Interview with CEO Jos De Vuyst in VOKA magazine
For years, Jos De Vuyst has led stow, which was named Enterprise of the Year in 2020. In 2023, he added a new company: Movu, which specializes in material handling through robotics. Started from scratch, but with sky-high ambitions and a direct impact on the market. Movu’s possibilities are almost limitless, as if the trees could reach to the sky.
How and where did the idea of creating Movu come about?
“Everything started at stow of course. stow is a traditional racking company, actually a traditional steel processing company. Back in 2012, we made an initial thinking around automating certain processes in pallet handling. Our engineers then designed a first simple shuttle that could only drive forwards or backwards. We noticed even then that there was much more potential in this. Since 2015, we have invested heavily in R&D. Subject to trial and error, we have now arrived at amazing results with our automated control systems and robots.”
So is this a technology company or a software company?
“A bit of both. Movu is a technology company that needs software. Fundamental research is the key of our strategy. We have an annual budget of 20 million euros for new developments. Even in this industry, everything evolves quickly and new developments keep coming. Customers also push us forward in this regard. Within 5 or 10 years, new applications will already have taken hold.”
How do you handle such an adventure financially?
“Our pre-financing was great. We have since spent about 150 million euros on R&D – read: on engineers. We used the profits our shelving business made as investment money. It has been proven that that was a good strategy, because both companies benefit. Movu is already no longer a start-up and is even more than a scale-up.”
How do you value Movu’s first 6 months?
“Movu, like stow for that matter, operates in the material handling market. That’s a market of about $150 billion and still growing at 10 to 15% a year. The stow (pure racking) market is barely 8 billion worldwide, and there we have a nice market share with 1 billion anyway. But Movu has more growth potential, that is a fact. After less than a year, Movu has already claimed a small spot. In order for the stow group to grow further, we needed new technology, which Movu provides us. It won’t be long before Movu will be bigger than the stow shelving division. Movu today is a high-tech enterprise, dare we say, without walking next to our shoes. In no time we have also created 350 highly regarded jobs and a turnover of 100 million euros in the first year.”
You already pointed out the complementarity with stow. So wouldn’t it have been better to build closer to Dottenijs instead of in Lokeren?
“Here we couldn’t find the space for a large building. That’s one. Second, even in the best case scenario, we would have had to build a new plant for at least 2 years, and we didn’t have that time. Movu was now able to move into an existing building (the old DPG Media building) and thus saved a lot of time. In a few days we completed negotiations with WDP, the former owner of the building. The location was decisive. That plays a part in attracting people – in our case mainly engineers and software specialists. With Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and even Leuven within reasonable distance, Lokeren offered many advantages. Another advantage of its location: up to 100,000 vehicles pass our front door every day on the Ghent-Antwerp highway. We couldn’t find that much visibility anywhere else.”
In principle, Movu has the capacity to become a global player. What is needed to achieve this, knowing that you are not the first and therefore not the biggest player in this niche market?
“Let’s remain humble. There are real majors at work in our sector. Still, we are ambitious. This year Movu will double its turnover to 200 million euros in sales and we think that 1 billion euros is within our reach in a relatively short time. This will require additional capital to invest in software, robotics or megatronics. So we are looking ahead and in turn we also want to become a major player. This is possible because we have a unique offering in house and we want to build on that gigantic potential especially ourselves.”
Wouldn’t that ambition be best fulfilled by also having a presence in other continents with our own factory?
“A valid consideration. We are already thinking in that direction because, given the growth, our site in Lokeren will probably already be too small within a year. If we also build abroad, the first option will be to do so in the US, a market we know and feel quite well. China? Yes, but that carries a risk of copycat behavior. In fact, we are already experiencing that. The reason we closed the existing Chinese branch of stow in 2016 was because of that.”
In retrospect, was corona a dream period to launch such an ambitious project?
“Corona had very little impact on that. But I have by no means forgotten to what extent corona hurt our business. stow lost 6 months of time and business at that time, surely not nothing. A shocker it was. But if corona did bring something it is this: it was a period when good and creative management came all the way to the top. I was also able to experience this in my management team. We did everything we could to close ranks with our employees. Communication and motivation became more important than ever, even though people were sitting at home. In retrospect, I say about corona: it was just an ‘accident de parcours’ and fortunately the rebound of the economy afterwards was huge. But let’s not forget that all companies have faced a lot of headwinds in the last 3 years: corona, inflation, the index, supply-chain problems, the energy issue, wars, excessive interest rates,…”
Doesn’t that scare you anyway: one factor that puts everything and an entire society at risk as well?
“Admittedly, I sometimes hold my breath for that. There are a number of things going on right now that you have absolutely no control over. Just think of a series of political flashpoints around the world. And what will the elections give, here and in the U.S.? One big event that shuts everything down, it’s a doomsday scenario. Recent political events have also got us thinking. Entrepreneurs are tasked with focusing on strategy and turning problems into solutions. One of the things we are looking at is the supply chain. Yes, we also source components from Europe, but maybe it can be more. We are also studying that in recognition that EU component manufacturers are now lagging behind what the rest of the world is doing.”
Much ink has been spilled about the impact of robotics and AI, 2 basic ingredients, also for Movu. Doomsayers even feel that humans themselves or humanity will be in the balance here. What do you think?
“First, let me say this: every technological evolution evokes resistance, but invariably creates improvement and greater prosperity. Innovation is also not a job killer, as some claim. May I point out that Movu, started from scratch 2 years ago, has already provided 350 full time jobs. Different jobs than before, true. People are getting smarter and smarter and are also getting better educated. That has positive effects on the fulfillment of labor. Having said that, I am also formal: AI should not take over human thinking itself. We absolutely must avoid that. Robots are self-learning machines that do not harm humans; on the contrary, they help. They provide added value. If we can say the same about AI, why not? It does seem clear to me that a legal framework will be needed to frame and, where necessary, encapsulate AI. But whether AI will, as some doomsayers claim, destroy humanity in the future? No, I don’t believe in that.”
There are reports that our economy is in the grip of zero growth, with all its consequences.
“A lot has to do with the European context in which companies operate. I don’t hide the fact that I’m just a cool lover of Europe. That we try to join forces within Fortress Europe is good as a principle. But in practice it doesn’t work, and everything is still fragmented. Just because we have one common currency doesn’t mean we should be high-fiving. The deeper problem is that Europe is hung up on rules. We have completely bogged down in regularitis. I have another objection. I think the Green Deal is a good idea, but at the same time I note that such a green pact is mainly at the expense of industry. Then I ask myself the question: should it be so? I see that the US is also aiming for a Green Deal, but industry comes first there. Do we in Europe want an economic graveyard with a forest growing on top of it? Surely that can never be the intention. Finally, I am also annoyed by the (too high) interest rate policy of the European Central Bank, which inhibits many companies in their growth. I’ll give it away: in the U.S., the Federal Reserve has projected 5 interest rate cuts for this year.”
Managing 2 companies: what are the implications for you as CEO?
“Currently, I put a little more time into Movu than into stow. This is possible because stow is a well-oiled machine anyway with a professional C-level management team. Also remember that Movu did not come there at the expense of stow, but rather as an extension of stow. Both companies have largely the same customers. So it is good to keep helicopter vision. Also stow must and will continue to grow and still has concrete plans for a full-fledged plant in the US.”
After winning ‘Company of the Year’ in 2020, do you personally have the ambition to take the title Manager of the Year as well?
“No, not at all, and for a very simple reason: I am just a cog in the wheel. The team is as important as I am, so why should I alone walk away with all the credit?”
Finally, your hobby is music and you play a number of instruments yourself. When can we expect the cover band with other West Flanders entrepreneurs?
“Music is my great passion and outlet. And yes, just last week we organized a jam session together with some West-Flemish entrepreneurs friends. This is happening more and more now. You can expect to see us on one stage or another in the future. But we’re not saying when yet!”