As early as the 17th century, the cheese market in Edam was the most important in The Netherlands. The cheese market was surrounded by a lot of small cheese warehouses where the cheese was collected and sold on.
In 1916 cheese traders Schardam and Groot settled their cheese export association called Gestam on the Voorhaven in Edam. 27 small cheese factories supplied cheese which Gestam exported to a large number of foreign countries. A quality control commission kept an eye on the supplied cheese, to warrant the quality.

The power of Gestam has always been that it did not just offer one kind of cheese, but an entire assortment of cheeses. Even though the amount of cheese factories and cheese merchants decreased over the years in the area, Gestam remained strong and expanded steadily.
The transportation was by ship for decades: this is why the warehouses were all located on the waterfront. By using new packaging- and cooling techniques, the export was able to grow significantly. Gestam now exports to over 20 countries.