Considering market volatility, supply chain disruptions, energy costs, and workforce challenges, how would you assess your company’s performance over the past year?
We can consider 2024 as a very positive year! The market has recovered slightly and stabilized, and we as Verhoeven Family of Companies can look back on a year in which we worked hard but achieved very positive results. Deliveries from the chain are again reliable, constant and stable. Energy costs have also stabilized.
This enables us, together with our customers, to achieve great innovative successes time after time in the areas our customers need. This way of working demands a lot of innovative ability from our employees, where there is no option to fail. But this keeps the work always varied and challenging.
What unexpected developments
occurred in 2024, and how did they
influence your business operations
or strategies?
What are your expectations for 2025, taking into account the lingering impacts of 2024 and the evolving market dynamics?
As I predicted last year, 2024 and 2025 would be a period of consolidation. By the end of 2025, I expect the market will show very positive upward trends. Because of all the turmoil in the world, our customers have become somewhat cautious about major investments in new production lines. However, I assume that if we work as hard as in 2024, Verhoeven Family of Companies should be able to deliver a similar annual performance as in 2024, or even better
What have been your primary
growth drivers over the past year,
and what is the most significant
lesson you’ve learned in managing
your operations?
We had set ourselves the goal of keeping sales at least equal to previous years, despite the fact that investments from our customers were sometimes delayed.
As competition in the baking
industry intensifies, what strategies
are you employing to strengthen
your market position? How do you
balance operational investments
with innovation and R&D?
By listening carefully to our customers’ wishes, we innovate at the right points.
The expectation was that the global market would stabilize in 2024 and that our customers would regain confidence to make deep investments to secure their position in the long term. As inflation remained high in many countries, central banks were forced to raise interest rates. Only in the second half of 2024
did we see a strong improvement in our customers’ confidence.
What are the most significant forces driving change in your business for 2025, and how is your company preparing to address them?
We see governments imposing more and more rules on companies, especially in the area of sustainability. But these rules also force us to be even more innovative! Verhoeven Family of Companies has therefore developed Repeatloaf, with the aim of introducing a truly circular solution for bread waste to bakers around the world.
Looking ahead to the next five years, what is your vision for the industry, and how is your company positioning itself to shape and contribute to its future growth?
Our customers are looking for certainty. When they make a major investment, they also want this investment to run smoothly so that it will yield a quick return of investment.
More and more customers are approaching the Verhoeven Family of Companies to take the lead in their project and fully manage their project.
