History

Helwa Wafelbakkerij was founded as biscuit factory in Leeuwarden in 1953. It starts with the production of vanilla cream filled wafer biscuits like Java wafers and Frou Frou wafers, but also wafers with fruit creams.

In 1956 Helwa started producing chocolate coated wafers. Particularly the introduction of “Rumstaafjes” and “Penny Wafers” turned out to be a huge success. In 1984 the former owner passes on the baton to his son and present owner.

Fire in 1987

After 32 years of growth and development Helwa was struck by a fire in 1987, which completely destroyed the production hall. However, within 4 weeks the complete production was operational again at another location in Leeuwarden. As this location did not entirely meet the requirements of that moment the company soon started the building of a new factory in Hallum, 15 kms north of Leeuwarden. At the end of that same year the move to this location took place.

Through continuous growth this new plant soon became too small. In 2000 the surface area of the production room was therefore doubled to 8000 m².

Current situation

Helwa Wafelbakkerij BV has developed into an internationally operating wafer specialist. We are active in the Benelux, Scandinavia, Germany, Great Britain, France, United States, etc. With around 100 employees, modern production facilities and co-operation with our partners we are working on new products for our customers and partners.

In addition to our traditional crispy, cream filled wafers, Helwa produces gluten free, no added sugar and protein wafer snacks. In 2008 we invested in new technologies that enable us to produce wafers with real fruit fillings and aerated chocolate fillings.