Tjalling Erkelens (1956) is the founder of Bedrocan and currently holds the position of CEO and chairman of the board. Back in 1984 he started Bedrocan in the Netherlands together with his brother in law Freerk Bruining, focussing on indoor production of vegetables and herbs. Tjalling is strongly committed to maintaining these family business roots especially now Bedrocan continues to grow.
The cannabis plant came into the company back in 1992 for the first time. Since 2003 Bedrocan provides standardised cannabis of pharmaceutical quality to the Dutch government. It’s the oldest legal company in the world providing several, chemically different cannabis varieties to be used by patients on doctor’s prescription and as a raw material for the pharmaceutical industry (API).
During these past 26 years, Tjalling has developed and standardised unique methods of producing cannabis to pharmaceutical standards to a level achieved by no other company until today. His strong commitment to product quality resulted in the Dutch Bedrocan production facilities being approved for GMP/API (Good Manufacturing Practice/Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) by the Dutch Health Authorities in 2017.