From left to right: Yves Aertssen, Dirk Vandeputte and Philippe Halsberghe.
Author: Tim Janssens (Palindroom)
‘Safety first’ is a phrase frequently heard across the construction and infrastructure sectors. While for some organisations it may sound like little more than a slogan, for Aertssen it is a guiding principle. To streamline the use and management of personal protective equipment (PPE) and workwear, this fast-growing group entered into a collaboration with safety specialists Vandeputte Safety Experts, a collaboration which quickly developed into a long-term partnership offering comprehensive operational support.
To explore how this partnership has developed, the value created by it, and the ambitions both organisations share for the future, we spoke with Yves Aertssen, (CEO of the Aertssen Group); Philippe Halsberghe, (current CEO of Vandeputte); and Dirk Vandeputte, (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Groupe RG).
Gentlemen, could you begin by telling us about the origins of your companies and the growth they have experienced over the years?
Yves Aertssen: “Our story began in 1964, when my grandfather founded the family business. In the early years, we specialised in groundworks and demolition, supporting the expansion of the Port of Antwerp, but over the decades we have gradually expanded our activities. Today, our infrastructure division (Aertssen Infra), brings together a wide range of specialist activities, including road construction, soil remediation, dewatering, revetment engineering and dredging works ... From the late 1970s onwards, we steadily diversified our business, leading to the creation of additional divisions within the Aertssen Group, such as Aertssen Lifting, Aertssen Transport & Logistics and Aertssen Trading. Geographically, our international footprint has also expanded considerably over the past two decades. The Middle East has grown into a second home market for us, while our logistics division has been active in the United States for the past two years. Today, around one-third of our annual turnover of €550 million is generated outside Europe, and we employ 2,500 people worldwide.”
Dirk Vandeputte: “Our family business was founded in 1947 by my grandmother and her five sons. My father took over as CEO in 1967, and I led the company from 2008 until June 2024, when I passed the baton to Philippe. Vandeputte began as a true manufacturing company, initially specialising in producing safety gloves, before expanding into the production of a full range of personal protective equipment (PPE). Over time, we evolved into a distributor with strong manufacturing expertise (reflected in our own Samurai brand), while also developing a comprehensive portfolio of safety-related solutions and services. As the PPE market became increasingly international and consolidation accelerated, we recognised the importance of joining forces with a larger organisation. At the end of 2023, we became part of RG, a French group that shares our family-owned heritage. This step enables us to secure the company's long-term future in the best possible way.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “Today, Groupe RG operates in 18 countries and is the European market leader, with annual revenues of €700 million and a workforce of 2,000 employees. One of the key reasons for joining the group was the assurance that we could retain our name, identity and working methods. As experts in PPE and safety solutions, we help protect more than one million people every day.
“Vandeputte is no longer simply a ‘supplier’, but a strategic partner that actively supports us in developing solutions in safety, innovation and operational optimisation.”
Yves Aertssen, CEO of Aertssen Group
Why, at the time, did the Aertssen Group choose to partner with Vandeputte? And how has that collaboration evolved into the strategic partnership you have today?
Yves Aertssen: “Safety has always been our highest priority within our group. As our organisation expanded—both through organic growth and acquisitions—and our operations became increasingly spread across multiple sites, managing personal protective equipment (PPE) and workwear became far more complex. What’s more, we reached the limits of our own storage capacity. That is why, in 2014, we launched an initiative to standardise PPE and workwear management across all our business units and locations. We were looking for a solution that combined clarity, flexibility and efficiency, while meeting our specific operational requirements, including rapid access to equipment and 24/7 availability. Equally important was finding a partner that could support our continued growth by taking as much of the operational pressures off our shoulders as possible. “Vandeputte stood out because of its extensive product portfolio, strong local presence, user-friendly digital ordering platform, flexible delivery options across various sites, and the ability to personalise workwear with Aertssen branding.”
Dirk Vandeputte: “Following a successful initial pilot project within our in-house service department (Aertssen Services), we rolled out our comprehensive approach across the entire group, with the aim of streamlining and standardising the safety policy across all entities.” We very quickly moved to installing vending machines, to allow Aertssen staff access to the protective equipment they need whenever required. Each vending machine is tailored to the specific activities carried out at that location, based on a thorough risk assessment conducted in advance. The benefits have been significant, improved risk management, continuous availability of PPE, and a reduction in unnecessary consumption.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “In addition to the vending machines, Aertssen employees can also order PPE and workwear via our digital platform, vdp.com. Orders can be delivered to secure lockers at their workplace or, if preferred, directly to their homes. This gives employees greater flexibility and eliminates unnecessary trips to one of the depots before heading to the construction site. To support this process, we introduced a token-based system. Each employee receives a predefined number of tokens that can be used to order PPE and workwear from their department's approved online catalogue. Key advantages of this approach are that the Aertssen Group can keep the budget under strict control, and it also means that staff are responsible for their own equipment. This promotes a more sustainable use of PPE, and helps maximise the lifespan and value of the products.”
Yves Aertssen: “While our collaboration initially focused primarily on the distribution of PPE, it has evolved into something far more comprehensive. Vandeputte is no longer simply a ‘supplier’, but a strategic partner that actively supports us in developing solutions in safety, innovation and operational optimisation. Together, we have developed a bespoke product range that is fully tailored to the diverse activities within our group.”
“Our objective is to operate as a one-stop shop, keeping as much as possible in-house, while achieving cost reduction and optimisation through a long-term partnership approach.”
Philippe Halsberghe, CEO of Vandeputte Safety Experts
How does Vandeputte’s integrated safety approach help you manage consumption, budgets and product ranges?
Yves Aertssen: “The level of transparency we now have in our PPE management is a major added value. Through Vandeputte’s online portal and reporting tools, we gain real-time insight into our employees’ ordering behaviour—whether via the webshop, vending machines or internal stock locations. This allows us to identify usage trends and implement targeted improvements. In addition, we work with job-specific catalogues and defined budget frameworks. “This approach guarantees the availability of PPE and compliance, while enabling us to keep both costs and consumption firmly under control.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “Our objective is to operate as a one-stop shop, keeping as much as possible in-house while achieving cost reduction and optimisation through a long-term partnership approach. Once the system is fully implemented, we typically realise PPE savings of between 25% and 30%. This is supported by close and continuous monitoring, including quarterly meetings between our safety experts and the seven Health and Safety advisers within the Aertssen Group. This is very much a two-way process: The prevention advisers contribute concrete questions and feedback from daily operations on the shop floor, while we share new developments in innovation, products and services. For example, we are currently testing more ergonomic work trousers and a new generation of cut-resistant gloves designed to improve both safety and comfort.”
Yves Aertssen: “Those quarterly review meetings also play a vital role in our standardisation efforts. This is particularly important when integrating acquired companies, where establishing a shared approach and gaining broad support across the organisation can be a challenge. Vandeputte supports us throughout this process, allowing us to remain focused on our core business. By further standardising our PPE range, we reduce the number of different products in circulation, making it easier to ensure the right equipment is available at the right time while providing greater certainty around pricing, stock availability and deliveries. At the same time, this solution remains flexible enough to accommodate specific requirements, such as fall arrest harnesses and ATEX-compliant equipment for Aertssen Lifting, or welding helmets for Aertssen Services. Vandeputte also provides extensive customisation and branding options, enabling our staff to wear high-quality PPE that not only protects them but also reflects the pride they take in representing our company.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “We keep stock reserved and pre-printed for the Aertssen Group in our automated warehouse in Puurs. “All PPE and workwear in the required sizes and quantities is stored there, ready for distribution.”
“Aertssen Group was the first client to implement our comprehensive concept on such a broad and structured scale across an entire organisation ”
Dirk Vandeputte, chairman of the Board of Directors of Groupe RG
What is already in place today? And where do you see opportunities for the future?
Yves Aertssen: “The ordering process, stock management and innovation sessions are already running smoothly, but safety management remains, and will always remain, a work in progress. We continue to see opportunities to further improve the user-friendliness and stability of the online platform. Each year, we make steady progress based on insights from our day-to-day operations—whether in terms of product range optimisation, practical refinements or budget management ... the introduction of the token system has made the entire process more accessible and user-friendly for our employees. The system has now been rolled out across Belgium, and our ambition is to implement an integrated safety solution across the other European countries in which we operate in due course. We are confident that Vandeputte will be able to support us in achieving this goal.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “Absolutely. Now that we are part of a large European group, we are able to deliver the same high level of service across eighteen countries, as we currently do in Belgium.” Our mission remains to keep pace with the continued growth of the Aertssen Group and to ensure that new entities and employees are fully integrated into our overall safety approach. Incidentally, we will soon be incorporating the maintenance of more complex protective equipment, such as masks and air hoods, into the services we provide to the Aertssen Group. Finally, we aim to further enhance home deliveries for employees by evolving them into a true B2C-like experience, complete with a user-friendly app, track-and-trace functionality and greater delivery flexibility etc. “Our ambition is to make the process as seamless and convenient as receiving any standard parcel, even when employees are not at home.”
Finally, how would you assess the partnership so far? And do you expect to continue working just as closely together in the years ahead?
Dirk Vandeputte: “Aertssen Group was the first client to implement our comprehensive concept on such a broad and structured scale across an entire organisation. Combined with their ongoing growth, this inevitably brought a number of challenges, but it also helped us elevate our service to a higher level. For example, Aertssen Group was one of the first customers for whom we installed a PPE vending machine. Today, we have 922 units installed across more than 100 customers in the Benelux region, generating around 60,000 withdrawals per month.”
Yves Aertssen: “We were immediately impressed by Vandeputte’s solution and can now confidently say that it has, without doubt, proven its value. A simple and safe working environment is fundamental to our success. If our employees feel comfortable and well protected in their clothing and PPE, they perform better—and that is clearly reflected in their work.”
Philippe Halsberghe: “That’s why our companies are such a strong fit. We share the same vision on safety, and fully recognise that taking care of employees directly translates into fewer accidents and greater efficiency. We can offer limited value to businesses that still regard safety as a necessary evil. Aertssen Group, however, is a partner that continuously challenges us and remains open to innovation, such as, for example, the advanced token system. It is in contexts such as these that our years of expertise truly come into their own.”
Yves Aertssen: “The figures also reflect how our collaboration has evolved in step with the growth of our organisation over recent years. Our purchases from Vandeputte increased from around €750,000 in 2023 to nearly €940,000 in 2025, in line with the growing number of employees using their services. This demonstrates that the system is scalable and capable of supporting our continued growth. We fully expect this upward trend to continue in the years ahead. The next step is to work together even more proactively, while continuing to pursue improvements, innovations and solutions to emerging safety challenges—without losing sight of overall user-friendliness, quality and affordability.”