Brabopak has over 8,000 packagings in their range

Brabopak is a Belgian company that imports and markets packaging. Brabopak was founded in 1987 by Robert De Clerck. He started with single packagings, but the assortment grew to the current range of 8,000 types. They are imported from various companies, especially from Vietnam and Germany. The company has grown a lot in recent years.

"I started supplying small packagings to market stall holders," says Robert. "Over the course of the years various sectors were added. Nowadays we supply over 4,500 customers, mainly in the food sector." The buyers are from the industry, supermarket branch and fruit and vegetable sector. Brabopak mainly supplies the potato processing companies in the fruit and vegetable sector. "We supply various types of polythene for deeptrack and flowpack, sacks, bags and pallet wraps."

Only trade
Robert consciously chose not to produce anything himself, but to import everything and then trade it. "We can supply all the packaging customers ask for. If we don't have it yet, we'll look for it. A factory only produces it's own 'range' but we can do a lot more. We also aren't dependent on our suppliers. We don't have to buy anything from anyone. Because we can switch quickly and play into demand, we are very flexible. We know our suppliers well and know that they supply quality."

Changing demand
Customers' demands have certainly changed. Robert: "Due to the multitude of packaging and increasing demand for different sizes we have to keep extending our assortment. Now and then a packaging drops out. Foam polystyrene dishes used to be commonly used, but now they are hardly seen due to the changed laws. A lot of chicory was packaged in dishes, now more is in flowpack. You can also see that companies want to define themselves more with the packaging." Brabopak regularly stores packaging for customers. "A lot of buyers don't have room for this. We keep their stock and indicate when it's running out."

Competition
Robert sees a trend that the larger companies are becoming larger and the smaller packagers are dropping out. "You can see a lot of fights for prices and it's difficult to not get caught up in it. But we believe that the customer is prepared to pay for the security of extra service and quality. You might be the cheapest, but it's about the right quality and the best service on the long term." He sees a growth in the demand for packaging for potatoes, vegetables and fruit. "At the moment we mainly supply Belgium, but we want to grow in France and the Netherlands. There are still enough opportunities. We are still looking for a new colleague who knows the sector to explore and serve the Dutch market."

BRC-certificate
At the moment Brabopak is located at the industrial park in Wommelgem. The company has had various other locations, including the wholesale market in Antwerp. In 2012 the location in Wommelgem was opened. "This way we can centralise everything and optimise our service to our customers in Belgium, France and the Netherlands," according to Robert. "At the moment we are busy with our BRC certificate. We hope to have it finished in September."

For more information: Robert De Clerck
Brabopak
Uilenbaan 200 unit 6
2160 Wommelgem - Belgium
Telefoon: +32 (0)3 236.73.49
Fax : +32 (0)3 235.85.08
mail@brabopak.com
www.brabopak.com