New Belgian cooperation
With effect from 15 May, there will be further growth from Belgium in the E/D/E Group: Bricks and Tools, an Association for construction equipment with over 60 members in Belgium.
Around 30 members and the two managing directors of the parent association ProCoop, Charlie Baus and Kristof Thys, took the opportunity to visit E/D/E in Wuppertal. In addition to getting to know each other personally, the focus was on an initial presentation of the general services of E/D/E and in particular a visit to the eLC logistics centre.
Freek Dekkers, Sales Manager at EDE International, was convinced of the group’s effectiveness right from the start: “Bricks and Tools has managed not only to found a new association in a difficult pandemic situation, but also to gain a respectable group of dealers in a very short time.” This is no coincidence, Dekkers adds: “The association acts quickly, in a lean and highly effective manner. It offers its members support that is specifically tailored to the needs of construction equipment dealers.”
The next few months of the cooperation between EDE International AG and Bricks and Tools will be characterised by an intensive development of a construction equipment concept perfectly adapted to the dealers in Belgium. In addition to the classic main pillars of this specialist concept – such as a catalogue in the national language with original brands and with the E/D/E trade brand FORMAT as well as international and national suppliers – joint marketing campaigns will be developed. In addition, the step-by-step cooperation in the area of “chain transactions”, which E/D/E has already been operating very successfully for many years in the entire Benelux market with the Ferney Group, among others, is being built up. “The symbiosis between the committed association based in Westerlo, the specialised retailers on the ground in Belgium and the competent services of E/D/E promises a win-win situation for all parties involved,” says Dekkers. “The expansion of the cooperation to other levels and product areas such as tools is definitely planned.” Charlie Baus, Managing Director proCoop, is also convinced: “We have consciously taken the decision to make the leap into a full-service association. This is because we want to offer more services to our members to help them move forward, and EDE International is the right partner for that.”
About Bricks and Tools
In 2021, the youngest Belgian association specialising in construction equipment was founded in Westerlo by the two young entrepreneurs Charlie Baus and Kristof Thys and has since grown disproportionately. Today, the association already employs 15 people who professionally support their 62 members, mainly in Dutch-speaking Flanders, by providing effective and targeted services in the field of construction equipment.