The parent organization of Easyfairs Venues – the Belgian company Easyfairs – has been named ‘Company of the Year’ 2018 in Belgium. This prestigious award has been presented since 1996 to the ‘absolute elite’ of the Belgian business world. An independent jury of specialists granted the award to Easyfairs this year based on criteria such as strategic focus, innovation, global openness, exemplary management, strong governance, and financial performance. The award is an initiative of the newspaper L’Echo, Ernst & Young, and BNP Paribas Fortis.
“Easyfairs distinguishes itself as a leading event organizer and manager of event locations in countries including Belgium and the Netherlands, and since 2016, it has also ranked in the top 20 event organizers worldwide,” says founder and CEO Eric Everard. “This award is therefore a massive vote of confidence and the result of the collective efforts of our entire team. In addition, this is an enormous boost for all our future challenges.”
Since its founding 20 years ago, Easyfairs has always been a model of creative growth: 13% per year through the launch of new event brands, the development and geocloning of existing brands, and the acquisition of brands from other organizers. “Every year, we reinvest 80% of our profits into future projects and activities,” says Everard.
With an ‘all-in’ budget formula, Easyfairs has succeeded in launching several hundred trade fairs across all corners of Europe, including in the Netherlands (Gorinchem, Hardenberg, and Venray). In total, Easyfairs organizes 85 events annually in the Netherlands, such as the upcoming Familiedagen in Gorinchem and the Rundvee & Mechanisatie Vakdagen (RMV) in Hardenberg. “It makes us enormously proud in the Netherlands to be part of Easyfairs. This prize is a crowning achievement for Eric’s unique way of working, from which our visitors, clients, and employees reap the benefits every day,” says Jeroen van Hooff, Head of Region Easyfairs Netherlands.
Easyfairs is driven by an extremely customer-centric approach. The input and feedback from its customers are the engine for developing new products and services. Finally, Easyfairs has succeeded as an organization in staying ahead of the curve through the geocloning of existing concepts and the industrialization of key processes across all Easyfairs branches.
“Events that bring communities together have a bright future ahead, now more than ever. Provided they put the customer at the center of the decision-making process and make the customer experience as simple, intuitive, innovative, and transformative as possible. And the use of new technologies must serve that customer experience,” Everard concludes.
