From Belgian soil to your interior: Kwantz's local story
It is an early morning in Wortegem-Petegem. While the dew is still on the grass, a truck drives onto the Kwantz site. The load? Sand from the Hoge Kempen, one of the main ingredients for our concrete material. A few hours later, a second delivery arrives: fine powders from the hills of Wallonia.
A journey that begins and ends close by
‘When you explain that you make a local product, people want to know what exactly that means,’ says Jeroen Dils, founder of Kwantz. ‘For us, this is crystal clear: local means we produce in Belgium, not in a factory somewhere in Eastern Europe or China.’
This local approach is not a marketing trick, but is deeply woven into our DNA. When we walk through our workshop in Wortegem-Petegem, this becomes immediately clear. This is where 100% of our production happens, from mixing the raw materials to finishing the sheets.
The treasure under our feet
Anyone who thinks Belgium is poor in natural raw materials is wrong. The sandy soils of the Hoge Kempen provide excellent sand for our concrete. We get the finer powders from Wallonia. ‘Only for specific types of cement and clay do we have to look just over the border, to Denmark and France,’ Jeroen explains.
‘We keep actively looking for opportunities to get everything from Belgium,’ adds Steffi Dils, who is at the helm of Kwantz together with her brother. ‘That is a constant process of improvement and innovation.’
A story of contrast
Imagine a beautiful piece of natural stone for your kitchen. Beautiful, no doubt. But do you know the full story? That piece of stone may have started its journey in a quarry in Brazil, travelled to India for processing, made stopovers at multiple ports and covered thousands of kilometres before it reached your home.
At Kwantz, we tell a different story. Our story takes place within a radius of several hundred kilometres. The sand from the Kempen region, the powders from Wallonia, the processing in Wortegem-Petegem, and finally the delivery to your home or showroom.
‘When you choose Kwantz, you choose a product that has not travelled halfway around the world,’ Jeroen says with pride. ‘That means less CO2 emissions and a product with a much smaller ecological footprint.’
The power of closeness
One day, something went wrong in production. A batch did not have the right consistency. Because everything is done locally, we were able to sit down with our supplier within a few hours, analyse the problem and solve it immediately.
‘That's the power of working locally,’ Steffi explains. ‘We have more control over the process, can switch quickly and thus maintain the highest quality. If you source materials from abroad, you rely on long lines of communication and a small problem can mean weeks of delay.’
This example perfectly illustrates why local production and quality go hand in hand. For a high-end product like Kwantz's, you simply cannot compromise on quality control.
People behind the product
Behind every piece of Kwantz material are people from our own region. The local stone cutters who process our material have years of experience and know the material inside out.
‘When we started, there was scepticism,’ recalls Jeroen. ‘Could a locally produced concrete product match imported natural stone? We have since answered that question convincingly. Our local craftsmen deliver world-class work.’
By producing locally, we not only keep transport and environmental costs down, but also invest in our own community and in maintaining craftsmanship close to home.
Future is local
Where are we headed? Our sights are set on a future where we can work even more locally. ‘We continue to look for local opportunities,’ Steffi says determinedly. ‘This applies to raw materials, but also to partners and suppliers.’
We currently handle many of the deliveries ourselves, but we look forward to collaborations with local logistics partners to make this even more efficient.
More than just a word
‘Local’ is not an empty concept or marketing term for Kwantz. It is a promise we keep every day. A promise of quality, sustainability and transparency. When you choose Kwantz, you know exactly where your product comes from: from Belgian soil, processed by Belgian hands, straight to your interior.
Want to know more about our local story or experience our material in real life? We invite you to visit our production site in Wortegem-Petegem. Because just as we believe in local production, we also believe you should be able to see and feel our material to fall in love with it.
