Ludo Gielen and Schoeller Allibert jointly invest 15 million euros in new greenfield in Beringen

“Investing brings a lot of innovation and know-how to Limburg”

Shortly, the cornerstone of the new Belgian location of Schoeller Allibert will be laid at the former site of the Printing Partners print company. Schoeller Allibert is the European market leader in the field of reusable plastic packaging and containers, thus offering sustainable alternatives for disposable packaging such as single-use cardboard, wooden, and plastic containers. In the long term, about 70 people will be employed. But what makes this project even more special, is that the Limburg entrepreneur Ludo Gielen, who leads the innovation team of Schoeller Allibert, will invest heavily in the building himself. He has an unshaken faith in the future of reusable plastic packaging and containers, as well as in the growth that lies ahead for Schoeller Allibert.

At the Belgian branch of Schoeller Allibert, which is located for the moment in Leopoldsburg, they are really looking forward to 2017. Not only will the employees get a new, state-of-the-art operational base with the construction of the new plant in Beringen, which is to be the model factory for all future plants of the group, substantial investments are also being made in the field of technology, mainly in Big Product Mould Technology. Entrepreneur Ludo Gielen and Schoeller Allibert will be joining forces for a financial investment of 15 million euros. “With this technology, Schoeller Allibert brings a lot of innovation and know-how to Limburg,” Ludo Gielen, who leads the innovation team himself, explains. “It will include one of the largest machines in the Benelux Region, with a shot size of about 45 kilos. Our production, which will have to supply the Benelux Region, Northern France, West Germany and the UK will mainly focus on the larger products, like the Big Box Maximus® 850 L, intended, amongst others, for the fruit industry, or the plastic ClickPall® for the petrochemical industry. The first products will be coming off the conveyer belt in the summer of 2017.”

Gilbert Lambrechts, alderman for the local economy in Beringen, also looks forward to Schoeller Allibert’s arrival. “The arrival of a company of such standing is important to our municipality,” he says. “Schoeller Allibert is a rapidly expanding company, and thus, it will increase employment in our city.” To support its growth, Schoeller Allibert already has ten vacancies today, amongst others for a production manager, injection moulding specialists, a supply chain employee and an e-Commerce marketeer. The new plant should eventually offer work for more or less 70 employees.

And so, we have come full circle

The remarkable decision by Ludo Gielen to invest himself, through Blue Oceans XL, obviously didn’t just come out of thin air. “On a worldwide scale, 600 billion dollars is being spent on the production of packaging products such as trays, foils, shampoo bottles, etc.” says Ludo Gielen. “But the market of the ‘returnable transport packaging’ or reusable, sustainable packaging barely covers six and a half billion dollars. This means that only one percent is reusable today. I strongly believe in the potential of Schoeller Allibert to grow into a concern with revenue of two billion euros. But then we have to convince the industry and the consumer to really go along with us and distance themselves from our disposable culture. It is not only our job to invent innovative and sustainable cradle-2-cradle products of supreme quality, but also to mould them into a model that is financially viable for the (pooling) industry and accepted by the consumer. This is the only way to reduce the waste heap. By the way, did you know that the content of Belgium’s well-known blue ‘PMD’ (plastic, metal and drinks packaging) bags, recycled into high-quality, odourless resources, will be used for production in our new plant? Thus, we will really have come full circle, and that really makes us very proud.”

A gem

The new plant in Beringen was designed by architect firm Wastiau & Co. “It will be a light-filled factory where the working conditions are pleasant,” says Ludo Gielen. “The plant will consist of a 6,500 m² production hall, 3,500 m² of outdoor storage space and there will be a sales and innovation centre of 1,200 m². On the second floor, we provide an inspirational brainstorming area. It will be quite a gem.”

In the design, the architects of Wastiau & Co took into account the two main players in the project: Blue Oceans XL and Schoeller Allibert: there was ample attention to the shared vision in the field of sustainability, social responsibility, innovation and creativity. “For this project we deviated from our usual starting point, we did not start from a plan, but from a shape,” says architect W. Allen Zimmerman from Wastiau & Co. “We let the product range of Schoeller Allibert and the liquid state of plastic during the production process inspire us. For Schoeller Allibert, the building will be a business card that will impress, that much is sure.” The construction of the new plant in Beringen will start late January 2017.

New magazine

Early December, the first ever edition of the brand-new business magazine Business Vlaanderen (Louwers Mediagroep) will be released, in which the entrepreneurial story of Ludo Gielen is addressed extensively in the cover interview.

For more information with regard to our vacancies, please visit: https://www.schoellerallibert.com/careers/

About Ludo Gielen

Ludo Gielen conquered the European market in 1996 with his own pallet range. In 2004 his company was taken over by Schoeller Wavin. A couple of years and a number of mergers and shifts later, Gielen was appointed Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer of market leader Schoeller Allibert.

About Schoeller Allibert

Currently, Schoeller Allibert employs 2000 employees, operates in twenty countries, with eleven production locations all over Europe. The new plant in Beringen will be the twelfth. The company is active in seven markets including agriculture, food, beverages, automotive and retail. The head office is located in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.