Responding well to continuously changing market is key

Making selections for customers and dealers in each product group

Hilaire Van Der Haeghe has been an exclusive importer of technical equipment in various sectors since 1898. The company has always opted for products with state-of-the-art technology and high quality. In the green sector, the family business has built up almost one hundred years of experience. It operates on the Belgian market under the name HH Garden, in the Netherlands as Van Der Haeghe BV and in the United Kingdom as Walker UK. A truly international player, in other words.

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 cooperates with a number of exclusive dealers.

Bill quickly made

Jean-Christophe Smeets, CEO Hilaire Van Der Haeghe: “Our 125-year-old company is doing particularly well in the green sector with lawnmowers and robots (zero-turn or otherwise), tractors (municipalities and professionals), utility vehicles and tool carriers. What we also see is that there is nevertheless increasing demand for electrically powered engines. I should immediately add that the Netherlands is much further ahead in this than Belgium. The authorities in particular are taking the lead. The Belgian professional is still kind of waiting to see what happens”.”

“In the Netherlands, it's a bit different. There, every tender has to have an all-electric option, or you don't even qualify for the bigger contracts. Pricing is rather secondary there. This is obviously because the premium system from the government in the Netherlands is much larger and more extensive. And then the bill is quickly made.”

Top brands

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).

Jean-Christophe Smeets: “What we do is go to 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. The 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 more complex, and for that you need suitable workers and technicians. So you either hire earlier skilled staff or make sure you can train them yourself. Rental also comprises an increasing part of the cake. And that creates a different approach to the future model of companies like ours. You then work best with a maintenance programme and correct determinations of the residual value of your machines. At Hilaire Van Der Haeghe, we are ready for it!”, Jean-Christophe Smeets concludes.