Baril, a left wing heart for the company

2013 – The paint factory Baril with offices in Den Bosch, Etten – Leur, the Netherlands and in Angola and Indiana in the U.S. has an owner/director with a ‘left wing heart’. In the Netherlands the company has 60 employees.

Workplace  innovation
For Geert Duijghuisen, the director social cohesion is very important. He helps employees who get into trouble; the staff earn well above the collective labour agreement. He himself earns four to five times as much as the lowest salary in the company, which is not much for a director. Providing and maintaining employment is a key driver.
There is extra money used for research. This has led to a patented innovation of coatings that can dry with lightning speed.

Result
According to the director social cohesion is ‘ultimately good for productivity’. The company is growing rapidly; since five years it books a gross profit before depreciation and amortization of well over 10 percent, it sees exports rising and realizes a grow of turnover in the Netherlands, despite the slump in the construction sector  in this country.
Duijghuisen is convinced of the innovation strategy he performs  “If you decrease that costs (for social attention and research), you might book more short term results. But it will not last long. I’ve already seen many disappear. Fellow companies who committed no workplace or technical innovation, no longer exist.

Reference
Trommelen, Jeroen. Een links hart voor de zaak. (A left wing heart for the company). De Volkskrant. Monday, November 11, 2013. The article (in Dutch) is attached.

Themes: Labour relations, Innovation and innovativeness
Sector: High tech, smart materials
Source : Article