Setting course at the kitchen table

Jos Looman (31) started his career at Rundvlees & Co six years ago. As soon as he saw an opportunity, he took on more responsibilities. And now he manages the beef wholesaler. With success: Rundvlees & Co is growing strongly and the quality and taste of the beef are greatly appreciated - also by their peers. 

"Needless to say that we are very pleased with this appreciation", says Jos Looman. "We want our quality to make a difference." Rundvlees & Co is a true beef specialist which delivers to butchers, hospitality butchers, the industry, and food service companies in southern Europe. The success is partially based on a wide range of clients in various markets. The wholesaler selects, and has the animals selected, in four pasture areas in the French Limousin region, Ireland, Wales, and the Dutch 'green belt' area. Additionally, the wholesaler delivers beef for the 'Better Life' programme of the Dutch animal welfare association. Jos continues: "We obtain our animals from our regular cattle fatteners. In the 'green belt' area, for example, we collaborate closely with a number of top fatteners. We buy animals that are selected on the spot by professionals. All the animals we buy have had a good life. We can guarantee that, just as the sustainability of every link within the chain. A good example of that is our Irish cattle. They are selected by master butcher James Tormey. He applies the Farm to Fork principles, whereby quality, food safety, sustainability, and animal welfare are strictly controlled in every step of the chain. The result is that our Irish beef complies with the strict standards established by Bord BIA of the Irish Food Board and it has their quality certificate. Our animals from Wales and France, as well as the Dutch beef, also has quality warranties issued by independent organisations".

Own cutting department

When Jos started working at Rundvlees & Co, the company was still located in Barneveld. They took over France Limousin NL in 2014, which was the first major step in their growth. The premises soon became too small and they moved to a modern and practically located building in Utrecht. A year later, Rundvlees & Co implemented its own cutting department. "Up to then, we had the cutting done by third parties. Now that we can do this in-house, we can be much more flexible. We can serve our clients better with more customised orders and at the desired moments. The cutting department raised the entire company to a higher level. Since then, we also have been granted the strict European IFS certificate, for example." The expansion of our activities also required a strong growth in the number of employees. We hired 20 additional employees within a short period of time. In this day and age, professionals in this sector are often hard to find. Jos wants to offer his staff a nice workplace and an appealing job. "We want all stakeholders to be happy: suppliers, clients, and our own staff." 

Growth

Last year, Rundvlees & Co took further steps to enhance the quality and production by investing in the refurbishment and modernisation of the cutting department. They added a new packaging line and part of the boning department was renewed. "We invested heavily to improve the quality of our work and to increase the capacity as, too often, the production had to continue on Saturdays because we were unable to finish it all during the week." The growth of the company is also thanks to the increasing export to the south of Europe. They collaborate with local representatives. Apart from that, Jos also maintains personal contact with the clients. "Personal contact always works better, even though the distance makes it more time-consuming than maintaining our network in the Netherlands." 

Rolling up their sleeves

Jos is not just focusing on the commercial aspect of the business but also on the operations and logistics. "I think it's important that I roll up my sleeves as well", he laughs. He doesn't have a background as a butcher but he comes from a cattle-trading family. Both his grandfathers were cattle dealers. He got his trading genes from them and he already gained his knowledge of cattle and beef from when he was a young boy. Additionally, he followed the butchery programmes at the SVO. In his view, the most beautiful part of his work is the selecting and sorting of cattle. "When a batch of cattle has arrived, it is a challenge to process them in the best possible way. How can we get the best return from the carcass? Which part is best for which client?" 

Making choices

Getting involved yourself is something that you do when you run a family business. His parents work here as well. Jos' mother handles the financial administration and his father works at the purchasing department. "We collaborate closely with the family. We regularly discuss issues at the kitchen table: investments, personnel policies, leadership. They give advice every now and then, and I gladly use it. Within our line of business, we also have to deal with major risks while the margins are slim. This means that there is a lot riding on the choices we make when it comes to the future course of the company. You only achieve success in the long term when you make the right choices."

www.rundvleesco.nl

Pictures: James Media