“We value entrepreneurship and sharp thinking”

“I spent my first four years at Cefetra B.V. in the Chartering department, taking care of inland and maritime shipping,” Vincent says. “Then I began trading soy. I enjoyed that a lot until I was in my early thirties, when I was entering a different phase of my life ready for a new challenge. I discussed this at the office, and soon enough, they made an interesting suggestion.” 

“In the meantime, Cefetra Group had acquired Tracomex. Their director would eventually need a successor. I was asked if that would be an interesting position for me. A broader range of tasks, closer to home – indeed, it turned out to be a good fit. After a few years as deputy director, I took over. So, you see, there are all kinds of growth opportunities within Cefetra Group.” 

What does Tracomex do? “We focus on raw materials that go into animal feed. These are specialty products such as spelt, oats, and field beans, which are produced on a somewhat smaller scale than the products Cefetra B.V. is known for, like soy and corn.” 

“Currently, there are 32 of us here at the office in Oosterhout. When I started here in 2017, there were about 25 colleagues. The increase has to do with extra efforts to work sustainably and to meet all the quality requirements. There are more and renewed regulations now, which results in  more administrative tasks. Still, we want to remain flexible and respond to changes as quickly as possible.” 

“It helps that we have a flat organization and an open culture. We appreciate entrepreneurship and sharp thinking. You are free to take initiative when you see opportunities in the market – or within our company.  We are continuously looking how we could improve the way we do things now. It’s normal to get used to a certain way of working, so why not have a good look at it regularly? That sometimes leads to great ideas.” 

“Sustainability is a key topic on our agenda,” Vincent says. “Tomorrow and the day after, for example, I will be at a meeting on all kinds of sustainability topics. We are working on it in many ways. For instance, we visit our farmers and perform audits. We can then give them advice, for example to reduce the use of manure and water. As their partner, we want to exert a good influence.” 

“We also want to unburden our suppliers more and more. For example, we buy  byproducts from a bread flour manufacturer. In the process of making it, they get residual products they have no use for. Our job is to find the best purpose  for those products and suppliers. That way all of it doesn’t have to go to waste unnecessarily.”