De Sutter
“A De Sutter Naturally wooden fencing has an aura of quality and style. Others keep copying us, which illustrates we are doing good business and setting a high quality standard,” Jeffrey De Sutter tells us. Some fifteen years ago he joined his parents’ company. Since then he has gradually expanded De Sutter Naturally from Kampenhout to a leading firm in the international equestrian world.
Rock'n Roll Semilly Marlon Zanotelli BRA
What are the strengths of De Sutter Naturally?
"From the start De Sutter Naturally has deliberately specialized itself in wooden fencing and gates. Our range may be limited, but it does offer exclusive top quality products. Fences may show slight differences, for instance at the posts’ head, but basically you can spot a De Sutter Naturally fence or gate from far away.
Two wood types are our basic materials. On one hand we produce pine fencing, i.e. we impregnate pinewood to make it last longer. Pinewood is mainly imported from Northern European countries. A twenty-year guarantee is offered for these fences. On the other hand, we increasingly use tropical hardwood imported from African countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast and Gabon. It is this wood type we use for our top range products: fencing and gates with a thirty-year guarantee."
How did your father start the company?
"My dad, Peter De Sutter, was a stable groom for the late top rider Eric Wauters. He travelled around the world with Eric and he noticed the typical wooden fences while on tour in the United States of America. In the early eighties a derelict fence of the Groenendaal race-track along the Brussels’ ring road caught my dad’s eye. He called the owner and drew his attention to the dilapidated state of the fence. The owner engaged my dad to put up a new fence of ten kilometres! Since then he has been installing fences for years!"
You also started at the bottom putting up fences yourself?
"My last school day was one of the happiest days of my life. I desperately wanted to roll up my sleeves. Initially I worked in production and I also put up fences, which taught me the tricks of the trade. This practical experience is still very useful today for me as the company’s chief executive. I gradually took up administration tasks to eventually take over the business from my parents five years ago."
And you have expanded the business in many areas?
"We built a stock building of some 8,000 m² next to our production hall in Kampenhout. Our very large stock allows us to deliver at short notice. Although Belgium remains our main market, we have put De Sutter Naturally on the international map in recent years. You will easily find a dealer in all European countries, but also in the American continent, for instance Peru or the main countries in the Middle East."
Is the market still expanding?
"The wire fence was the traditional fencing in my parents’ time. Today I’d estimate some 80 % of the people in the equestrian world choose for a wooden fence. The chance is fairly great it will be a De Sutter’s one indeed. Our annual production runs into some 250,000 metres of fence and more than 5,000 English gates. People are willing to invest in quality if they are convinced of a surplus value for their property."
You are also involved in ‘sustainable entrepreneurship’?
"Absolutely. Not only do we deliver long lasting quality products, but we also go one step beyond. We set the example ourselves as we heat our complete business compound at Kampenhout in a CO2 neutral way. Excess wood from our production facility is processed on-site to wood chips that feed the heating installation. We have an FSC-label and a PEFC recognition. They are the proofs of our use of wood from forests which are being managed in a sustainable way and show that we as a company contribute to ecological forest management worldwide."
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