Michiel Vanloot: There is more space in northern France
Northern France is familiar territory for KBC France, as evidenced by KBC Commercial Banking's presence in Lille. The same applies for many customers in the neighbouring Belgian provinces of West and East Flanders. Michiel Vanloot not only found space for a new branch in Les Hauts-de-France, but also an enthusiastic partner in KBC France.
Vanloot builds prefabricated commercial buildings in concrete, steel and timber. With Michiel and Jeroen Vanloot, the company is already in its fourth generation. They relocated to northern France to establish a new branch 12 years ago and are planning further investments there. We spoke to Michiel Vanloot in Boeschepe in French Flanders, just across the border from Belgium.
‘Over four generations, we have evolved from selling and repairing agricultural machinery to prefabrication of agricultural and industrial buildings. We decided to change the old name VL-Trac - Vanloot Tractors - to Vanloot, to emphasise the family connection.’
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The oldest branch is in the Belgian village of Vlamertinge, near Ypres. There were no opportunities for expansion there, so my father took over a business in Waregem in 2009. When he wanted to expand again in 2011, no suitable land or business premises could be found around Ypres. By chance, he came across a 'for sale' sign here in Boeschepe; there was no sign of the present industrial zone at that time. This is an ideal base: we have been operating in France since 2000, and Boeschepe is barely five minutes from the Belgian border.
Available space was thus a major reason for making the move to France. There was plenty of room to build and to grow. This commercial building is therefore very spacious, with both the offices and the production site being built with growth in mind. That’s also the advice I give to customers: you should build for decades; above all, don't think too small. Customers sometimes think I’m saying that for commercial reasons, but I mean it! This building is also our showroom; customers can see the materials and how we use them. Our buildings have a timeless style and are sustainable in that sense. Prefabrication is actually a sustainable way of building. Every part of our buildings - whether concrete, steel or wood - can be reused.
‘The collaboration between KBC Belgium and KBC France is unique’
It’s sometimes said that it’s easier to get permits in France, but our experience is different. As in lots of places, new legislation is slowing down expansion. And our activities require detailed studies, including environmental assessments. Our contacts with the French authorities are very smooth, though, which is a bonus.
We will also build our new concrete production site in France. The current site in Waregem doesn’t have enough production capacity and we can’t expand there. So some years ago we bought land in Wallonia. The preliminary talks with the local government seemed to go well, but in the end we didn’t get our permit. We unfortunately lost 2.5 years because of that.
"In the three years we've been working with Vanloot, a lot has happened. Michiel is a customer who looks to the future and has an overall plan. That helps his business move forward, and it helps us: we can present the whole story to the credit committee at once, rather than presenting each element separately.
Filip Notredame, relationship manager at KBC Commercial Banking Kortrijk
Our market in France already accounts for 60 per cent of our current business. We are slowly seeing our horizons expanding: for the first time, we have two projects in the pipeline near Paris. Prefabricated construction is well established in Belgium; in France, the trend is only just beginning to take hold. The market in Belgium is more competitive and is consequently saturated. Our ambition is to maintain our market position in Flanders and grow in France, by attracting new customers, but also by building long-term relationships with existing customers, to ensure continuity and provide security.
Our customers are a mix of small, medium and large companies. Big for us means a 4-5 million-euro project. Ideally, we like to work with medium-sized companies; I like to sit at the table with the person who makes the decisions.
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We lost our KBC relationship manager at one point, leaving my father without a dedicated point of contact. In 2023, Filip became our new relationship manager, just in time for the land purchase in Wallonia. He listened, worked with us. That’s really important: someone who wants to understand what we do and who knows the whole story. Last year, Katrien from KBC France joined us to finance our new fully automated drillsaw line. It’s a hefty investment that allows us to produce a higher volume with less labour. You have to be brave enough to invest and automate.
Katrien and Filip not only respond quickly, we also speak to each other regularly. ‘In 2026, Jeroen and I will take over the company; we have lots of contact with them about that too; it has to be properly prepared. Having a point of contact who knows your business very well and maintains an overview is important in that regard.’
‘We’ve seen a growing number of customers moving to France in the last three years to set up an additional branch. Not only is there more space, it’s also easier to find staff: West Flanders has a high employment rate. There are also several French agencies that will actively search for commercial sites for you. The partnership between KBC Commercial Banking and KBC France is quite unique. They bring customers to KBC France and we share all the information with each other. That collaboration isn’t so well developed with other financial institutions, or they’re not active in France at all.’
Katrien Delva, Corporate Banking relationship manager at KBC France
KBC Commercial Banking has several foreign branches, from New York to London to Singapore. These help Belgian companies do business internationally. Doing business abroad is a little different from doing business in Belgium. The added value of these branches lies in the fast and efficient collaboration with relationship managers and experts in Belgium. One bank, one team.
Are you thinking about launching a branch abroad? If so, be sure to contact KBC Commercial Banking.
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