In his working life, Bernhard Verbraeken (82) was a carpenter, greenhouse construction representative and paint salesman, first in paid employment and later self-employed. He founded HBV Coatings. Rodi spoke to Bernhard.
He tells it that he did not want to become a horticulturist. He eventually became a carpenter, only to end up in greenhouse construction after serving at Grimbergen. When that company went bankrupt, he went in a different direction, that of paint.
"I got in touch with a Mr De Wilde from Delft," he recalls. "He was in the paint business. In short, I went to work for him with a low basic salary, but commission and a bonus if I sold well. In those days, greenhouses were being built all over Westland. Wherever I stepped out, there was trade. Within two months, I had reached my goals. Eventually, things escalated between us. He couldn't deal with the turnover I was achieving. I contacted his supplier and that resulted in me starting my own trading company, HBV. I felt like a fish out of water. Always in a good mood and always with a killer sales pitch."
Story
"Because at that time I already had a lot of competitors around me who were also in the paint business and who took on total projects inclusive f the paint, I had to take a different approach. Namely pointing out the advantage to the grower; doing the paint work under my direction, under the grower's own management, with his own people."
Meanwhile, son-in-law Erwin van Lier runs the company, after Bernhard quit in 2007 at 65.
Erwin van Lier
HBV Coatings