About us
Family fruit growing company and your total partner
BEL’EXPORT is a fruit growing company based in Borgloon, ‘the pearl of the Haspengouw’ in Belgium, that has been renowned for its high-quality products and service for four generations. As an innovative company, we’re your partner for every aspect of the production process and commercialisation of fruit and vegetables.
Quality is the priority
You can count on our years of experience and expertise. We focus on innovative techniques and technologies and attach great importance to quality. We guarantee you the best service for the cultivation, harvesting, sorting, storage, packaging and transportation of high-quality and flavoursome fruit and vegetable varieties.
Fruit growing company with a rich history
BEL’EXPORT was founded in March 1994. Our company is part of the Derwael fruit growing company, established by Henri Derwael in 1922. Fruit cultivation was secondary to cattle breeding at the time. Tall trees were planted to provide shade for the cows. But the landowners had no interest in the fruit produced by these trees and put it up for sale every year. The person who offered the most was allowed to come and pick the fruit to store it in silos and sell it. This was a commercial activity that Henri Derwael specialised in, which formed the foundation for the Derwael fruit growing company.
A few milestones in our history
- 1956Willy and Michel, Henri’s sons, join the company
- 1960We plant the first low trees
- 1974We stop growing apples and pears on tall trees
- 1976We build our first warehouse (2,200 m²) and install cooling systems From 1976 – Hendrik and Jos, Michel’s sons, and Tony and Gaston, Willy’s sons, join the company
- 1991 We build our second warehouse with the same surface area (2,200 m²)
- 1992We switch to our environmentally friendly growing method with integrated cultivation
- 1994BEL’EXPORT is founded
- 1995We launch our own label Bel’ de Looz
- 1999We acquire our first certificates
- 2000We acquire HACCP and ISO 9002
- 2000Dieter Derwael is the first of the fourth generation to join the company
- 2001We build our third warehouse, a refrigerated complex with loading docks
- 2003We acquire the BRC health certificate
- 2003 We expand our services with small packaging
- 2004 We acquire the IFS health certificate
- 2005 We build our fourth and fifth warehouses, giving Bel’Export a surface area of more than 1 hectare in total
- 2015The fridges dating back to 1974 are dismantled and fully modernised to satisfy new standards in food safety
- 2016We acquire the QS certificate
- 2017William Derwael, Lowie Derwael, Kevin Derwael and Simon Wouters join the company