Dominiek Valcke

A rare interview in Belgium's De Tijd sheds light on the growing TVH empire and the decision to split the company into two entities: Mateco and TVH Parts.

In the article, TVH Parts CEO Dominiek Valcke likens the split of TVH to "children leaving the house to build their own future. They no longer live with you but they still belong to the family".

"'TVH Parts and Mateco have had different business models for some time. If you want to continue to do everything together, you slow each other down. There was also a commercial concern: with our parts company, we also supply competitors to Mateco. Some independence was therefore appropriate. "

The interview notes rising demand for aerial platforms in Eastern Europe, as well as in emerging economies, as labour costs begin to rise.

For the parts business, the growth of distribution centres and rising demand for forklifts and warehouse equipment is only part of the story. "Our growth does not only come from that. We also sell parts for aerial platforms and agricultural vehicles, allowing us to expand our customer base with TVH Parts. Anyone who is already a customer for their forklifts may also become an elevator or tractor (user). That creates a snowball effect," Valcke adds.

The TVH offering continues to grow, with Valcke indicating that the company will leverage its 2018 purchase of Gem One, a specialist in telematics and safety for forklifts. "We will roll out the knowledge and experience of that company all over the world," he says.

Looking ahead, Valcke sees the shortage of talent as the biggest hurdle to future growth. "The advantage of a global group is that you can recruit staff wherever you find them. You should not only look for IT people and technicians in Waregem (in Belgium). We could adopt more technical profiles in India or South Africa. That requires a change in the mindset of your managers. Forget about all your employees sitting next to you in the office."

The full interview is available here.

Meanwhile, TVH has released a new corporate video to celebrate its golden jubilee last year.