Our history

Our past, our future

Vopak’s history goes back to 1616. In its earliest form, our company offered storage and related services to trading companies such as the Dutch East Indies Company. The goods that these traders were taking to the Netherlands (mainly coffee, tea and spices) had to be weighed, sorted, stored and redistributed within the Netherlands and beyond. Vopak’s predecessors catered for these needs, facilitating the rapid growth of the Dutch economy.

Around 1860, when the Dutch East Indies Company was long gone, the first oil was being drilled in the United States and it was not long before petroleum products were imported to Europe. We built the first-ever dedicated oil storage container in Europe, in the Port of Rotterdam. Our first bulk liquid storage facility has now grown to become a global network of 84 Vopak terminals around the world.

In 1999, Vopak was formed by the merger of two international logistic service providers, Pakhoed and Van Ommeren. Today, we are the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator. With almost 400 years of experience in storage and transshipment, Vopak is almost genetically dedicated to service.