Sinds 1 januari van dit jaar vormt Sim met Johan Peeters en Raf Moeyersoons de directie van Euroveiling. De veiling heeft een unieke positie in België en bedient zo’n 60 % Waalse en 40% Vlaamse klanten. De heren namen het stokje over van afscheidnemend directeur Roger Fierens, die met pensioen ging. Johan is als directeur verantwoordelijk voor de administratie en financiën, Raf is operationeel en facilitair directeur en ikzelf ben verantwoordelijk voor de commercie’, geeft Sim aan. ‘We zijn een complementair team, we vullen elkaar met zijn drieën goed aan. Dat is heel prettig werken in een hectische branche als de onze. En, niet onbelangrijk gezien onze werktijden,’, zegt hij lachend, ‘niemand heeft last van een ochtendhumeur!’

Staying close to home is beneficial on many levels. Not least, it makes a positive contribution to the ecological footprint. As a company in the green sector, we feel we have a reputation to uphold and have thus taken various measures to minimise our footprint. Naturally, this includes solar panels on our roofs and LED lighting in our buildings.

With some 3.5 acres of buildings, that’s quite an undertaking. We have also looked closely at our waste policy and use sustainable and preferably recycled materials when we construct or renovate our buildings.

We have also made real progress in our sustainability vision thanks to our cooperation with Container Centralen. We know that reusable transport items make a significant contribution towards sustainable logistics. With Container Centralen, we are delighted to have found a partner who recognises our objectives and supports these with its materials. They make it easy for us by maintaining high-quality carts and plates and, when they reach the end of their useful life, recycling them responsibly. They also contribute to our innovative strength by devising sustainability solutions together with us; for reusable flower boxes, for example. In addition, they offer convenient and efficient solutions, such as a secure pool through scanning tags attached to the carts. These are great concepts, and we love working with them.’

Focus on quality

After the focus on sustainability, Euroveiling will shift its focus to quality in the years to come. ‘Quality may seem like a vague concept at first,’ Sim continues, ‘but we have defined a number of concrete priorities under that heading. We have always delivered quality, of course, but we are now ready for the next step. Once we have fulfilled our sustainability goals, we want to make significant progress with the qualitative growth of our employees.

We have 50 permanent employees and also use a flexible team of about 70 other workers. We will expect all our employees to play an active and engaged role, and we will, of course, facilitate this.

Besides really encouraging them to share their ideas about positive changes, we will also invest in education and training, customer friendliness and service orientation, for example. This will benefit our customers and, at the end of the day, that’s what we’re doing it for.’
‘Of course, part of that quality drive is the pleasant professional partnership we have with Container Centralen,’ Sim continues. ‘It’s fantastic to tackle the future with such a professional party. Our regular contact is increasing and we really benefit from their networks and marketing systems. They support us in our ambitions, and that suits us just fine. ’