END OF AN ERA FOR VEGE
Statement from Will Green, General Manager, VEGE U.K.
Following much speculation & rumour-mongering I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight regarding the stability & future of the VEGE organisation.
Over the last couple of years, we have tried hard to meet the challenges of a high cost structure at our oldest remanufacturing facility based in Spijkenisse, NL, so that VEGE as an organisation, could turn around and become profitable, a key requirement for business sustainability.
Only as far back as February this year, we implemented - at considerable cost - a restructuring plan in our Spijkenisse operations with the hope this would stem the tide of continuing losses. Several other actions, flowing from a strategic business plan were taken. These included ramping up of production in Tunisia, better branch integration, stronger alignment between production and sales, non-replacement of positions that fell vacant as a result of attrition, and rigorous cost control across the organisation.
Unfortunately, notwithstanding these initiatives, we continued to make losses in our remanufacturing operations in Spijkenisse and we reached a point where these may have began to threaten the very survival of VEGE.
We arrived at the inescapable conclusion, that on account of the high cost structure of labour intensive manufacturing in Holland (similar to what exists across all of Western Europe) together with the reluctance of many banks to extend meaningful support to the automotive industry, we were left with no option but to close our Spijkenisse remanufacturing operations.
Whilst the closure of any part of our organisation cannot but be a time of sadness, particularly over the loss of employment for many of our colleagues, I can assure all our suppliers & customers, that VEGE is alive & kicking and with the support of it's colleagues at branches Worldwide, will scale new heights in terms of business performance and importantly, profitability.
We will continue to progressively strengthen and invest in our production bases in Tunisia and India and to manufacture world-class, high quality products at these locations.
VEGE will continue to work with large OEM’s and to address global after-market demand through our vast marketing network in Europe, whilst the key functions of Knowledge Assimilation, Product Research & Development will remain centred in our spiritual home - Spijkenisse, Holland - where VEGE Benelux will evolve to be a robust marketing organisation with extensive stocks.
Every part of the VEGE organisation is resolved to commit ourselves to an ascendant future and the continuance of a vigorous, over seventy-year-old legacy.
