Adezz director Van Hooff: 'We are a well-oiled machine'

ARTICLE

Karlijn Raats, Tuesday 25 February 2020

292 sec

Garden furnishing supplier offers favorable price-quality ratio thanks to full in-house control of the chain

Adezz BV, the new content partner of NWST, is a supplier of garden and public space furnishings. The company offers custom-made products in specific colors with minimalist designs and a sharp price-quality ratio thanks to a favorable chain-wide total cost of ownership. The products are selling like hotcakes, both in the Netherlands and across Europe. But the company and its management remain modest. Van Hooff: 'Our products serve a role in the garden, and we serve landscapers and garden designers.'

This magazine speaks with Hugo van Hooff, very modest and amiable, but at the helm of a multimillion-euro company. There's a good chance that the planters, containers, pots, and pond edges you see in public spaces or gardens along the road come from Adezz. Co-owner Hugo van Hooff explains: 'Fifteen years ago, I started making products from aluminum, steel, and polyester. The current company was established in 2005 in collaboration with hardwood specialist Luc van den Hurk.'

five brands

The show garden in front of Adezz's office and showroom showcases the company's strengths: ponds, planters, flowerpots, and garden fireplaces. The various products for landscapers and garden architects are divided into five separate brands. The Adezz brand includes, among other things, edging, retaining walls, pedestals, walls, water features, and mailboxes. Everything related to outdoor fire is sold under the Forno brand, such as outdoor fireplaces, cooking facilities, fire bowls, and wood storage units. One To Sit is the garden furniture brand; the tables, lounge sets, and chairs by the pool resemble designer items. Furns street furniture is robust and heavy and is mainly suitable for public spaces: planters, benches, picnic tables, waste bins, tree surrounds, tree grates, bicycle racks, fences, and walls. Dipott covers all plant and flowerpots, in any desired size, shape, and color. Even if a window frame comes in a specific shade of pink, a planter can be supplied in exactly the same color and the perfect size to match the window width. Van Hooff: 'Previously, the pots fell under Adezz, but since we assigned them their own brand, customers better recognize how exceptional they are. These are certainly not pots you'll find at a garden center.'

'Adezz deals in large products; these are difficult to import from distant countries'

growth

The office and distribution center employ 35 people, and the production facility in Poland employs 150 people. With a turnover of just under 20 million euros and five thousand purchasing customers, the company is substantial. During the recent economic crisis, the company continued to grow steadily. In recent years, turnover has even grown by 30 to 35 percent annually. Van Hooff explains why: 'Of course, everyone in the market feels the impact of imports from China, and we also see that this import has gained in quality. But Adezz deals in large products, including large pots. These are difficult to import from faraway countries.'

The Furns brand, which has existed for four years now, is the fastest-growing of the five brands, although all five are on the rise. 'The public space market is growing rapidly because large sums of money are involved per project. We are often intensely involved in winning a project and remain involved for a long time. For example, when a square is built, many of our products are needed at once,' explains Van Hooff.

According to Van Hooff, Adezz is rock solid. 'We're not a party that just slaps things together. If there's ever another crisis — I wouldn't wish for it, but good companies tend to rise to the top — we will undoubtedly weather it once again with flying colors.'

water-feature

own boss throughout the chain

Adezz derives its flexibility and sharp price-quality ratio from managing the entire chain itself. The company designs, sources raw materials, manufactures in Poland, and markets its products independently. Van Hooff discusses the marketing: 'Most landscapers and garden architects are familiar with our products, but as a market player, you also need to be present in the design programs they use. These programs are becoming increasingly important in the field. When a new program is developed, you can almost submit products for free. The program needs input to build a library so users can work with it easily. We are always quick to act here. As a result, our products automatically appear in most design drawings.'

'We want to help landscapers distinguish themselves'

Van Hooff designs most Adezz products himself in Autocad. 'I have a good sense of what people want. That's the foundation of the design. Additionally, all products are well thought-out and thoroughly calculated: a design must be strong, generate as little waste as possible, and require minimal welding. All production steps are documented and applied per design in our Polish factory. This includes welding instructions: how often and where to weld. Or whether reinforcement ribs need to be placed in planters to withstand specific ground pressure. Each design first results in a demo, which is then extensively tested. We offer a five-year warranty, but our products last many times longer.'

Regarding production, Van Hooff says: 'We purchase raw materials on the global market. If, for example, steel is a few cents cheaper in Italy, we buy full trailers from there. In Poland, the steel sheets are laser-cut and bent. We include many different steel products and components in the laser program; it could be half a planter or a hook for a fireplace. As a result, we only have 5 to 10 percent laser waste. The steel sheets are used efficiently. Other companies have an average of 20 to 30 percent waste. The factory in Poland operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensuring optimal machine utilization. To handle many products, company growth was necessary. We now control every part of the production process in great detail.'

'Standard products are all in stock, so we can deliver quickly. We work with three carriers. We have an 8,500 m2 warehouse and a rented location. And expansion is underway, so soon our storage capacity will be 24,000 m2. Delivery is free.'

Free? Van Hooff laughs. 'Yes, free. We have strong sales, you know. That's because we've calculated all prices very carefully. They are always competitive. We never offer discounts, not even on large orders. That creates clarity. Large parties can, of course, be supplied directly from Poland, which lowers the price even further. Customers only pay upon delivery. They know how we operate; hardly anyone negotiates.'

'The blacksmiths are gone; hopefully, we have filled this gap'

peace through automation

Other factors that make Adezz's prices attractive are the high level of automation and the exceptionally flat organization. 'We use a custom-made ERP system that integrates all our business processes. Order processing, logistics, administration, and finance all fall under one information and management system. You can calculate custom orders and place them via the website. We do check and advise occasionally at the office. But everything is so clear here that there are few questions to answer. My reasoning is always: if the phone rings a lot, we don't have things under control. As a result, there's a calm, pleasant atmosphere in the office.'

Adezz has invested heavily in the warehouse to ensure order processing runs as quickly as possible. 'Employees can see exactly what is in stock and what can be shipped immediately. The distribution area in the warehouse is also well-organized. In the morning, a team starts early to place products in the loading dock. These are then packed and loaded into the correct trucks. Each evening, the trucks are collected, and a new trailer is placed at the loading dock.' Van Hooff is clearly proud of the company and his employees' performance. 'It is a well-oiled machine.'

modest but distinctive

The modesty of both company owners is reflected in the products. Van Hooff, who is responsible for product design, does not want to take the landscapers' or garden designers' place. 'They know their trade. We support them. The products are visible but subordinate to the greenery, which is determined by the garden designer or landscaper. That's why we find it important that all landscapers can turn to us. In the past, a landscaper would go to a blacksmith to have something made: an ornamental fence, gates, a plant rack. The landscaper had to wait a long time for the order, the blacksmith generated a lot of waste, and the sales price was high. The blacksmiths have disappeared, but we have hopefully filled that gap for the most part. We make everything for the landscaper. We want to help him distinguish himself with our products. We show him that he can create something the customer loves but cannot simply find at a garden center.'

This article was originally published on February 25, 2020, on the Stad + Groen website.

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