Increasingly complex niche products

Getting inspired by know-how

Hilaire Van Der Haeghe has been an exclusive importer of technical equipment in various sectors since 1898. We have always opted for products with state-of-the-art technology and high quality. Within the green sector, the family business has built up almost one hundred years of experience.

The importer/distributor headquartered in Wilrijk (Antwerp) is always looking for the best brands in each product group for agricultural machinery, forklifts and all necessary park and garden equipment. Hilaire Van Der Haeghe is also playing hard to get into the rental market, which is becoming increasingly important. Especially for forklifts, more than half are rented long-term to professionals. And to ensure local anchoring, the ambitious family business works with a number of exclusive dealers. The Garden & Park department also has a separate showroom. This way, potential customers can already experience for themselves how certain machines work or be inspired by the company's know-how.

Demand for electric motors

Tom Nash, sales & marketing manager Garden & Municipal: “Our 125-year-old company is doing particularly well in the green sector with lawnmowers and robots (zero-turn or otherwise), compact tractors (municipal and professional), utility vehicles and tool carriers. What we also see is that there is still increasing demand for electrically driven engines. I should immediately add that the Netherlands is much further ahead in this than Belgium. Here, the authorities in particular are taking the lead. The Belgian professional is still kind of waiting to see what happens”.”

Professionalisation of the customer base

Over the years, Hilaire Van Der Haeghe entered into collaborations with top brands such as Iseki, Solo, Amazone, Ambrogio (robotic mowers), Aebi Schmidt (street sweepers, tool carriers...), Köppl (two-wheeled tool carriers), Ferris (lawn mowers), Addax (electric utility vehicles), Alltrec (electric tool carriers) as well as Empas (toxic-free weed control) and the American company Walker (compact zero-turn front mower with integrated collection).

Tom Nash: “What we do is go into the market on an almost daily basis, and through far-reaching research - quality, price, service... - we pick out the best brands in each specific area. In each product group, we thus make a selection for our customers and dealers. That way, both are assured that they are working with the cream of the crop every time. And that is also necessary. Because we increasingly see the further professionalisation of our customer base. Garden and park specialists know very well what is available on the market. So purchases are increasingly made on the basis of detailed specifications. We also notice that purchasing behaviour is evolving from ‘simple’ product offerings to all-in solutions.”

Challenges

“There are a number of challenges facing the future of the sector. Products are becoming increasingly complex, and for that you need suitable workers and technicians. So: either hire earlier skilled staff or make sure you can train them yourself. Rental also comprises an increasing part of the cake, especially with complex niche products. And that makes for a different approach to the future model of companies like ours. You then work best with a maintenance trajectory and correct determinations of the residual value of your machines. City and municipal mowing policies are also changing, not to mention the shifting seasons. We are definitely ready for it!”, Tom Nash concludes.