CSR in food industry – Evolution from a one (wo) man business to a multinational – was the main theme of the study tour organized for entrepreneurs in the project, whose leaders are from Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Representatives of the Polish Maritime Cluster and the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone were members of an international team that participated in the seminar. During the project representatives from Italy, Hungary, Germany , Poland and Belgium have the opportunity to get acquainted with the management , logistics , marketing and customer service in selected Flemish companies. The organizer of the tour was Voka, Chamber of Commerce of East Flanders.
Company SanoRice Belgium presented achievements under the slogan : ” A multinational taking rice and other cereals in another dimension. Director Rudi De Praeter in an comprehensible manner presented the history of the development of company, from local to international. With investments of a value of EUR 15 million in the past five years, the corporation introduced a number of innovations , and there have been significant changes in technology. A large retail chain Colruyt Group presented itself as „having a wide range of sustainable activities”. Retail provides ca. 76 % income as Astrid von Parys, responsible for corporate marketing, informed. The sustainable management practice topics was presented by Geert VYLS who showed the practical side of this matter to all participants in the distribution center of Colruyt Group broadly supporting the idea of „sustainable entrepreneurship”.
Family business Stop Spices presented as „A family business That spices up your life .” Directed by Isabelle Van Damme , among others, the company in 2001 introduced a TTS (Thermal treated spices). In 2004 the company expanded its warehouse spaces to 1,200 sq ft in 2010 carried out a radical reorganization of the management, which improved customer service and contributed to savings in the distribution channels . Importantly , the owners are involved in the activation of disabled people and employ them in positions of completing sets of spices for shipping. Water distribution company PIDPA / Hidrodoe presented their business under the slogan ” Respectful usage of water .” Only 1% of the water on the planet is drinkable . Thus, at the time it was a workshop, in which , along with students from one of the Belgian schools, participants discussed the best ways to distribute water .
Sylva – Van Hulle is a family-owned company , which is engaged in manufacturing plants and shrubs having a strong position in the European market and entering the China market . The main theme of the meeting, which led owner Tim Van Hulle was: ” Growing trees and hedging for a greener Europe ” . And it should be emphasized that the family Van Hulle works in the forestry sector since 1750, the annual production of the company is about 20 million forest plants and 80 % of our commercial activity is present in all European countries , as well as in several non-European – Tim Van Hulle informed . DeliTraiteur presented under the theme ” Food and service 24/7 .” This network of shops with outdoor dining caters to active clients – emphasizes Alessandra Desauvage , Marketing Manger noting that all DeliTraiteur shops are designed to be customer friendly , and with easy to prepare and ready to eat products. The use of wood in the decor stores and the elimination of the high shelving gives to the shops its unique character. We get to all the senses of our customers- says Alessandra Desauvage .
On the last day the representatives of Polish Maritime Cluster and the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone met with specialists in innovation and seaports from VOKA. Topics of an international cooperation in EU projects and seaports related issues in the new programming period were mentioned. More about the project at http://www.goandlearn.eu/goandlearn/