Company report Van Berlo | 40 years Van Berlo: from sole proprietorship to market leader

On September 6, the Veghel family business Van Berlo celebrated its 40th anniversary. Father Harrie and sons Frank and Marcel were - somewhat reluctantly - put in the spotlight. Led by host Theo Verbruggen, they explained with few words why Van Berlo grew from a one-man business to a market leader in commercial flooring in 40 years.

Modesty is an eye-catching trait of the Van Berlo family. They don't like to talk about themselves, but they do like to talk about their profession. That passion was the overarching theme during the special anniversary celebration for customers and associates. "I wanted to be a reliable contractor who just makes it right. A deal is a deal," summed up founder Harrie succinctly. This mentality is also deeply ingrained in the DNA of his sons as well as the 150 employees, making it the foundation on which Van Berlo has built its business.

Combining forces

Harrie remembers when he started for himself. "With hard work, sometimes even day and night, I built up the company. My heart was mainly with the work outside and less with the administration." Son Frank, too, is an outdoorsman. "School was not my hobby. As soon as I had my degrees, I started in the business. I know from my own practical experience what works and what doesn't. That is an important added value." Brother Marcel adds: "The great thing is that as a family and as a company we are able to combine strengths. My strength lies mainly in the back office. I still find it a challenge to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes."

Special technique

Looking back, Van Berlo has undergone tremendous development. Passion is also the key word for this, says commercial director Glenn Verhoef. "Wanting to be the best also means being willing and daring to invest in new techniques and services. We notice that the demands on the deformation of floors are increasing with the advent of highbay or fully automated distribution centers. From our knowledge and decisiveness, we deliver full service customization time and again. We have all the services involved in a project in-house: advice, analysis, engineering and execution. It is precisely the preparatory phases that play a key role in projects. This gives you peace of mind in the process to execute even complex projects properly."

Van Berlo Academy

What is good can always be better: that too is typical of Van Berlo. "That's why we are going to invest even more in our customer relationships," says Glenn. "Their feedback is leading our development. We will actively work with tips from our semi-annual customer appreciation survey and grow along with questions from the market. As a result, we also continue to grow. That is quite a challenge in today's tight labor market. Reason enough to establish our own Van Berlo Academy, where we will train our own staff."