Rik was born and raised in Lopik, close to our office in The Netherlands, and lived there until he moved to Deventer to attend Agricultural College. He graduated with a Bachelor degree in International Dairy and Poultry farming and his first professional position was Herd Manager on a dairy farm in Saudi Arabia. Following he worked for more than 15 years in Russia where as Poultry Production Director at several leading broiler integrators, where he gained ample experience with VAL drinking systems installed on their farms. Afterwards, he was active in selling farm equipment, as a reseller for Val-Co and others, as well as animal genetics and running his own hatching egg export business.
Rik holds the position of General Manager at Val-Co BV, responsible for daily operations, and is Sales Manager for Benelux, Germany, Austria and Russia.
Outside of work, Rik gives high importance taking care of his household and family, including his parents who live with them. He spents a lot of time doing chores and gardening in and around his old traditional Dutch farmhouse. His major hobby is hunting and the outdoors and he spends as much time as possible hunting and keeping up his hunting territory.