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The platform for internal & external logistics, supply chain and automation
Gamma-Wopla and Smart-Flow Europe form a complementary company with a rock-solid formula: the Belgian family business provides the European market with a complete and advanced range of plastic bins, pallets and containers. Underlying their success is a wonderful family history. A story that makes every entrepreneur's heart beat faster. The 77-year-old owner Jan Vandewiele knew how to find the key to success by putting R&D and sustainability first. Now he is in the transitional phase of handing over the baton to his sons: the twins Mikaël and Grégory Vandewiele (52 years old).
The son of legendary West Flanders entrepreneur Michel Vandewiele, Jan joined the company built up by his father in 1970: the internationally renowned textile machine manufacturer Vandewiele. When this company was sold in 1994, Jan did not choose to take it easy. On the contrary. Curious about opportunities outside the textile sector, he discovered that there was potential in injection molding and step by step built up Gamma-Wopla, a producer of reusable plastic load carriers that makes customers' supply chains smarter and more sustainable. What started with contract work and one customer grew into a European supplier with a wide range for distribution, intralogistics, pharma, food and automotive.
Jan Vandewiele: “I deliberately chose to start small and grow step by step. That's why I started with one customer and two machines. From contract work I later made the transition to my own product line, and from a product line to a wide range of plastic buckets.” Later, Smart-Flow Europe was founded, focusing entirely on the production of plastic pallets and containers. The two firms now have 43 injection molding machines, generating annual sales of 62 million euros.
Asked if it was always clear that the children would also enter the family business, Jan laughingly replies, “For me, yes, but not for the children.” His son Mikael adds: “We wanted to follow our own path after our studies first and started working at other companies.” His twin brother Grégory adds, “Moreover, when we chose to join the company, we didn't start at the top of the hierarchy. I just started loading and unloading trucks. Step by step, we progressed to our current position as CEO.”
That same freedom to choose your own path as a child is now being passed on to the fourth generation. Mikael: “We talk about it at the kitchen table sometimes, of course, but not often. My oldest son is 21 and still studying. For me, the most important thing is that he chooses work that makes him happy.”
Jan: “Entrepreneurship is in my blood and I still enjoy my work every day, but of course we have to think about the continuity of the company. That's why three years ago I recruited Stefaan Duchi (64) as extra-muros CEO.”
Duchi: “The transition from a pater familias who founded the company and wants to pass on the soul, to the children who have to continue it in their own way, is a delicate process of time and trust. But that actually runs very smoothly here. As an outsider, I can bring in a piece of objectivity. That was also Jan's intention. That for a few years I would act as a kind of transitional figure to the next generation. It is my goal to contribute to a smooth generational transition and perpetuate growth.”
A core strategy that will undoubtedly be embraced by the next generation is investment in R&D. “Innovation and product development are number one,” says Duchi. “Every year we spend seven to eight percent of sales on innovation. This has led, for example, to the innovative Smart Sleeve Pack. This system is ideal for industries where efficient and cost-saving storage, return logistics and transportation are crucial. This modular system consists of a pallet, a folding sleeve and a lid. Thanks to the foldable sleeve, you achieve up to eighty percent space savings with empty returns. We base our designs on the daily reality of warehouses: speed, reliability and damage prevention.”
Another example of their innovativeness is the plastic europallet, an excellent alternative to the wooden variant. Grégory: “Due to its medium weight and specific properties, such as shatterproof and durable, this product is unique on the market. It is also dimensionally stable, solid and hygienic. This solution leads to significant savings, in this case on maintenance and replacement costs.”
Sustainability is in the Belgian company's DNA. Mikaël: “For us, this is found both in making our customers‘ logistics processes more sustainable and in our own internal operations. Regarding the former, our nestable, stackable and foldable designs contribute to the reduction of ’empty volume”, handling and transport movements. Their low weight further reduces transportation footprint and also increases ergonomics for workers. In addition, our bins, pallets, and containers are made from recycled raw materials AND are one hundred percent recyclable at the end of their useful life."
Gamma-Wopla & Smart-Flow serve numerous European countries, including the Netherlands, from Belgium in addition to the local market.
