A true family business, the Thomas company was founded in 1931 as a simple forge repairing agricultural vehicles. A good 90 years later, grandsons Frank and Johan run the company, specializing in the distribution of agricultural and horticultural machinery. But with the emphasis on service. With a big S, because almost three quarters of the company from Merchtem has to do with after-sales service.
When grandfather Thomas began as a farm blacksmith, he may not have dreamed that his modest business would grow into what it is today. His work - repairing the first generation of farm machinery - soon evolved into selling machines.
At the end of the 1980s, the third and current generation came to head the company. Immediately, the brothers Frank and Johan decided to continue the core business while diversifying. Indeed, the additional "Garden & Park" department offered a lot of new potential. They also wanted to increase their radius of action. For agricultural machinery, they would continue to focus on local customers, in Flemish Brabant. In the garden and park sector, they are now active throughout Belgium and Luxembourg. And they recently added a wood chipper division, now covering the entire Benelux. Excellent prospects.
Firm Thomas, still in the same location as before, now occupies 10,000 square meters, of which 6,000 square meters are covered. There are about 30 employees on the payroll.
"A lot has changed in our business, though," Frank knows. "In grandfather's time, farmers would come here to order or pay for something, by bicycle, usually after Mass. Gradually the time pressure as well as the competition increased and we went to the customer ourselves. Today things cannot go fast enough and everything will evolve and automate even faster and further. Tractors are equipped with GPS for more efficiency, to drive more accurately, with less overlap in terms of sowing area. The harvest is analyzed and according to it, the degree of fertilization for the next harvest is determined. Robots are used, drones, you name it."
"Whether my job is harder now than when my father ran the business? Not comparable," according to Frank. "After all, my father had to do everything alone, AND manually. But I do think our generation is under more pressure. Relationships with suppliers are good, but margins are shrinking. 'Time is money' and we are struggling with very short seasons on the one hand (sometimes only a few weeks) and a rapid succession of seasons on the other. Our activities in the workshop are never idle."
"Of course we respond to that as well. For example, we have greatly expanded our rental department. After all, you don't need certain machines all year round. So we provide, through our rental, extra service to our customers. In terms of available machines, we can offer them a truly customized service. And we have noticed that there is still considerable growth potential in this area. Certainly if you combine that with our three generations of experience in the sector," concludes Frank Thomas.