Our History

It was in 1932 that Mr. Bier Sr. established BV  INAPO Internationale Agentuur en Productenhandel. This was after he had settled in the Netherlands following a long period of living in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia).

Initially the main activities were exporting forest and sea products from the former Dutch Indies. Among these products were sea shells (for making buttons for high-end shirts), Gum Copal, but the main product imported was Rattan.

In those days rattan was widely used in Europe to make baskets for industrial and agricultural use. Though prices of rattan was more expensive than willow, it was  preferred  because of its light weight and durability.
There were also many factories in Europe that produced high quality semi-finished products, such as rattan core and Chair Cane.

Since both the Bier and Rubach families were living in the Dutch Indies, the families became close friends. Successor Jan Bier (BV  INAPO) and his friend Heimard Rubach (S.P. Reeser & Co’s) worked closely together. After Heimard Rubach passed away in 1975, his wife and son continued the business. When Jan Bier retired without a successor it was a logical step to pass on BV INAPO to present owner Franz Rubach.

Already since 1965 the rattan industry was moved more and more to the far East and consequently less rattan was needed for the European market. The introduction of light weight metal and plastic replaced rattan in baskets and after an export ban in 1986 for rattans from Indonesia most of the rattan furniture industry was also moved to Indonesia.

With our family’s long history in Indonesia it gave us the opportunity to from then on import rattan furniture from Indonesia.
Although rattan furniture is a major line of business, we do not neglect our roots: rattans and semi-finished rattan products.