Dominic Van Den Bossche
Career story
Managing Director Joris Ide Group
What is your current role in the Joris Ide Group? Describe a typical week.
I'm the Managing Director for the Joris Ide Group.
- 50% of my time is spent on the business: bringing maximum value to our customers and structuring the sales organisation (personnel, pricing policy, strategy, etc.)
- 50% of my time is spent with my colleagues: listening to staff, hiring talent, etc. "It's the people who make the difference in our business".
"My biggest challenge is being available for my colleagues, for the organisation" (this being my managers as well as my teams).
How long have you been working at Joris Ide?
18 years, in 3 different lead organisations with different objectives.
Can you tell us your Joris Ide story? How have things changed in 20 years?
Just like Mr Joris Ide himself, I started in the world of steel because of my family background. My own development followed the company's, that we can describe in three phases:
- 2000: Entrepreneurship:
Working with Mr Joris Ide - family entrepreneur: relationships based on trust. I worked as a sales manager, learning about the day-to-day business. - 2007: Professionalism:
When Mr Joris Ide sold some of his shares to Ergon Capital Partners, I took the position of Sales Director for Western Europe. My main task was to "build a team with colleagues that would make the difference". - 2015: Globalisation of the business model:
Since the Kingspan acquisition, the challenge has become even more extensive.
As WEU Sales Director and a member of the management committee, "one of my responsibilities is to define the key success factors of the future that will make the difference for Joris Ide (people, strategy, etc.)".
"I would not be where I am today without skilled colleagues around me – it's all about teamwork, not about a single individual".
How would you sum up your career?
Down to earth, fun, stimulating.
What are the values of Joris Ide? Are they the same as when the company was established in 1985?
Our values revolve around four main points:
- Customer service:
There is no "departmental" vision: "the entire organisation is challenged to bring the maximum added value to our customers". - Flexibility:
Despite our large size, our model is flexible: "we do not have 36 different bosses. We can take big decisions in less than a week". - Responsiveness:
We are responsive to customers and committed to development – and our local offices play a crucial part in this. "The customer always has a locally fixed person of contact, close to his problems".
Solutions at the best price:
Over time, we have developed more products, offering customers "a wide range of solutions with a great quality/price ratio".
"Although we have grown, our business model has never changed. We've kept the same philosophy for three decades".
Short term, what are your own goals and the Joris Ide goals?
- Structuring development: Continuing to develop our model in Western Europe by refining the sales and operations strategy.
- Innovating to make up lost ground: Strengthening certain areas where the construction industry has lost ground, for example digitisation.
And for the long term?
- Geographical development: "At Joris Ide there are no limits. Today we are in Europe. Tomorrow we could have a global presence".
- Offering more solutions: The goal eventually is to supply all solutions for the entire building envelope.
- Succession planning: Hiring young people and training them to grow and be flexible. Joris Ide DNA cannot be bought, so the next generation has to be ready and trained.
"The biggest goal will be to keep the Joris Ide DNA, the approachable family business our customers have always known, as we keep on growing".