De Sutter Naturally is one of the five laureates at the Spoga Horse fair in Cologne, Germany. "Out of 60 entries, an international jury chose the five most innovative solutions on the market. Infinity was selected as one of the five Innovation Award winners for the 'most innovative product'," says managing director Jeffrey De Sutter. The Kampenhout-based company collaborated with a Belgian manufacturer for its development which makes the product thoroughly Belgian. The raw material for Infinity is RECO: "This is recycled plastic composite. It is the most ecological solution on the market because the end product can also be recycled," adds De Sutter.
Posts with a memory
Two posts of an Infinity fence hold the plastic content of one person's one-year PMD bag: "So by investing in RECO, we are reducing the waste mountain. Moreover, this raw material is safe for humans and animals. It does not flake or break and it does not need to be treated with chemical maintenance products," says De Sutter. RECO boards are also slightly elastic. In strong sunlight, they may bend but they quickly take on their original shape unlike wooden boards. "So RECO has a 'memory' that allows it to resume its original shape. And build safe and stylish horse pastures with it," says Jeffrey De Sutter.
Scarce wood
Infinity was also developed with the increasingly scarce extraction of wood in mind. "Wood is a finite product because less and less forest is being cleared globally, a good thing. Infinity - the word says it all - is not finite because it can be recycled. Moreover, the price of wood is rising significantly due to the energy crisis. So recycled plastic will become even more important in the future than it is today," Jeffrey De Sutter explains.
German market
De Sutter Naturally not only won a prestigious award in Germany, it now also acquires its largest customer for the German market Zaunbau Berger in Ascheberg. The companies have been working together since 2015, now the German company, which like De Sutter is active in horse fencing, will be in Belgian hands. "The company has been a loyal customer for years. We concluded the takeover with a good feeling because it is a company with the same values as ours. In Germany, it is a renowned company. Because of the takeover, we are more active than ever on the German market from now on," Jeffrey De Sutter knows.
The original name of the German company will be retained for a while, gradually taking on more and more of a 'De Sutter Naturally' sauce. As Zaunau Berger's branch is located rather north in Germany (in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia), De Sutter Naturally is also considering an additional branch in southern Germany: "The plans are already concrete, we are looking for people for an additional branch in Bayeren," the managing director concludes.
