Henk Saes is committed for life to his company

In the section "The boulder of the GWW" we give the stage this time to Henk Saes, founder and owner of Saes International BV from Weert. At 62 years old, you'd think he'd already be looking forward to approaching retirement. This is partly true, but "letting go" of the company will be difficult, concludes Henk. However, there is considerable dynamism within the ranks of Saes International BV. Henk has in fact given his company a rejuvenation cure.

"You have to move with the times as a company with a good growth curve," Henk suggests. "That's why I appointed a Management Team that can bring a breath of fresh air to the company. Just set the stage right to lead the company stably into the future."

From the age of ten, love for the profession

Henk remembers well how, as an 18-year-old, he visited all the trade shows that were available at the time. "I 'ate' everything that came along in terms of information about GWW equipment and always came home with bags full of leaflets. I still have whole scrapbooks of those! At a young age I already had the dream of one day having my own company in the GWW, and I was able to make that dream come true," says Henk. 

'At a young age I had the dream of one day having my own company in the GWW, I was able to make that dream come true'

That Saes has been able to experience such growth has everything to do with perceiving opportunities and sticking to good core values. "Because I never stood still, we got to where we are today. However, it is true that experience over the years has made me a lot wiser and calmer. I have a better overview and think longer about decisions I need to make. The new Management Team will take over the torch from me; they can make the decisions in the future. They are 20 years younger than me and have a solid background. Erwin Broens has joined the management team and has already boosted our service provision. As sales manager, Jeroen Hornman will take care of sales, mainly in the Netherlands. I myself cover Belgium and Luxembourg and, if necessary, the areas beyond. Remco van der Winkel is general manager and involved in all internal operations. So young muscle, who have the strength to make Saes future-proof."

Intensify partnerships

With the fine brands that have found their way to Saes, it is important to start intensifying partnerships with these parties, concludes Henk. "With LaBounty, Epiroc, Erkat and VTN in our program, we want to enter the market even more intensively. As a team we are currently putting a lot of effort into this. This year the premises have already been enlarged, the workshop has been expanded. We are working on reducing our cost base. In addition, further digitalization is on the MT's program. There is much to modernize and optimize and I have every confidence in our team. Together we are working on redesigning processes, which is almost more important than the physical measures we are taking. In short, Saes is currently being completely future-proofed and I am prouder than ever of the company!"