The boss of Brabant

How a poor boy conquers the sugar industry

It is immediately striking: that look in the eyes. Thoughtful, decisive, confident. Judging purely by his look, you see a man who has left his mark. And that's right. This is Jan Frederik Vlekke. The Steve Jobs of sugar beet.

This is the sugar mecca

At the end of the 19th century, sugar makes the move from luxury good to mass product and the south-west of the Netherlands is the Silicon Valley of the sugar industry. Cupertino is called Stampersgat. That's where the Apple Campus, or the

Gastelsche Suikerfabriek.

In 1881, Vlekke took over the helm of this factory. After that, things move fast. Shareholders are in the pocket with unprecedentedly high dividends; at its peak in 1894, they receive a payout of 40%. This benefits, among others, Vlekke's opposite number: Mayor Mastboom of Oud Gastel, notorious for his frugality. Given the profits, it is not surprising that Vlekke is also entrusted with the directorship of St.Antoine, that other big sugar factory in Halderberge. The white factory on St. Antoinedijk is listed as a textbook example of the Crafts-Traditional style.

Pioneering on clay soil

How does Vlekke get it all done? There is no shortage of outlets. There is high demand for raw sugar, the semi-finished product delivered by the sugar factories. The competitive game revolves around sourcing raw materials. Sugar beet do well on the West Brabant clay, or 'the sugar corner', but there are more corsairs in the market
coast.

Vlekke is showing particular innovation. Other manufacturers put pressure on farmers to supply as cheaply as possible. A lot for little, in other words. For Vlekke, quality takes precedence over quantity. He wants beets with the highest possible sugar content. Vlekke opens laboratories to scrutinise sugar beet. He publishes a magazine with articles on how to grow sweeter beets. And he rewards farmers not only for raw kilos, but also counts the sugar content delivered. In today's language? Vlekke invests in research and development, goes for knowledge sharing and offers a performance reward. This is now called progressive business and in the 20th century it was revolutionary.

Everyone got it right

It is not only the capitalists who benefit from Vlekke's work. The farmers who take the beet off the land do too. These he offers a participation contract. That means they get a share in the profits made from their beet. In this way, he assures his factories of large supplies.

How are the factory workers doing? They are doing well under Vlekke. He pays relatively high wages to retain experienced workers. He pays attention to the working environment, provides bathing facilities and library, brass band and bicycle club, among other things.

For the staff of St Antoine and the Gastelsche sugar mills, he arranges a pension fund, health fund and widow's fund. He introduces collective insurance, a factory savings fund with high interest rates and a cooperative financing scheme for building one's own house. Vlekke gets everything done because lenders have nothing to complain about. He proves, even before the year 1900, the benefits of corporate social responsibility.

Through the glass ceiling

Vlekke's braces are even more impressive when you know where he came from. Jan Frederik Vlekke is the eldest child of a simple family. Father a barge master, mother a maid. At a time of very limited social mobility, he worked his way up from primary school teacher to influential industrialist.

Of course, he is a hard worker. After a day in front of the classroom, he moonlights in the office of the Gastelsche Beetwortelsuikerfabriek. But hard work is far from exceptional in those days. Vlekke is also in the right place at the right time.

The sugar business is well on the rise. Within five years, the side job is a permanent one. As a bookkeeper, he starts at De Gastelsche. At the time, already a very nice move for a young man from a simple background.

But he needs a marriage to really break through the glass ceiling (in the 20th century, it is better to speak of a hardened steel ceiling). He marries a woman of distinction, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. After that, the big boys really see him.

That comparison with Jobs?

What Vlekke did with beets is akin to a blueprint for Apple. By thinking innovatively, Vlekke dominates the booming business of his period. He manages to retain the best employees. And shows himself to be a charismatic speaker who gets influential people on board. Vlekke is among the great industrialists of his generation, such as Van Marken and Stork.

Like Jobs, Vlekke meets his end early, in his mid-50s. After his death, administrators draw a line under numerous schemes. His legacy is a very interesting CSR case and a fertile period for capitalists, farmers and workers, traces of which can be found all over Halderberge.

A plaque in front of the church in Stampersgat, which came about partly thanks to Jan Frederik Vlekke's efforts, keeps him in memory.