Anniversary campaign
Social enterprises play a vital role in Flanders’ social and economic landscape, and WAAK is no exception. Through a dedicated campaign, we aim to showcase our collaborations with our stakeholders. The people featured in it, along with the relationships they have to one another, exemplify this commitment. We are happy to share their stories.
Dominique Demeulenaere and Jonna Vandenbulcke (WAAK)
Jonna is a Talent Coach at WAAK. Talent Coaches provide our workers with guidance and support. One of the people she works with is Dominique, who has been with WAAK for more than 24 years. It goes without saying that WAAK would not exist without its workers. As set out in our vision and mission, our company exists for them, and because of them.
Not only is it our aim to create adapted and sustainable employment for them, we also support their personal growth. Through education and guidance, we help them develop and strengthen themselves as individuals. Talent Coaches such as Jonna play an essential role in this process. They ensure that our employees feel at home at WAAK, help them build a (career) path for the future, and assist them in overcoming obstacles - ranging from everyday challenges to more life-impacting issues, such as addiction or sickness.
Over the years, we have increasingly focused on the individual. This is not always easy, as it requires considerable follow-up, which is time-consuming. However, motivated professionals like Jonna make it possible.
Kristof Hots (WAAK) and Stefan Grosjean (Smappee)
Kristof Hots, Commercial Director at WAAK, is in daily contact with customers such as Stefan Grosjean, CEO of Smappee. Smappee is a Belgian cleantech company that develops smart energy and charging solutions.
Being a social enterprise, WAAK – just like any other (regular) company – needs profit to survive. That is why we invest in building long-term, sustainable partnerships with our customers. These durable collaborations provide WAAK with stability and enable us to offer customers an exceptional and far-reaching service: a win-win situation for all.
Since 2021, our Metal Assembly department has worked closely with Smappee. While Smappee mainly focuses on designing, marketing, and selling its smart EV charging stations, the company entrusts its production work to WAAK. This is a conscious choice because, unlike many other competitors, WAAK Metal Assembly offers a convenient total package: from laser cutting, bending, punching, and powder coating to manual assembly. Even the electrical testing of the products is carried out at WAAK Metal Assembly. Recently, in collaboration with our Cable Assembly Department, we also started producing cable harnesses that are integrated into Smappee’s charging stations.
Read more about the partnership between WAAK and Smappee
What began as a purely commercial collaboration has evolved into a true partnership. Smappee is now a proud ambassador of WAAK. We integrate multiple, thorough quality checks into the production flow, which offer great added value for Smappee’s high-end charging solutions. Markus Hormann, COO of Smappee, once put it aptly: “It is WAAK’s habit to check absolutely everything. Not only does this make it possible to have the work executed by their workers, it also improves the overall quality of the products, which is vitally important to us.” We are proud of customers such as Smappee, who recognise our added value and actively communicate this to the outside world, including to other potential partners.
Joren Dhu (WAAK) and Ruth Vandenberghe (City of Kortrijk)
Joren D’Hu is Unit Director of our B2B Services department. One of their largest clients is the city of Kortrijk. With its numerous parks and natural areas, Kortrijk has developed into one of Flanders’ greenest cities. Naturally, all this greenery requires maintenance. Although the city has its own greenery service, it cannot manage everything on its own.
Enter: WAAK Green Service. Throughout the year, they support the city’s green workers. In summer, they maintain the large recreational areas and green spaces, while in winter they provide support for the many events the city organises, such as ‘Kortrijk Winter’, which celebrates the Christmas period.
Many of our employees live in Kortrijk or in the neighbouring villages. In this way, the city of Kortrijk indirectly provides (local) employment to dozens of people. The city is represented here by its mayor, Ruth Vandenberghe. In that capacity, she determines who the city’s partners are, and is therefore an important stakeholder for WAAK.
Tim Vannieuwenhuyse (WAAK) en Francis Devisch (Groep Maatwerk)
Since 2011, Tim Vannieuwenhuyse has been General Manager of WAAK. Having been at the steering wheel for such a long time, he knows the organisation inside out, and the broader ecosystem of Flemish social enterprises holds few secrets for him.
Flanders has a wide landscape of social enterprises. Across the region, there are more than 100 in total. Groep Maatwerk, the Flemish umbrella organisation led by Director Francis Devisch, aims to stimulate collaboration among these enterprises.
What is a social enterprise? Learn more!
Although each social enterprise has its own specialisations and therefore differs from the others, they share many common challenges. From simplifying complex tasks and exchanging innovations to making production processes more sustainable and sharing expertise on topics such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), these are issues faced by every social enterprise. By sharing knowledge and experiences, social enterprises can inspire and strengthen one another.
WAAK’s vision in this regard aligns closely with that of Groep Maatwerk. We follow an open innovation policy and work closely with other social enterprises, recognising that ultimately we all pursue the same goal: offering sustainable employment to people who face difficulties accessing the regular labour market. Fierce competition and antagonism benefit no one; collaboration, on the other hand, is far more effective.
By joining forces, social enterprises can create work that is even better tailored to the capabilities of their employees. In other words, cooperation makes work more accessible. That is precisely why umbrella organisations such as Groep Maatwerk are so valuable: they facilitate knowledge sharing and encourage collaboration in the interests of the entire sector.
