Bruynzeel appoints Eelco Ockers as new CEO from 1 October

Bruynzeel Storage Systems, the European market leader in space-saving mobile storage solutions, appoints Eelco Ockers (49) as its new CEO, effective 1 October 2024. Ockers succeeds Alexander Collot d'Escury, who led the company as CEO since 2019. During that period, Bruynzeel experienced a five-fold increase in operating profit and a sales growth of 50%. Collot d'Escury will transition to the role of Chairman. Ockers, who joined Bruynzeel in April 2024, previously served as CEO of Dutch vertical farming company Plantlab. Under his leadership, Bruynzeel aims to achieve revenues of €140 million by 2030 through expansion in both Europe and the United States.

Expanding Internationally with a Sustainable Vision

With the appointments of the new CEO and Chairman, and a strong line-up in the other leadership positions, Bruynzeel is ready for further international expansion in the coming years. As part of its growth strategy, Bruynzeel's positioning as the 'Footprint reduction company' aims to connect to the strong growing international demand for sustainable storage systems in the coming years. Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of the annual CO2 emissions worldwide, according to the UN¹. Bruynzeel's sustainable and smart mobile storage systems can drastically reduce a building's CO2 footprint. Bruynzeel achieved sales of €79 million last year and expects to achieve sales levels towards €100 million by 2025.

Appointment of Eelco Ockers as CEO

Prior to his appointment as CEO at Bruynzeel, Eelco served as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Bruynzeel from April 2024 and as CEO of Dutch vertical farming company Plantlab from 2022-2024. From 2019-2021, he held the position of CEO Germany at German pharmaceutical company STADA and was a member of the Global Executive Committee. Between 2002 and 2019, he held a variety of senior international positions at Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and Procter & Gamble. Eelco obtained his Master's degree in Tax Law from Leiden University in 2002.

Eelco explains, "Bruynzeel has become a successful player in our industry and the only one operating globally. Over the past year, I have got to know Bruynzeel and our customers well and I am very much looking forward to contribute to its future success as CEO. The company is in excellent shape commercially and financially, and we intend to continue investing heavily in our leadership position in sustainability and international growth in existing and new markets. For example, we recently strengthened our competitive position by investing millions in the further automation of our high-quality production process. In addition, Bruynzeel wants to strengthen its leadership in sustainability as the 'footprint reduction company'. A really great opportunity to be able to play an important role in that as CEO."

Reflecting on his time as CEO, Collot d'Escury added:
"It is with great confidence that I hand over my position to Eelco after five years as CEO of this fantastic company. Thanks to the hard work of all employees, we have succeeded in putting Bruynzeel firmly on the international map during that period. With two acquisitions in the U.S., we have also become a player of importance there. We also distinguish ourselves from competition in terms of innovation, quality and sustainability. Bruynzeel has become the top player in the market. I am proud to have been part of that journey for 5 years and would like to thank all employees immensely for their contribution. I am confident that Eelco will help to make Bruynzeel an even stronger company. In my new role as Chairman, I will remain involved in this beautiful Dutch manufacturing company with great enthusiasm."

From 1 October 2024, Bruynzeel’s Board will consist of Eelco Ockers (CEO), Patrick Aerts (CFO), and Bart Sijben (COO).

Alternative to new construction

Bruynzeel's smart mobile storage systems can reduce the literal footprint of buildings by 50%, eliminating the need for costly expansions or new construction. These solutions not only cut costs for heating, cooling, and lighting, but also reduce CO2 emissions by up to 98% over a 20-year period. Bruynzeel's ambition is to further strengthen its position as the most sustainable producer in the industry in the coming years.

Large recent contracts

Early 2024 Bruynzeel secured its largest contract to date, a €19 million project to supply and install mobile storage systems for the National Archives of Sweden. This surpasses the previous record set in 2023 with the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada, valued at €18 million. It is one of the most important history museums in Canada with a collection of more than 7 million artefacts.

About Bruynzeel Storage Systems

Bruynzeel Storage Systems was founded in 1953 as part of the Bruynzeel Group and became independent in the 1980s. The company operates in the museum, archive, library and office markets, with customers including the Louvre in Paris and Abu Dhabi, the Boijmans van Beuningen Depot, the UK government's National Archives, the University of St Andrews and Schiphol Airport. The Panningen, Netherlands-based company is also growing rapidly in mobile storage solutions for healthcare, retail, industrial, office and data centres.

Bruynzeel Storage Systems is the European market leader for innovative and space-saving mobile storage systems. Bruynzeel supplies mobile storage systems worldwide with the most innovative functionality and safety for users and objects. Bruynzeel helps these organisations use their space as efficiently and effectively as possible. Less space required means lower costs and has a huge positive impact on the carbon footprint. Bruynzeel itself is climate neutral in its own operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2²) since 2021. Its solutions have the lowest carbon footprint in the industry. As 'The Footprint Reduction Company', Bruynzeel's mission is to support organisations in reducing their carbon footprint. Bruynzeel has committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi³) to achieve 'Net Zero' for Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2035.

In early 2023, Delta Design Ltd became part of the Bruynzeel Storage Group. Delta Designs is a leader in North America for storing museum, university and research institution collections and is known for its high-quality custom-made museum cabinets. Delta has worked with leading institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and many other appealing Ivy League Universities.

Besides its 10 own offices in Europe and the United States, Bruynzeel operates through an extensive network of long-term partners and distributors in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, Australia and Asia. All systems are produced at its factories in the Netherlands (Panningen) and the United States, and with its best-in-class manufacturing process, Bruynzeel is able to deliver mobile storage systems of high quality and design with very short production and delivery times.