Parlevliet & Van der Plas was founded in 1949 by Dirk Parlevliet and the brothers Dirk and Jan van der Plas. Buying herring at the Dutch fish auctions and trading same on the Dutch market were the main activities at that time. The small family company soon grew too big to serve only the Dutch market, so other markets, outside The Netherlands, became more and more important. During these years of expansion, the fishing company was founded.

The first trawler of the fishing company, "Jan Maria", came into service in 1959. Over the years Parlevliet & Van der Plas started fishing many other species of Pelagic fish. In 1967 Parlevliet & Van der Plas took their first freezer-trawler into service, "Annie Hillina". As the whole fishing industry expanded during the eighties, so did Parlevliet & Van der Plas.

After several locations, the company founded its headoffice in the municipality Valkenburg (ZH) in March 2002. This city is very close to Katwijk, where the company has its roots.