Exporter of the Year
Exports are the engine of our economy. With the Flanders International Business Awards, FIT therefore wants to highlight strong export stories from our region. The shortlist is already known, as are the essentials of their competition file: Dewulf, Globachem and IndigoCare will enter the competition. Shortly after the announcement of the nominees, we gathered first reactions.
Dewulf - Expertise brings innovation
Roeselare-based Dewulf has been developing and building agricultural machinery for the cultivation of potatoes and root crops for nearly 80 years. They have branches in Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania, and export to 37 countries worldwide.
Peter Muyssen, Group Sales and Marketing Manager: “As a third-generation family business, our growth is endemic and steady. Our rich expertise is the basis for our technical and technological innovation. This has allowed us to rise to the global number-two position. In addition to greater brand awareness outside our own industry, the Exporter of the Year award will also open new doors abroad, for instance, to add extra dealers to our sales network in new regions.”
Globachem - Icing on the cake
Sint-Truiden-based family business Globachem develops, registers and markets crop-protection products. Active in 39 countries, its main focus targets major agricultural countries, such as France, Germany, the UK, Poland and Brazil.
Koen Quaghebeur, co-CEO: “We have built this company from scratch, in one generation – and we did this with an instant and ongoing international focus. Despite the complex legislative framework, we managed to secure our place in each of our export markets. Last year, we made a serious leap in sales. Meanwhile, we are investing in the expansion of our company premises and remain ambitious. Becoming ‘Exporter of the Year’ would be the icing on the cake.”
IndigoCare - Flexibility, creativity, and teamwork in its DNA
IndigoCare from Tessenderlo develops and produces the smart call system iCall for hospitals and residential care centers. More than 100,000 hospital and care center beds in 56 countries are already equipped with the iCall system.
Jan Beckers, Export Manager: "Flexibility and teamwork are essential to our philosophy. We collaborate very closely with our partners in 56 countries worldwide and with our technology partners, so we can continue to offer unique and tailor-made solutions. Which is definitely IndigoCare's biggest strength. This nomination, a complete surprise? That would be selling our colleagues short. It is an amazing recognition for many years of hard work and tremendous creativity. We certainly want to continue sharing our experiences as export ambassador, after all, Flanders has so many companies that have what it takes to conquer the world."
