Krant van West-Vlaanderen | text Philippe Verhaest
Who will succeed Rik Verheye as West Flemish Ambassador? We will find out on November 25, but that evening an enterprise will also be awarded. Together with the province, Radio2 and Focus-WTV, KW is once again searching for the Ambassador of Enterprise in West Flanders. In the run-up to this election, we present one of the six nominated companies each week. This week: Furnibo from Veurne.
The now iconic casino and hotel building Silt on the seafront of Middelkerke. The fully renovated Wintercircus in the heart of Ghent. The brand-new apartment complexes De Boevrie in Bruges and Troon 17 on the seafront of Ostend. These are just a few of the many eye-catching projects by Furnibo from Veurne. As is Westerpunt in De Panne, recently named the Most Beautiful Spot in West Flanders.
The construction company was founded 32 years ago and is now led by co-CEOs Steven Maeyaert (52) from Lo-Reninge and Stijn D’hoore from Jabbeke. The latter joined the company in 2023, while Steven started his career at Furnibo 29 years ago as a site manager and took over the company in 2013.
Collaboration
Under their leadership, the Veurne-based economic gem has grown into a leading company in the construction sector. “But always with both feet firmly planted in West Flemish clay — or rather: mooze,” the two say with a wink. “Nothing gives us more energy than visiting one of our sites and seeing it grow.”
Steven is responsible for the commercial side, while Stijn focuses on operations. “East and West Flanders are our core region, where we collaborate as much as possible with other stakeholders — such as architects and engineering firms.”
“We make it a point to be involved from the very beginning, right at the drawing table. You could say we join when there’s still a blank sheet on the table and only leave once the project is fully completed and delivered. That’s our greatest strength: we work together towards the same goal and treat every project as one of our own. Every detail has to be feasible. That approach is in our DNA.”
Today, Furnibo is active across a wide range of sectors — from residential projects and office buildings to healthcare campuses, educational institutions, and even sports and leisure developments.
“That diversity keeps us sharp and curious, while also allowing us to spread risks from an economic perspective. That typical West Flemish common sense is one of our cornerstones. We remain down-to-earth and embrace a hands-on mentality — ‘just get it done’, as we like to say here.”
The team of 150 people plays a crucial role in this. “The beating heart of Furnibo,” the co-CEOs emphasize. “We can rely on a very dynamic and motivated team, with strong engagement and extensive know-how. Staff turnover is very low, which means our experience stays in-house and can be applied to every new project. A major advantage.”
Innovation
The nomination for Ambassador of Enterprise in West Flanders is therefore a feather in the cap for all Furnibo employees. “A great recognition, especially since the construction sector is not the easiest. We are exposed to many risks and are highly sensitive to economic cycles… We’re proud of the story we are building, and this nomination gives us an extra boost.”
In the coming years, Furnibo aims to continue growing organically. “When it comes to digitalisation in construction, we are a frontrunner. Every project is first developed in a virtual environment, allowing us to reduce the margin of error on site to almost zero.”
“We also want to play an innovative role in prefabrication. Just after the summer, we launched GUST: our own prefab façade system with masonry. We always try to stay a few steps ahead and make it a point to offer every client a fully predictable process. Transparency is a key word.”
Today, Furnibo reaches an annual turnover of around €80 million. “Within three years, we aim to grow towards €100 million,” they conclude. “But always with top quality as our priority.”