“I was 24 years old when I became an independent entrepreneur with my own DIY store in Rolde, where I had previously worked. That was in 2001, when the industry was growing tremendously. In 2007 I took over the Big Boss in Gieten, which became a Multimate at the beginning of 2008. The market was still strong back then, but a few years later the crisis hit hard, and like many others, we also suffered from it.”
“Until 2014 I was very active in, among other things, the Business Advisory Committee, and even after that I experienced many things up close, including the takeover by EK in 2014. I was a strong supporter of that—EK is a good organization that provides important services for us, allowing us as entrepreneurs to focus on our store.”
“In 2016 I stopped with my first store; there was too little growth left in it, and that decision had to be made at some point. From then on, I could fully focus on the store in Gieten, and that has paid off. We are doing very well and have a strong reputation in the region. The store is large—3000 m²—and we have a team of five skilled craftsmen focusing on installation, remodeling, and renovation. In total, more than twenty people work with us!”
