Vandersanden Group wins the Family Business Award of Excellence
19/12/2017
Jean-Pierre Wuytack, CEO of Vandersanden Group was presented with the Award by the chairman of the jury, Luc De Bruyckere. Vandersanden Group, established in 1925 and now run by the 3rd generation, is the largest brick-producing family business in Europe, and a leading international player in the construction market. A leader in the hand-shaped brick sector in Belgium, the group has 600 employees spread over 9 production sites and offices in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany and Great Britain. The group has a consolidated turnover of EUR 170 million after acquisitions. Thanks to its professional ‘People, Planet & Profit’ policy, sustainability and social responsibility have been central to the family business’s activities since 1925.
Model of innovation, sustainability policy and controlled growth
Vandersanden won the top award, with fellow finalists Alcopa and MIKO as runners-up. De Bruycker: “Vandersanden Group is a source of inspiration for many other family businesses. It has a clear, strong vision where everything is built upon a long-term vision of investing in activities with high added value and profitability. Within the Vandersanden Group, there’s also a good balance between family and external management and the family business has a comprehensive, well-structured family charter. Finally, we see in Vandersanden Group a very strong focus on the development of employees and their well-being. They are an excellent example of what we’re aiming for with this Award”.
An award for Belgian companies that distinguish themselves
The “Family Business Award of Excellence” honours family businesses that excel in corporate governance, within the family and the business, and in the interaction between the two, in their vision and the upholding of family values, in the transmission of entrepreneurship between generations, in communication and in social engagement.
Patrick Rottiers, CEO EY Belgium, comments: “With the Family Business Award of Excellence, we aim to honour our country’s family businesses, because family businesses are the motor of our economy, form the cement of our society and provide the necessary continuity and employment. Alcopa, MIKO and Vandersanden Group are all excellent examples of sustainable family enterpreneurship that we have to cherish”.
Vandersanden Group succeeds La Lorraine Bakery Group (2016), Reynaers Aluminium (2015) and Cosucra (2014). Vandersanden – as the Belgian ambassador for the ‘Family Business Award of Excellence’ – will represent Belguim at the annual Family Business Summit to take place in Monte Carlo at the beginning of June.
