About us

QuaTerNes was founded in 1980 by Jan Hak.

Jan Hak is the eldest son of the eldest son of the Hak family. In 1925, his grandfather Hendrik Cornelis Hak started a family business in potatoes which his son Willem Hak expanded into a wholesale trading and packing business with several own retail outlets. After the Second World War, in 1956,  Hak B.V. was established as contract growing and processing facility for preserving fruits and vegetables in glass jars. Nowadays this company is one of the largest fruit and vegetable processing companies in Europe.

Growing up, Jan Hak learned about all aspects of the agri-food chain. His professional career began with engineering and product development projects in the Middle East in the pickling and dairy sectors. Back in The Netherlands, he restructured the food machinery program at Komen+Kuin B.V. and spent 5 years at HAK B.V. with the responsibility for manufacturing and logistics at 3 locations. This hands-on experience later proved valuable during his term on the supervisory board of HAK before the business was handed over to the CSM Group.