Three generations of dust extraction know-how

Dutch dust extraction specialist Modesta has landed in the USA. Thanks to over 75 years of experience, the family business has developed industry-optimized installations. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see how it all started.

A clean factory floor helps agricultural businesses keep up with increasingly strict health and safety regulations, as well as food safety regulations and rising awareness about the importance of a healthy environment for workers. Modesta enables factory owners all over the world to keep their premises clean and their machines functioning properly. As director Wyboud Kloppenburg likes to put it, ‘if we do our job correctly, nobody will notice us.’

Modesta’s dust collection systems keep sheds from getting dusty and ensure a long machine life, preventing dirt from causing wear and tear. Furthermore, Modesta’s active cleaning solution removes dust and lighter fractions, such as onion skins, ensuring a cleaner and therefore premium product. But the Dutch-based family company didn’t start out building high-tech dust extraction solutions from the get-go. Instead, they developed their current business model over many years and several generations of experience. 

In the beginning

The Kloppenburg family founded Modesta in 1949, amid the post-war Reconstruction period in the Netherlands. In a small town in the eastern part of the country, grandfather Kloppenburg started a company specialized in the drying and conditioning of grains and grasses by applying heat and air. Diederick Klopppenburg, son of the founder, joined the business aged 22 and became director in 1987. Under his reign, the company shifted towards ventilation technology for the agri, woodworking and recycling industry.

360 degrees

After years of experience in the business and gaining lots of know-how about dust extraction, as well as learning how agricultural companies operate, Diederick changed the focus of the company, adding consultancy to the services they provide. Modesta doesn’t just offer state of the art installations that keep agricultural factories operating in a clean and safe way. More importantly, they provide their clients with a 360 degrees vision. Instead of selling their clients the system they’re asking for, the Modesta team thinks about the long-term effects and evaluates if it’s really the solution they need. It might take some convincing sometimes, but this approach ultimately results in the best outcome for the client. It’s this expertise that keeps them coming back.

Third generation

In 2018, Diederick passed the baton to his son Wyboud, who had been involved in the family business for many years. In 2020, Wyboud’s sister Marianne also joined the team. While Wyboud takes care of general operations, sales and client contact, traveling all over the world regularly, Marianne assumes the role of operational manager, taking responsibility for production, engineering, installation, service, and human resources. Diederick is enjoying retirement – although he can't resist still stepping into the office from time to time.

Milestones

Throughout the years, Modesta relocated several times due to continuous growth. Since 2007, the company has been located in Putten, centrally located in the Netherlands, where all the dust extraction systems are developed, produced and assembled in-house. All departments are located here: research & development, engineering, laser cutting, welding, metal working, assembly, and software. The fact that Modesta develops, produces, and maintains everything in-house helps increase flexibility and enhances customization possibilities; it also reduces delivery time. In the last decade, Modesta has finished many projects all over the world, from the futuristic onion factory of the future, MSP Onions in the Netherlands, to onion packer Target Ag in Othello, Washington. After a restyling of their logo and brand style in 2017, Modesta is ready for the future - without forgetting their legacy.

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