk): Contract processing services including receiving, drying, cleaning, bagging and storage of seeds, processing of straw flax and hackling production. SKAL certified for BIO production.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Van de Bilt breeds, produces, and trades flax fibre (long fibre, short fibre, hackling sliver, flax shives, bolkaf) and a range of agricultural seeds (fibre flax, oil flax, linseed, blue poppy, evening primrose, winter wheat). Operations are vertically integrated from in-house breeding and proprietary pluk-repel harvesting through scutching, hackling, seed cleaning, drying, and storage to direct export worldwide.

Product overview

Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv is a flax and seed company with a comprehensive product portfolio spanning the entire flax production chain. The offering consists of fiber products (long fiber, short fiber, hackling sliver) as a core business, complemented by seed products (fiber flax seeds, oil flax seeds, linseed, blue poppy, winter wheat, evening primrose) for both commercial and sowing purposes. By-products include flax shives (vlaslemen) and bolkaf for animal bedding and feed applications. The company operates both conventional and organic (BIO) product lines with SKAL certification. Services include custom work, seed production, contract farming, and processing facilities for receiving, drying, cleaning, and packaging seeds. The company also maintains subsidiary Textilin in France for regional operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Long Fibre (Lange vezel)

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% breeding market share in fibre flax
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hemp4Circularity Consortium (Interreg NWE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2023European Interreg NWE project approved March 23, 2023 with budget of 3.8 million euros. Project aims to integrate long fibre hemp textile into European textile value chain on industrial scale. Partners include Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Lin et Chanvre Bio in France.
• TextilincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench subsidiary located in Normandy, France. Supports French activities including flax cultivation, seed multiplication, and trading of sowing linseed and flax fibres. A significant portion of fibres produced by Van de Bilt originates from France.
• Harbin Conco (China)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVan de Bilt works together with Harbin Conco in China. They have their own Chinese sales team so Chinese customers can be optimally served. Primary customer for long fibre flax exports.
• Lysair NV (Flanders)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean project collaboration funded by EU CrossRoads program. Working on a solution for the cumbersome process of unloading flax shives from the scutching process, which is currently polluting for the environment (dust, noise).
• ZAP (Royal ZAP)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for seed potatoes (pootaardappelen). ZAP stands for high-quality seed potatoes. Van de Bilt supplies seed potatoes through this partnership.
• BEJOminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for onion seeds (uienzaad). Van de Bilt supplies onion seeds in collaboration with BEJO.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/van-de-bilt-zaden-en-vlas-bv

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Van de Bilt zaden en vlas bv