[1][clarification needed] The company is organized into 7 main business units, each focusing on a specific branch: Incorporated in 1854 as a cooperative in the port of Antwerp (Belgium), the original activities of Katoen Natie consisted of typical wharfinger activities: the reception and handling of goods on the docks, especially cotton – hence the ‘Katoen’ in the name- and other commodities such as jute, coffee, cocoa, wool, rubber, aluminum.

[citation needed] According to the company Katoen Natie, it offers integrated logistics solutions[buzzword], including warehousing and storage, packing and (re)packaging, transport and distribution, value-added services, cleaning and repair, projects & process engineering and port operations.

The supply scope includes product related activities such as homogenizing, drying, sieving, deodorizing, grinding and dedusting plastics.

Katoen Natie offers stevedoring and terminal services for containers, general cargo, rolling stock and forest products.

These installations produce a yearly amount of about 35 gigawatt hours, accounting for 25% of the total solar energy capacity of the Flemish Region.

Centrally located in the port of Antwerp lies Loghidden City, a high-tech logistics complex covering some 260 hectares.

Installations by the hand of Wim Delvoye, Jan Fabre, Panamarenko, Denmark, Kobe and Marcel Broodthaers complete the collection.