WAAK, a brief history
W.A.A.K. – Workshop for Adapted Employment Kortrijk
WAAK was founded on the 5th of May 1965 in Kortrijk by Gerard Maes as ‘Werkplaats voor Aangepaste Arbeid Kortrijk’ (or Workshop for Adapted Employment Kortrijk), abbreviated to W.A.A.K. At the time, WAAK was referred to as a ‘sheltered workshop’, a term that is no longer used. Today, we use the terms social workplace or social enterprise.
The company’s mission has always remained the same: offering adapted and sustainable employment to people who face difficulties accessing the labour market due to physical or mental disabilities, or a combination of multiple factors. As such, they receive a steady income and the opportunity to build a life for themselves and their families. When WAAK started in 1965, no one could have foreseen that a sheltered workshop with four employees would grow into the largest social enterprise in Flanders.
From sheltered workshop to multifaceted social workplace
WAAK’s first activity was producing power cords for the washing machines and dryers of the company Primus. Today, WAAK is a modern social enterprise with 2,100 employees, a turnover of €41,000,000, and four core activities: cable assembly, metal assembly, plastics assembly and packaging, and B2B services (such as cleaning and greenery service), which are local activities.
Local roots and internationally active
Through extensive use of technology and innovation, WAAK plays a pioneering role in the social enterprise sector. We see technology as a means to make complex work manageable for our workers, enabling us to take on more challenging assignments - an approach that has proven to be highly successful.
As a social enterprise, we are not only active in Kuurne and Flanders/Belgium, but our operations also extend far beyond national borders. More than one-third of our turnover comes from exports: mainly Europe, but to a lesser extent also the Americas and Asia. In this way, WAAK is both locally anchored and internationally active.
