"Focus on food has sped up our growth"

They have supervised the building of a high-rise warehouse for a potato processor. They have also helped improve the yield of a confectionery manufacturer by, among other things, adding value to residual flows. Synergo Consultancy, a consulting and engineering firm, based in the Dutch town of Goes, has been providing these kinds of solutions for ten years now. They are active in the fields of commercial properties, storage, logistics, and processing and packaging technology. They also deal with utilities and the treatment of residual flow in the foodstuffs industry. Next month, this company celebrates its 10-year anniversary. "We have never had a moment's regret about our decision to focus wholly on the food industry. This focus did not limit our client base, but rather expanded it", say, founders, Kees Vermaire and Rien Melis.

Kees Vermaire and Rien Melis

The two Zeeland natives started Synergo in 2008 with a laptop and a phone. In 2011, they decided to focus on the food processing industry. The company continued to grow fast, which resulted in the need for a larger office in Goes. In recent years, this small, local consultancy from Zeeland with only one office in Goes has expanded to include branches in Breda and Twello. "In Twello, we can better serve clients from the North-east of the Netherlands. We are no longer a small business but still have more than enough growth potential. Not everyone knows us yet. An office in Belgium is on our wish list", says Kees.

Chips, confectionery, beverages, juices, sauces, vegetables, powders. The companies that Synergo finds solutions for, remains very diverse. It is precisely this diverse range of businesses and processes that, according to Rien, leads to an exchange of ideas. "Despite the specialisation, it is still a broad, dynamic sector. It ranges from green beans to sweets; from frozen chips to cold drinks. This makes our work incredibly fascinating. The products all differ but, in a factory, people often have to deal with the same processes or parts thereof. This is where our knowledge of other sectors comes in handy. We also have our vision when it comes to projects. This means we do not only carry out our clients' wishes. We take part in the process and ask where optimisation is possible. Or we ask if the question behind the question needs to be dealt with as a separate project."

One of the company's focal points is to provide their employees with internal training. "Nowadays, it is no longer easy to find the right professionals. Even graduates with a technical degree still have a lot to learn", explains Rien. "Ninety per cent of our employees are also in direct contact with our clients. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable people are indispensable in our field. We, therefore, invest a lot in knowledge sharing and our standards are high. Our clients expect us to be flawless, all-knowing, and completely flexible. They also expect us to deliver solutions in record time." The ratio of projects and interim support is about 80/20. "We also do not want to change this. We do not want to become a deployment agency."

Synergo does not see their competitors as such. "We grow with our clients, and this has worked well over the past ten years. Especially during the crisis years, we were able to take measures. Within the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, alone, we have a good client portfolio. We have clients like Agristo, Pomuni, Oerlemans Foods, Van der Kroon, Van Oers United, and Lamb Weston", says Kees. "And we believe we can help along more companies in the food branch. The world is changing rapidly. Sustainable production is becoming increasingly important. Large food brands are under the microscope - look at the recent recalls. We see a nice challenge here. In our way, we can contribute to a better, healthier world. We can give our clients new insights on how to produce goods more responsibly. We can also help them reduce water usage and wastage."

Looking to the next ten years, the founders of this company are aiming for a countrywide coverage in the Netherlands and Belgium. "We would also like to further specialise in food safety. This is beside Arbo safety. For example, we would like to help our clients with the implementation of BRC and HACCP. We can use our fresh outlook to influence, or even change, industry processes. These could be about efficiency, maintenance, food safety or sustainability. Or about quality, the use of natural resources, and numerous other disciplines. This has brought us to where we are over the last ten years. We would like to continue this in an integrated manner, together with our clients, for the next ten years", they conclude.

For more information:
Rien Melis / Kees Vermaire
Synergo
2c 's-Gravenpolderseweg
4462 CG Goes
Tel: + 31 (0) 113 235 100
www.synergo.com