Export Lion Award 2022: discover the 6 nominees

While we still need to wait until September 14 to find out who will be the winner of the Flanders export award, the professional jury has already shortened the list of contenders. With nominees Belkorn, XenomatiX and Twipe Mobile Solutions, we can expect a Flanders Brabant get-together in the ‘Companies with up to 49 employees’ category. Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics and Lambo Laboratories from Antwerp, and the West Flanders based Kipco-Damaco are in the running among ‘Companies with 50 or more employees’.

The three candidates from the ‘Companies with up to 49 employees’ category

Belkorn

Diest-based Belkorn launched an organic cake for children as early as 1985. Although the consumer trend to buy organic did not establish itself until years later, the family business has remained true to its sustainable vision ever since its inception. Continuous investments in the production equipment, quality control and product innovation ultimately resulted in the company’s international breakthrough in the niche of organic baby and children’s cakes.

With the exception of its own cookie line – under the Biskids brand – Belkorn is pursuing a private label strategy. In co-creation with its customers, it develops products to suit local taste habits and regulations. The company has experienced significant growth over the past five years, especially abroad. No less than 95% of the turnover comes from exports, with the EU and the UK as the main focus. A first product launch in Australia and New Zealand has also proved very promising.
 

• Site: Diest
• Number of employees: 18 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 9,427,916.54
• Export share in turnover (2021): 95%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 8%
• www.belkorn.com
  
   

Twipe Mobile Solutions

Created as an innovation platform for media group Corelio, this tech player based in Heverlee is now providing software to more than 80 newspaper titles in 13 different countries. Twipe’s SaaS application enables readers to browse their digital newspaper in a user-friendly way, on a web browser as well as through mobile apps. The technology also gives publishers the ability to monitor reading behavior and offer readers customized news selections.

Le Monde, The Telegraph and The Daily Mail are on Twipe’s reference list, among other titles. The company is active in Belgium’s neighboring countries, as well as in Italy, Scandinavia, the UK and the US, together accounting for a 92% share of turnover. In addition to developing software, Twipe positions itself as a thought leader within its niche, by participating in scientific research projects, for example. It shares the insights gained in such research through publications, specialized conferences and its own blog. In addition to expanding its presence in the US and the UK, Twipe also wants to gain a stronger foothold in the German media landscape in the coming years.
 

• Site: Heverlee
• Number of employees: 28 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 4,307,149.89
• Export share in turnover (2021): 92%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 9%
• www.twipemobile.com
  
   

XenomatiX

This born global company from Heverlee is specialized in multi-beam LiDAR technology. This is a patented laser system that emits tens of thousands of laser beams simultaneously, in order to detect objects in the environment and accurately estimate distances. Multi-beam LiDAR has applications in smart cities, infrastructure and the manufacturing industry, among other sectors. However, the target market of XenomatiX is the automotive industry, where the system is used in driver assistance systems and self-driving vehicles.

More than three quarters of the turnover comes from exports. XenomatiX primarily focuses on major automotive countries such as Germany, the US, China, Japan and South Korea. The company has its own subsidiaries in Berlin, Detroit and Beijing, and it can rely on a distributor network in the other markets.
  

• Site: Heverlee
• Number of employees: 23.6 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 2,101,853.75
• Export share in turnover (2021): 76%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 36%
• www.xenomatix.com

The three candidates from the ‘companies with 50 or more employees’ category

Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics

In this engineering company based in Hoogstraten, everything revolves around products and technologies for the automation of manual activities in greenhouse cultivation. From harvesting carts and spraying machines to sorting and packaging lines: Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics develops and manufactures all systems in-house. They are exported to more than 40 countries, including quite a few non-EU markets.

Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics also has its own R&D center, including a test greenhouse to try out prototypes in a realistic working environment. The 40-strong engineering department drives innovation at this supplier to the horticultural sector. The company also works with educational institutions on innovation projects, such as a harvesting robot for peppers. The company is planning a move to a larger site, including an automated warehouse and more sophisticated production lines.
 

• Site: Hoogstraten
• Number of employees: 154.04 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 45,292,953.46
• Export share in turnover (2021): 91%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 43%
• www.bogaertsgl.com

Kipco-Damaco

This company from Oostrozebeke in West Flanders produces mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDM) for further processing into frankfurter sausages and various deep-fry nuggets, among other products. It also supplies frozen vegetables, meat, fish and French fries for the retail and food services segments. Finally, Kipco-Damaco recovers by-products from poultry production and processes them into functional building blocks for aquaculture and nutrient and animal feed producers.

83% of turnover comes from exports, a significant part of which to non-EU markets. The group has established its own network of sales offices in Singapore, Brazil, India, China and Vietnam, among other countries. In addition to the headquarters in Oostrozebeke, it operates production sites in Poland and France. Kipco-Damaco leverages the local market knowledge acquired by the sales offices and its specialized know-how to work out with the customers ways to adapt their meat processing process in function of their semi-finished product. 
 

• Site: Oostrozebeke
• Number of employees: 56 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 99,599,544.38
• Export share in turnover (2021): 83%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 62%
• www.damaco-group.com
   

Lambo Laboratoria

The only producer of soft gelatin capsules (softgels) in Belgium, Lambo Laboratories was founded back in 1865. Today, the Wijnegem-based company focuses on highly complex tailor-made formulas and exports to 30 countries worldwide. In addition to pharmaceuticals, the capsules are marketed in the niche of food supplements for humans and small pets. In order to provide customers with the best possible service and product, Lambo Laboratories are now increasingly managing the complete production chain up to the final packaging process instead of delivering in bulk.

The company is strongly committed to product and process innovation, including a softgel based exclusively on vegetable gelatin, a halal line and a new production process for its pharmaceutical products. 78% of the turnover comes from exports, with the lion’s share realized in Belgium’s neighboring countries, as well as in Italy and Poland. Lambo Laboratories is also looking at distant markets, including the potential for distributing food supplements in Central Africa with a local partner.

• Site: Wijnegem
• Number of employees: 67 full-time equivalents (Belgium)
• Turnover (2021): € 16,078,018
• Export share in turnover (2021): 78%
• Share of non-EU countries in exports: 12%
• www.labo-lambo.be

Further course

During the second jury round in September, these six nominees will present their competition files to a final jury. In addition to chairpersons Joy Donné (by then CEO of FIT) and Sonja Willems (Chairperson of the FIT board of directors), the panel will be composed of: Dirk Van Steerteghem (Head of International Trade FIT), Peter Lauwers (Head of Advisory KPMG Belgium), Frank Haak (Head Sales Global Trade Solutions BNP Paribas Fortis), Filip Abraham (Full Professor International Economics Vlerick Business School) and Gert Lambrecht (Head of Business Development Credendo). The current ‘Export Lions’ will also be represented in the final jury by Valérie Lucq (General Manager Molecubes), Geert Caignau (Commercial Director Sylva) and Lieven Pieters (Commercial Director Locinox).

On September 14, Flanders’ Minister-President Jan Jambon and newly-appointed FIT CEO Joy Donné will announce the winners during the award ceremony in Leuven. For more information on the competition process, please visit www.leeuwvandeexport.be.