Worldplayer
in scaffolding
November 2019
AALTER - Afix Group from Aalter is active in the production, sale and rental of a wide range of scaffolding components. In a short period of time the company has grown into a leading player in the international market and it now also has ambitious plans in the United States.
In the summer of 2017, scaffolding specialist Afix joined forces with investor Dovesco, which itself is part of Domo lnvestment Group. Thanks to this cooperation, Afix was able to significantly strengthen its equity capital and this formed the basis for further international expansion. Today, the company exports to 25 different countries. Afix has double-digit organic growth and expects a consolidated turnover of 20 to 25 million euros this year. The company employs 100 people and is constantly looking for various profiles to support its rapid growth.
Afix has production facilities in Turkey and the Netherlands. Afix has its own sales offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Morocco and the island of Mauritius. We have very concrete plans to start in the United States in the short term. The trade war with China is now opening doors for us there, explains CEO Chris Fleurbaey.
Quality and innovation
From the birth of Afix in 2004, initiators Chris Fleurbaey and Jean-Pierre Debucke saw the big picture. Their backpacks contained a lot of valuable experience in the scaffolding construction sector, which was of course a great advantage for a smooth start. Initially they developed and sold all kinds of scaffolding parts, but soon they expanded their activities further, including a rental department. Four years after the start, the company settled in the Aalter industrial zone on a site of almost 12,000 m2.
The client portfolio is very diverse and consists of contractors and industrial companies with an emphasis on petrochemicals. A third branch consists of events for which Afix supplies, among other things, components for stages and light towers. This was recently the case on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to Mauritius. Other striking projects in which the company was involved include the Liège-Guillemins railway station and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp.
Afix wants to distinguish itself from the competition through its focus on quality and innovation. "In Rotterdam we invested heavily in a sustainable, fully automated production line that we developed ourselves, Jean-Pierre Debucke sounds proud. We are also continuously researching new alloys and innovative concepts such as repairable floor slabs and telescopic plastic handrails.