complex maxicon along national highway finished - KW

When Emmanuel Bekaert (43) started Maxicon (specialising in outsourcing technical profiles, ed.) in 2015, only his wife Sophie Vangheluwe (35) was on the payroll. Anno 2020, the workforce had grown to 175 and the offices in Ardooie, right next to the open exit complex of the E403 motorway, had become too cramped for quite some time, which is why the Ardooie native started looking for new premises. "I found that in 2018 at the WVI's industrial site on Onledebeekstraat in Beveren," he explains. "On a 5,000-square-metre site, we erected a 1,200-square-metre office building, complemented by a 900-square-metre warehouse for Spanorama and Certipower."

SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES

Good for an investment of around 4.5 million euros, resulting in a state-of-the-art building. "In addition to Maxicon, our other companies - AM Group, Spanorama, Certipower and Absolute Jobs - are also housed here," it sounds. "That way we have everything under one roof and they also reinforce each other. We also deliberately wanted to have our base in the same region. In Ardooie we didn't find a suitable site, but here we found a wonderful location."

The brand-new complex is an architectural gem. "A conscious choice, because our new home is also the calling card of our companies", Emmanuel stresses "For the design, we organised a competition, which was eventually won by SOM Architects from Diksmuide. They designed a multi-layered building, which was built entirely on site. We also chose the most sustainable techniques. The whole building is virtually energy-neutral and we installed a hundred solar panels. These should allow us to run 100 per cent on renewable energy. Solar control glazing should keep the cooling load as low as possible. Cooling and heating are done via a heat pump, with a sophisticated ventilation system to back it up."

STRIKE SERVICE

The well-being of employees has also been considered. For instance, there is a relaxation area with a billiard table and table football, they can relax on the moody indoor terrace, and the roof terrace should become a hotspot on sunny and summer days. "From next year, we will also offer everyone a free ironing service. While our people do their job, their full ironing basket will be expertly disposed of on site. That way, they have an extra hour at home for what really matters: their family." The entire building now offers ample space for everyone working at Maxicon, AM Group, Spanorama, Certipower and Absolute Jobs, but at the same time is built somewhat on 'growth'. "There is still room for about 20 more people," Emmanuel states. "After all, this is our final base of operations. We also want to inaugurate it soon with all the necessary pomp. Due to the coronagraphs, it is not possible to organise a grand opening now, but we hope to have that party in June next year. That's when we'll toast the future of our businesses and people."

Verhaest, P. (2020). Krant van West-Vlaanderen. Accessed from https://kw.be/nieuws/samenlevi...

photo © Stefaan Beel