Interview with our CEO and CFO
In 2024, we celebrated your anniversaries: Remco, 5 years as CEO, and Luc, 10 years as CFO of the IPCOM-group. Congratulations on this remarkable milestone! During this time, IPCOM has experienced significant growth. How do you reflect on this period? What do you consider as the most significant milestone(s)?
Luc: It’s been a great 10 years and it was by far the most satisfying period in my professional career. Each time we acquired a company in a new business segment felt like a milestone to me ; e.g. our entry into the High temperature market in 2015 when IPCOM acquired Insulcon, the acquisition of Flexicel in 2020 (OEM segment) and Alara Lukagro in 2021 acoustic and more recently our first steps into the HVAC segment (RSL and Area Cooling in 2024). But the biggest milestone was probably last year : with the acquisition of 12 companies we truly made a ‘fast forward’ step on the IPCOM growth path.
Remco: I completely agree that bringing so many strong companies into our group over the years has been one of our most significant milestones. These companies, all specializing in technical insulation but operating in different segments and countries, have greatly enriched our expertise. Entering the HVAC-R market in 2024 to establish a new growth pillar alongside technical insulation is another key achievement. Additionally, the harmonization of our brand names, starting around 2020, to ISOPARTNER and Insulcon has strengthened our image among customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Finally, also the transition to our new owners, Astorg, in 2022 marked a pivotal moment. Their support has accelerated our growth and improved areas such as sustainability.
What is your vision for the company in the next 5-10 years?
Luc: IPCOM will continue to grow. I know that Remco dreams of getting to the 1 billion turnover threshold in a couple of years and I honestly believe it is a realistic and achievable goal. Other than M&A, I believe we should further focus on our organic growth through the realization of sales- and operational synergies. There is a lot we can learn from each other amongst all IPCOM entities and we need to continue to stimulate cooperation and exchange of ideas and expertise.
Remco: I firmly believe that by combining organic growth with M&A in both the technical insulation and HVAC-R markets, we can reach a yearly turnover of €1 billion within the next three years. Moreover, our goal is not just to grow larger but also to become better, driven by initiatives in ESG, quality, and digital innovation. This will help us to create a competitive advantage in many ways, e.g. to attract investment and people, to enhance brand reputation, build trust, and drive operational efficiency.
This means we will continue to strive for growth and further professionalization in the future. What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges on this growth path?
Remco: The biggest opportunities on our growth path lie in maintaining the core elements that have driven our success while scaling to new heights. For example to continue to be successful in acquiring strong companies, but also to preserve our entrepreneurial spirit as we grow, ensuring that quick decision-making and a relentless focus on adding value to our customers remain central to our culture. It’s also important to attract and retain talented individuals. By building strong teams and investing in training and development, we can create an environment where people thrive and grow alongside the company.
Luc: Given the very steep growth path that IPCOM is on, there are and will be many different challenges. However as always the biggest key to success is people and having “the right people on the bus”. IPCOM is lucky to have a lot of talented and extremely loyal employees which we will continue to cherish and additionally we will need to attract motivated and experienced new people to support our growth.
How do you define the company’s culture, and to what extent does that company culture align with your personal values and beliefs?
Remco: I already referred to our company culture in the previous question. IPCOM is a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment, notable for its fast growth, innovation and focus on added value. This reflects my own values very well. I like speed and continuous change and development.
Luc: The words that come to my mind are entrepreneurship, teamwork, pragmatism and ‘can do’ mentality. One thing that I am extremely proud of is the fact that we were able to respect and keep alive the entrepreneurial spirit of all entities we have acquired. This is more difficult than one would think since most companies increase their controls during a growth path and often for understandable reasons. We have been very disciplined in acquiring companies and leaders that fitted well with this IPCOM culture and we must continue to do so.
In your role as CEO and CFO, you work closely together and often rely on each other. What do you see as each other’s greatest strength?
Luc: It is now almost 6 years that Remco and I are working together. From a personal perspective I enjoy the cooperation with Remco very much and I believe he has the leadership style that matches the IPCOM culture. Remco’s management style could be summarized in 4 steps : ‘listen, reflect, decide, act’ and he excels in all 4 of these domains in quality and speed. I am convinced that this thoughtful and fast decision taking has been instrumental for the fast forward path that IPCOM made.
Remco: Luc has the capability to be involved in many topics at the same time, in great depth. At the same time, he keeps an eye on the bigger picture and on our strategy. This combination is very strong. Furthermore, he is always friendly, optimistic and respectful to everyone. Also when there is time pressure or something is disappointing. It is a pleasure for me to work together with Luc.
Throughout your professional journey, you gain experience and develop your personality. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Remco: Probably to enjoy the “small successes” a bit more, rather than directly moving on to the next targets and things to do.
Luc: Do not focus too much on your own abilities, instead focus on surrounding yourself with people that are as (or more) talented than yourself and you will get further than you ever dreamed.
A question for Remco: As a Dutch CEO leading a corporate team mainly in Belgium, what is one Belgian practice you have adopted?
Remco: I don’t like to generalize country cultures, because everyone is different. But surely, on average, people in Belgium find great enjoyment in good quality food and drinks. I have learned to appreciate this more and more over the years.
Having a busy schedule makes it essential to recharge. How do you manage to do that? Outside of work, what are your favorite ways to unwind and maintain balance?
Luc: For all of my professional live I recharged my batteries through my social life, sports and family time. I need to admit that the sportive side (biking) is getting some less focus lately, but I am still very disciplined in meeting my friends in the pub every Friday evening to unwind. And Sunday evenings are typically reserved for the whole family. Furthermore my lovely wife Ann has her own ways to keep my mind from work during our free time.
Remco: The same goes for me. Spending time with family and friends. And doing sports, mostly running, but I am also trying to go the gym once a week to stay fit.
Suppose you were to write a book about IPCOM, what would the title be (and why)?
Remco: I don’t believe I will ever do that. But we have certainly learned a lot about acquiring companies, with dozens of transaction. Overall, IPCOM is very successful in this area, although there are always things that could have gone better. So if we had to, we could write about the “do’s and don’ts of acquisitions”.
Luc: “The IPCOM case study : building an entrepreneurial successful 1B€ company in record time.”
Thank you both for time and for sharing your insights! If that book ever gets published, we will be the first to read it.
