Nelissen wins Ambiorix Prize

Nelissen Steenfabrieken announced as the winner of the coveted VKW Ambiorix Prize today. The brand new winners are proud of this award. “The award embodies the two aspects of entrepreneurship: our economic performance and our human vision. Because growth is not a goal in itself, the manner in which you achieve this growth is also very important,” say the three CEOs in their first response to winning. 

As laureate of this prize, Nelissen Steenfabrieken joins other successful companies such as Arte, Bioracer, ACA IT-Solutions, Tribù, Punch Powertrain, Globachem, and Melexis. The winner is chosen by VKW Limburg, who make a thorough, objective selection based on 5 years of numerical data from the TOP 500 companies. This is followed by a subjective selection – by an independent jury – led by Professor Leo Sleuwaegen (KU Leuven and Vlerick Leuven).

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Carlos Jorissen, one of the three CEOs, is happy to share the prize with everyone who has contributed to the company’s success: “It is a recognition of the efforts made by all our employees. Both in our head office in Lanaken, as well as in our showrooms in Marche-en-Famenne and Drongen. And we cannot forget our distributors around the world – from Great Britain, Germany, and Russia, all the way to the Middle East and Asia. At the same time, we would also like to thank our customers. We stand for co-creation. We even regularly develop new shapes or colours at the request of architects or developers. This is how we keep the art of brick making alive. We would, of course, also like to thank our families. After all, they are the driving force behind the entire family business.”



“A warm family business with a clear vision”
Nelissen Steenfabrieken is proud of the recognition because it is due to a combination of factors. The Ambiorix prize combines two important elements of entrepreneurship. “Of course, we have first been rewarded for our business growth. A major investment has seen our turnover grow by 45% in the past five years. But the economic aspect is not the only thing we try to achieve; we also pay a lot of attention to how we achieve the growth,” adds Yuri Gevers (the second member of the trio directing Nelissen Steenfabrieken).

The third captain of the ship, Burt Nelissen, explains: “On the one hand, we really are a family business that treats employees, customers, and local residents warmly. Human relationships are important. On the other hand – although we are active in an apparently classic sector – we pay a lot of attention to sustainability and innovation. In addition to using solar energy, we also convert the heat released during firing into energy; we have developed the very well-received Dubio brick (this brick has shadow joints creating the illusion of two or three thin bricks stacked together). We are pleased the jury has recognised the vision.”