The Portrait: The East Flemish Contractor

Thirty-five years ago, Peter Vermeulen and his wife Linda Van Hoecke founded the firm Vermeulen. Today, Wouter, the eldest son, is at the helm of the family business—a turn of events that perhaps surprised him most of all.

Destination: Abroad
"In family-owned SMEs, you often see the next generation feeling a certain pressure to join the business and carry it forward. That wasn't the case for me. My parents never gave me that feeling; they let me forge my own path," the 37-year-old Vermeulen reflects. Wouter grew up in Wetteren, a large village in the shadow of Ghent, in the midst of the SME his parents had built. "It was a nice and pleasant place to be, but I always felt the urge to spread my wings. 'What else? Where else can we go?'"

The young Wouter Vermeulen had inherited his parents' entrepreneurial spirit, but at the time, he lacked the connection to the company's specific activities to follow in their footsteps. Moreover, he wanted to see more of the world than the outskirts of Wetteren. Much more. He first moved to Amsterdam to earn his Master’s in Business Administration. Then, in his early twenties, he boarded a plane to China for a year to work as a consultant. "Looking back, that was anything but easy. I could count on support from Belgium, but it sometimes felt like jumping into a pool without floaties," he laughs.

One-way Ticket to the USA
From China, he headed to the United States. "One of my contacts in China told me: 'You can do the tool shop or you can do the design shop.' And for the latter, I had to go to the US. So, that’s where I went." Vermeulen landed in San Francisco, California, and began working for a strategy consulting firm. (Laughs) "There, too, they throw you into the pool on day one to see if you can swim. You’re assigned a company in a sector you know absolutely nothing about, and thirty days later, you have to give a presentation to their board of directors and tell them which direction to take the company. Very intense. And that repeated every quarter, each time for different companies in very diverse industries." Vermeulen ultimately stayed in America for thirteen years, working for various tech companies as both an employee and a co-founder. Today, he remains a partner in an American firm, Vermeulen Group. "I still spend a few hours on that every day, usually the first and last hours of my day."

And now you’re back. Why leave beautiful, sunny San Francisco to return to Wetteren, of all places? Vermeulen: "Ha, the classic question. I’ve been asked that many times now. There are actually three reasons. First, my wife, who is American, wanted to move to Europe. Americans often have a romanticized image of Europe. A second reason is that my wife was pregnant at the time and didn't have close family nearby, whereas I did. A third reason was COVID-19. It was a moment of reflection and an awareness of what matters. I had already lost my grandmother, and my father had been in the hospital for several weeks. I realized the company needed continuity, but I also saw opportunities for the business."

Did you finally have the affinity with the company to take it over then? Vermeulen: "Not immediately. My initial proposal was to prepare the business for sale after a year or two. In early 2020, I began involving myself in the firm, and in the summer, I moved to Belgium with my wife. I immersed myself in the market, and that’s when the shift happened—I decided not to sell and even became Managing Director in January of this year."

Growth
After your time in America, can you find enough fulfillment in what is, with all due respect, a modest family business? Vermeulen: "It goes without saying that there is a difference, but I have major ambitions for the company. I’m not entirely technical like my father, but I have my strategic vision and commercial approach. That fits perfectly with my father, who is still involved in the business for now, as is my mother. I’m continuing their story: offering total solutions for the higher market segment. The demands are high, but the satisfaction for our employees is great. From that foundation, a B2B activity has also grown. Many of our clients are business owners. They want the same quality in their offices and commercial buildings as they have in their homes. We are also active in the project market. Our approach there is slightly different, but it’s a very interesting business for us."

It’s clear you have a concrete vision of where you want to take the firm in the coming years. Vermeulen: "That’s correct. I want the firm to stand out by handling everything in-house. It’s a strategy that demands a lot from us, but it will pay off in the long run. We currently have about 15 people in execution and six in the office, including a draftsman and four engineers. We handle the design and coordination of projects ourselves. Only then can we guarantee our clients the quality they expect. My goal is to double that headcount in the next two to three years."

Good luck with that. Vermeulen: (Laughs) "I understand your reaction. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to find experienced staff—certainly if you’re looking to hire fifteen extra people like we are. But if we want to grow and realize our ambitions, we will need them. Additionally, we are looking to acquire a peer in the sector. But that isn't a simple story either; the entire picture has to be right."

The Final Word
What is your most precious possession? "My Yamaha grand piano."
When were you happiest? "On my wedding day."
What did you inherit from your parents? "A very high level of daring."
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? "My perfectionism."
Which dish wins you points when you invite friends over? "You’d rather not have me in the kitchen."
To which era would you return if you had a time machine? "The sixties."
What is your biggest pet peeve regarding other people? "People who don't keep their appointments."
Do you have artistic or musical talent? "I play piano and guitar, and I write music for fun."
What is at the top of your bucket list? "A suborbital flight into space with Branson’s Virgin Galactic."
Which trip would you do all over again? "The road trip from the Oregon coast via Highway 1 to LA."
What advice would you give your 16-year-old self? "Worry less and have much more fun."
What is your best quality? "My loyalty."
Do you have a guilty pleasure? "Drinking pickle juice straight from the jar."
What piece of advice has stuck with you most? "That it’s a person’s choices that truly show who they are, rather than their skills."
What is your greatest fear? "I’m not afraid of dying itself, but rather of not having lived my life to the fullest."
What does your ideal weekend look like? "Fantastic food and wine with family, a nice healthy walk in nature, and a great live concert in the park."
In which foreign city would you love to live? "Cape Town, South Africa."
What makes you angry? "Bad coffee."
Which event changed your life forever? "The birth of my daughter and the realization of unconditional love."
If you could swap lives with one person for a day, who would it be? "Keith Richards."
When was the last time you cried? "Recently, while re-watching the 30-year-old Jane Marczweski, also known on stage as Nightbirde, during her breathtaking performance of her original song 'It’s OK.' If you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should."
Original article published by Confederatie Bouw (September 13, 2021).