maxicon builds new headquarters in roeselare

Outsourcing has been firmly on the rise for several years. The concept is simple: as a company, you can hire external workers, temporarily or otherwise, to fill any gaps or peak moments. "But we take care of all the paperwork and administration," states Emmanuel Bekaert, founder and inspirer of Maxicon. "We focus on bottleneck professions in the retail, ICT, white-collar and technical sectors. That last leg also started our whole story. Meanwhile, we also have a drone division with which we assist companies to work more safely and efficiently."

NEW LANDMARK
Today, Maxicon already employs about 170 people. These are managed by a team of 12 permanent employees. "In total, we are active in about 40 to 50 companies, mainly in East and West Flanders, but we also have branches in Drongen and Berchem. Our ambition is to eventually have a presence throughout Flanders. In fact, 75 per cent of our people stay with the same company for a longer period of time. They are on our payroll, but have a familiar working environment."

For the past three years, Maxicon has been operating from Roeselaarsestraat in Ardooie, right next to the E403 slip road complex, but that location is gradually becoming (much) too small. "We have actually grown faster than we expected, which is why new premises are urgently required," he says."Emmanuel found the location for Maxicon's future a stone's throw from the current site, just across the municipal border in Beveren-Roeselare, where he bought a plot of land on the West Flanders Intercommunale business park, which is in full development.Currently, the first preparatory earthworks have already started and by 1 June 2020, Maxicon should exchange Ardooie for Beveren. "All very exciting," smiles Emmanuel, "but a new headquarters is necessary to arm ourselves for the coming years." A new building is rising on the 4,985-square-metre plot that is to become a landmark along the R32."In three storeys, we envisage a total of 1,200 square metres of office space, and there will also be a 900-square-metre workshop." Our permanent employees will be able to use a free ironing service there. Their well-being is the main focus.

In the first few years, we plan to still rent out part of offices, but gradually, with Maxicon, we want to fill it in all by ourselves." "It is also our intention to organise our own training courses in our studio. A Maxicon Academy, so to speak. That way, our employees can retrain internally, but we also have the chance to test new recruits on their skills." Maxicon's new home is betting heavily on the sustainable aspect. "We will work with 100 per cent renewable energy," Emmanuel stresses. "There will be solar panels on the roof and the extra power we have to buy will be green. This story has been with us for longer than today, as our employees drive cars powered by CNG (natural gas, ed.). That's about a fleet of 160 vehicles, after all. "The well-being of the Maxicon workforce will also be even more central in the new premises. "Everyone has their say on what their personal workplace will look like and we also did a survey to find out what our people still miss. Among other things, we asked them what task in their personal lives takes up a lot of their time, and it turns out that many people get rid of the ironing basket as a real corvee. We want to respond to that by offering our regular clerks an ironing service two or three days a week completely free of charge once we are working in our new home port."

TOGETHER WITH ABSOLUTE JOBS
The new building in Beveren will cost Maxicon some four million euros, but paves the way for the future, says Emmanuel Bekaert. In the coming years, the ceo wants to focus on acquisitions of companies in the HR world that can complement and strengthen the current offering. "This is why we have created the AM Group, a new HR grouping with Maxicon and Kris Ramboer's Absolute Jobs under its umbrella," Johan Verhelst and Pieter De Poorter are also involved. "By joining forces, we can develop specialised and innovative services faster and serve our clients even better, and in this way we want to provide an answer to the increasing talent shortage within Belgian companies. For example, we are thinking of outsourcing nurses and financial profiles." In 2018, the two companies accounted for a joint turnover of 32 million euros. "Within three years, we want to double this to 60 million euros," sounds ambitious. "The new group will employ a total of 250 people and employ many thousands of temporary workers, but in the meantime, we are of course also focusing on the realisation of our new headquarters," concludes Emmanuel Bekaert.

Verhaest, P. (2019, August 16). Maxicon builds new headquarters in Roeselare.

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