Loet van de Kimmenade

As of December 1st 2019, office supplies manufacturer Jalema has a new CEO. Jalema is pleased with the assignment of Loet van de Kimmenade (48 years).

After the take-over in July, Jalema has entered a new phase. Where Jalema was known in the industry as a family business, Jalema has joined her forces with Tarifold, 3L Office and Probeco, as part of the international T3L Group. A new phase for Jalema has begun and Loet will enter this phase together with the Jalema team.

Experience in production and trading environments

Loet has many years of experience in various production and trading environments. He has worked in commercial and management positions at various SMB's, family businesses and listed multinationals (such as CRH). Because of this diversity of companies, Loet is aware that each company has a different culture and dynamics. As he stated: "A small business company requires a completely different approach than a large multinational."

Valuable knowledge and experience within the team

With its rich history, Jalema has a close team of employees at its disposal, both in Reuver and Hoogezand (the Netherlands). The first goal of Loet as CEO is to get to know Jalema better. "Jalema is a company with years of experience in the market. The knowledge and experience of the team is extremely valuable to the company."

Curious about the industry

However, the office industry is quite new for Loet, he is very curious about the industry. "I'm entering an industry that is relatively unknown to me. That is why I want to take time to get to know the market, our customers and suppliers. It is clear that the dynamics in the market demand continuous innovation. We will certainly pay attention to this, but first of all I need better insight into the organisation and the market."

Long term challenge

In recent years, Loet has been involved in interim and consultancy work. "I was looking for a company that I could commit to for the long term, preferably an existing international production company with growth ambitions." That's how Loet came to Jalema. "The first contact and the conversations were pleasant and gave me the confidence to accept this position for a long period of time."

Looking into the future

With a brand-new CEO at the wheel, Jalema is facing the future. In order to be able to guarantee continuity for the long term, Jalema must strengthen its position in the existing market, will look for synergies within the T3L Group and develop new product/market combinations. "Jalema is a company that needs continuous further development, which I see as a great challenge.", according to Loet van de Kimmenade.