Oct 16, 2024

Brussels, 16 October 2024 – A leading Flanders-based exporter, a promising startup and a foreign investor in Flanders will each receive a Flanders International Business Award on 6 November 2024. This initiative by Flanders Investment & Trade, now in its second edition, provides a platform to showcase the best of Flemish entrepreneurship and international investments. A panel of experts selected three nominees in each of the three categories from no less than 70 candidates. In the 'Exporter of the Year' category, Optimum (Hasselt), Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels (Boechout), and Waterleau (Wespelaar) are competing for the award. For the 'Foreign Investor of the Year' award, the finalists include Turkish company Ciner Glass (Lommel) and U.S.-based companies Freepoint Eco-Systems (Ghent) and Monarch Tractor (West Flanders). Lastly and as part of the Startup.Flanders initiative, the startups Henchman (Ghent), Gorilla (Antwerp), and SettleMint (Leuven) are in the running for the prestigious title of ‘Startup of the Year’. About one in three jobs in Flanders is linked to the international economy in one way or another. In addition, 25% of the added value in Flanders is created by foreign investments. These figures emphasize how dependent we are on international trade and investments for our prosperity. Piet Demunter 3 nominees in the ‘Exporter of the Year’ category (in alphabetical order) Optimum Founded only in 2017, and specialist in optical sorting machines, Optimum is already firmly established on the world map. This Hasselt-based company set its sights on global expansion from the very beginning and has since grown into a true born-global business, with teams in five locations around the world. Innovation is a top priority here. The R&D department now has 25 full-time employees, and the young company has already secured several patents under its name. Optimum is fully committed to sustainability, and this approach extends to their service and sales as well: every machine can be operated remotely, and prospects from around the world can experience its capabilities through a live reality demo. This focus on sustainability not only benefits Optimum’s own ecological footprint, but it also extends to their product line, providing long-term value for their customers. For example, their sorting machines help clients optimize food processing, ensure food safety, and reduce waste. But Optimum’s vision goes beyond the food industry. Their latest machine now sorts spodumene, a key raw material for lithium production. This move into recycling applications is another logical step, further strengthening their role in the energy transition. Location: Hasselt Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels With many leading pharmaceutical companies in Belgium, setting up Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels in Boechout (Antwerp) in 1991 was a smart choice. The pharmaceutical sector has very specific and strict requirements when it comes to quality and delivery reliability. A printing company specializing in self-adhesive labels for the pharmaceutical industry, fully compliant with the sector’s GMP regulations, was a welcome addition at the time – and a national first. Since then, the local printing company, which started with two printing presses, has grown into an international player with 21 presses, now ranking in the top five in its niche in Europe. Innovation and sustainability continue to set the standard today. Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels excels in producing high-value-added labels, including booklet and leaflet labels, hanger labels, vaccine labels, and smart labels. Their export focus is primarily on neighboring countries, including the UK. With its whole workforce based in Boechout, Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels is one of the area’s biggest employers. The site expansion in August 2023 added 40% production capacity. This is a great example of how important local roots are for Reynders Pharmaceutical Labels in the long term. Location: Boechout Waterleau Every drop counts! Waterleau, Flanders’ largest private company specialized in water technology, was founded in 2000. Thanks to a smart export strategy – Waterleau helps global customers all over the world – and innovative solutions, this player from Wespelaar in Flemish Brabant quickly built up a rock-solid international reputation. Today, businesses and governments around the world are using water and energy more efficiently thanks to Waterleau’s solutions for wastewater treatment, water recovery and drinking water production. In addition, customers can easily optimize their water management on Waterleau’s digital SmartLab platform. Innovation has been the key word at Waterleau from the start, as demonstrated by the state-of-the-art research center of this export champion from Flemish Brabant. Their R&D hub features around 20 small-scale pilot installations used to refine various processes. In recent years, Waterleau has also heavily invested in research on micro-pollutants and PFAS contamination. As a result, they are the only company in Flanders to offer a complete PFAS pilot setup. Location: Wespelaar Ciner Glass (Turkey) Part of the Turkish Ciner Group, Ciner Glass is revitalizing the glass industry in Lommel where the company is building a new manufacturing facility. At full capacity, over 500 employees will produce more than 7 million glass bottles and jars per day. At the same time, Ciner Glass is taking a leading role in the circular economy with a production process that uses 75% recycled glass, reducing energy consumption by 20%. This investment will also enable the lightest beer bottle in the world to be produced in Flanders. By making the bottles 10% lighter as well, energy and raw material consumption is reduced even further. At 600 million euros, this investment is the largest ever by a Turkish player in Flanders. According to the company, choosing Flanders as location was a no-brainer. In addition to the know-how and availability of raw materials in a circular economy, the region also offers easy access to a strong food and beverage industry. A perfect market and ideal international springboard for Ciner Glass. Investment project: glass production plant (bottles) Investment location: Lommel Freepoint Eco-Systems (USA) Freepoint Eco-Systems International, an affiliate of US based Freepoint Commodities LLC,  is investing in a new flagship project in Ghent, Belgium. Their aim is to build a state-of-the-art recycling facility in North Sea Port, where plastic waste that is difficult to recycle will be given a new life using an innovative technology. The facility will have the capacity to recycle approximately 80,000 metric tons of waste plastic annually. The project is designed for future expansion, with a plot capable of supporting an anticipated total recycling capacity of approximately 160,000 metric tons of waste plastic per year. In addition, Freepoint Eco-Systems recently announced its intention to collaborate on building a new waste plastic sorting and treatment facility with waste management company Renewi. The Freepoint Eco-Systems’ facility will help to prevent the incineration or landfilling of plastic waste in support of European sustainability goals. With the investment project in North Sea Port, Freepoint Eco-Systems will be able to firmly anchor itself within the Flanders’ sustainable chemicals sector. This will be an ideal base for Freepoint Eco-Systems to support its future international plans. Investment project: recycling plant for plastics Investment location: Ghent Monarch Tractor (USA) American Monarch Tractor has chosen Flanders as its European base for its revolution in sustainable agriculture. The Californian e-tractor manufacturer is earmarking more than 25 million dollars for the construction of a brand-new headquarters in Flanders, complete with a high-tech manufacturing facility, R&D hub and digital expertise center. By 2030, up to 15,000 electrically powered tractors destined for the European market will roll off the production line. The investment is expected to create several hundred jobs over time. The technology landscape in Flanders, with its focus on advanced technologies as battery integration, robotics, autonomous vehicles and hyperspectral imaging, proves an ideal match for Monarch Tractor. All of these aspects are essential building blocks for decarbonizing our agricultural sector and making it more sustainable. Investment project: European base for e-tractors Investment location: Flanders (phase one) Henchman Lawyers use the smart processor of legal tech startup Henchman to draft their complex contracts based on all the clauses, definitions and other unstructured data in their database. This means they no longer have to start from scratch with a manual search in old files. As a result, the freed-up time can be dedicated to their clients. Henchman’s customer base currently stands at 160 law firms in about 30 export countries across 5 continents, including many leading firms in Europe and the US. The startup was founded in 2020 and acquired by LexisNexis in the summer of 2024. For a fee, it provides companies with a database containing an archive of, among other things, newspapers, magazines and legal documents. Location: Ghent Gorilla With its advanced data and AI applications, Gorilla accelerates the digital transformation of the energy industry. The outdated physical and digital infrastructures of energy and utility companies are no match for today’s rapidly evolving and demanding data-driven market. Providing the missing pieces to this patchwork is exactly what's urgently needed during this critical period of energy transition. With Gorilla’s SaaS solutions, energy companies are more efficient, more agile, and can reduce their investments. Accurate forecasting enables them to better anticipate energy demand and manage price volatility. This will reduce the carbon footprint of the entire energy supply and distribution chain in the long term. After an initial fundraising round of 6 million euros in 2022, Gorilla raised another 23 million euros in 2024 to push its international expansion. The US and Germany in particular are strategic markets. Today, the Antwerp startup already has offices in London, Melbourne and Austin and generates 85% of its turnover abroad. Location: Antwerp SettleMint Leuven-based SettleMint was founded in 2016 and uses its middleware to unlock blockchain technology for companies and organizations. Its SettleMint platform makes the technology accessible to non-specialist developers, enabling them to easily plug it in with their own applications. SettleMint now has a foothold in a wide variety of sectors, from finances to healthcare and governments. In addition to its headquarters in Leuven, the startup has offices in Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo and New Delhi, with a presence in 11 countries in total. The company is looking to further expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in the upcoming years, and dip its toes into new emerging markets. SettleMint currently generates 86% of its turnover abroad. In addition to geographical expansion, investments in R&D also continue unabated with the goal of building an ecosystem where companies can innovate and collaborate thanks to blockchain and learn about it. Location: Leuven