Creaplan Group based in Nazareth (BE), 30 years young, is brimming with health and ambition. KebeK Private Equity is stepping down, the management and current shareholders are continuing. With this redesigned shareholder structure, the innovative design company wants to further conquer Europe. During 2026, the employees will also move to a new building nearby. “Now we are really ready for the future,” says CEO Michael Debaveye.
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Thirty years ago, Creaplan was founded by Ann Vancoillie and Dirk Deleu and grew into the Belgian market leader in stand building. During the corona pandemic, Creaplan also took off in the corporate interior segment (showrooms, offices…), where experience is key, just like with their stands. “All strong brands want that kind of experience”, says CEO Michael Debaveye. “We also create that experience at corporate and sports events through For Live, the Dutch specialist in live communication projects and online broadcasting, which we acquired in 2021. Everything we do falls under the label of experiential marketing."
In June 2018, external shareholders KebeK Private Equity & Walter Mastelinck came on board, as well as CEO Michael Debaveye and COO Vincent Lievens.
Now follows another milestone with the exit of majority shareholder KebeK Private Equity. “We are pleased with the nice growth and development over the past few years, and wish the team every success in further expanding the company,” said Gert Van Huffel, managing partner of KebeK Privaty Equity.
In the redrawn shareholder landscape, Walter Mastelinck, Ann Vancoillie and Dirk Deleu (founders of Creaplan & Aluvision), Alain Bostoen (chairman of Christeyns), and Ruud Van den Berg (founder of For Live), form the shareholders of the Creaplan Group, together with Michael and Vincent and some managers.
“With the experienced management team led by Michael and Vincent and this group of entrepreneurial shareholders, we are ready to realise growth”, says Walter Mastelinck, chairman of the board of directors.
Creaplan performed strongly over the last five years, both organically and through acquisitions. Turnover doubled to 20 million euros. Debaveye: “We now want to further grow organically from the existing locations (Nazareth BE & Amersfoort NL) and also strengthen our geographical presence in Europe through acquisitions. Creaplan will move to a new building along the E17 highway in Nazareth in the course of 2026. This move will give us another boost.”
Creaplan Group presents itself as high end in all areas: in design, technology, finishing, timing and service. Clients arrive at their event or booth, the fridge is full, they are completely unburdened, and enjoy a beautiful setting in which to do business.
A driven team of 75 employees takes care of this, supplemented by a pool of 150 freelancers. “Thanks to our new structure and growth plans, we are confident that our people can develop further within the group, both here and in future European branches. This also builds confidence in our employees. Because certainly in our sector, they still make the difference”, Vincent Lievens concludes.
We are proud to announce that, as of March 1st 2024, Jarno de Boer has joined the team as Managing Director. Jarno has gained considerable experience within the events industry over the past few years and brings a fresh, innovative perspective to our industry.
Read more"The addition of Jarno to our team marks a new chapter for For Live," said Ruud van den Berg, CEO of For Live. "His track record in the industry, combined with his passion for technological innovation, will undoubtedly contribute to our mission to push the boundaries."
"I look forward to being part of the strong For Live team, using my background in both the international event industry and the specialised audiovisual sector to further shape and realise our ambition for the future," said Jarno de Boer. "I strongly believe in the power of live experiences to bring people together and am determined to contribute to creating events that are both innovative and impactful."
With de Boer on board, For Live further positions itself to achieve its ambitious goals, including those within the Creaplan Group.
Ruud van den Berg, CEO of For Live, will remain involved within the Creaplan Group.
For questions and further info:
Bjorn van Beek
+31 33 432 1808
bjorn@forlive.eu
www.forlive.eu
Stand and interior builder Creaplan from Nazareth takes over the stand building activities of Deusjevoo from Genk. In the future, Deusjevoo will focus even more on set construction in the TV and entertainment sector in the Benelux.
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Stand and interior builder Creaplan from Nazareth takes over the stand building activities of Deusjevoo from Genk. In the future, Deusjevoo will focus even more on set construction in the TV and entertainment sector in the Benelux.
The live communication industry, which has been practically silent for a year and a half, has finally taken off again. And that involves some restructuring. Creaplan’s CEO Michael Debaveye explains. “The stand building market has been undergoing an evolution for some time now, that was accelerated by the corona crisis. Certain companies have left the sector, while others are shifting focus or becoming part of a consolidation.” The same goes for Deusjevoo. Creaplan, which has grown into a European player, will take over the projects of the Limburg set builder and execute them from their studio in Nazareth, with the existing team that will be strengthened further.
This decision also comes at an ideal time in Deusjevoo's growth strategy. Twenty-three years ago, Jo Peters' company was founded as an interior and decoration construction company for the entertainment sector, among others. Not too long after that, the company located in Genk quickly grew into the market leader in the TV decor sector in Flanders. Deusjevoo's decors can be seen in shows such as Familie, the Cooke & Verhulst Show, Rad van Fortuin and K2 zoekt K3. The set builder is experiencing unprecedented growth, not only in Belgium but in the Netherlands as well.
“Over the years, exhibition stands have been added, which now occupy an important position within our service range. Now, however, we want to review and sharpen our focus. We looked at where we can still grow and realized that we really are an established name in the entertainment sector. It’s our absolute passion. That is why we now, more than ever, want to focus on sets for the entertainment sector and TV studios for companies (either virtual or physical). We will of course continue to fully focus on experience-based architecture for offices, retail, catering and showrooms,” says Peters.
According to Peters, it quickly became clear that Creaplan is a suitable partner. “It was important to us that our dear customers would end up somewhere good. It is not easy to find a suitable partner. The level of creativity and service needs to be high, and the acquirer must have the resources and experience to travel internationally with our clients. With those requirements in mind, Creaplan quickly emerged as the ideal long-term collaboration partner. Deusjevoo will continue to develop concepts for a number of clients as a concept agency, but will not build them anymore. From now on, it will be Creaplan who takes care of the implementation from A to Z.
For Vincent Lievens, COO of Creaplan, Deusjevoo's stand building activities fit perfectly within the existing activities. “Our professionals have all the expertise in-house to fulfill the expectations of Deusjevoo's customers, from architects to stand builders. Coming up with creative concepts and converting them into solid realizations with a strong brand experience is what we are good at, both in traditional wooden construction and for modular stands.”
“We are further expanding our structure and services: quality & service on the one hand and experience & design on the other, however, remain the anchor points in our offer. This gives our customers more options under the same familiar roof – the so-called one-stop-shop –, in a European context as well."
Michael Debaveye, Creaplan
Less than a year ago, Creaplan took over the stand building activity from the West Flemish Bulik and recently bought the Dutch (hybrid) event expert For Live as the starting signal for an international group story. Debaveye:
Deusjevoo from Genk is one of the biggest set-builders in the country. They have built numerous studios for TV channels VTM, VRT, Play4 and Eén, visible on television screens for millions of Flemish people every day, and reach many customers in the entertainment sector abroad as well. CEO Jo Peters founded Deusjevoo in 1999 and currently leads a team of 20 employees from their offices at the C-mine site in Genk.
Creaplan, based in Nazareth, was founded in 1994 by entrepreneurial duo Dirk Deleu & Ann Vancoillie. Since then it has grown to become a market leader in the Belgian stand landscape and is evolving into a European player, partly driven by new shareholders KeBeK Private Equity and Walter Mastelinck. The company counts on a team of 50 employees and 80 freelancers for the construction of stands, business interiors and displays, with a client base ranging from Belgian SMEs to multinationals all over Europe.
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Stand and interior building company Creaplan from Nazareth, Belgium and the Dutch For Live from Amersfoort, specialist in live communication projects, join forces. The transaction is part of the international growth strategy of both companies and rings in the beginning of an international group concept.
Read moreThe group will focus on the full range of expertise within brand communication, from live events and stands to corporate interiors and experience centres, each with a strong online offering.
For Creaplan CEO Michael Debaveye, the match between both companies became clear early on. “Where we provide stands, interiors and displays, our customers will now be able to rely on the expertise of For Live for all their needs concerning event interiors, audiovisual applications and online broadcasting. Both companies are very complementary. We’ll also reinforce each other geographically: Creaplan strengthens its position in the Dutch market, For Live introduces itself in Belgium.” Both businesses present themselves as premium players with quality firmly rooted in their DNA.
For Live supplies facility solutions — audio, light, rigging and more — for live communication projects. The company from Amersfoort targets production houses, event agencies and inhouse event departments, with a strong focus on the corporate and sport events market. For Live was founded about 10 years ago and has been involved in over 1,000 productions, from the Eurovision Song Contest to the World Cup ice skating in Thialf, as well as in numerous corporate internal events such as shareholder meetings and product presentations for companies like KPN, Amstel, Rabobank, KLM and more.
Vincent Lievens, COO at Creaplan, explains. “The cooperation makes our offering even more future-proof. As a company, we did not sit on our hands during the coronavirus crisis: our interior solutions and complete furnishings branch has grown massively, at the same time we evaluated our events product offering to see where we could integrate technology, aiming at online and hybrid applications. Thanks to For Live’s expertise in online events, we can answer the market demand even better, future-proofing our stand and interior offer.”
For Ruud van den Berg, founder of For Live, the cooperation fits seamlessly within the giant growth spurt his company has known the past years. “Despite the COVID-19 crisis, For Live is doing great and orders keep coming in, thanks to the traditional (sport) events that still take place on one hand and the growing demand for online broadcasting solutions on the other hand. At the beginning of the crisis, For Live started developing a range of unique products for interactive online events, with which we have now gained a prominent market position.”
“Thanks to the joining of forces with Creaplan, For Live can professionalise its stand building activities further. Next to that, it is a good introduction to the Belgian market. Just like Creaplan, everything we do revolves around experience and impact.”
Ruud van den Berg, For Live
Lievens: “Similar to the acquisition of stand builder Bulik last year, this acquisition feels like the logical next step. For Live reinforces the group concept, in which brand experience is at the centre. Operationally, not much changes: our customers will still receive the same service and our activities in Nazareth will remain unchanged.”
Founder Ruud van den Berg preserves the operational management of For Live; both companies will be managed centrally by the Creaplan management team for optimal collaboration. Ruud will also join the overarching group as shareholder and director.
Debaveye: “We keep taking steps in our growth strategy. Our organic growth continues, at the same time we want to strengthen our market position with various acquisitions of complementary companies, both geographically as well as in the field of product and service. Step by step, we want to build towards a full-fledged European group for projects in the live event and brand communication market.”
Creaplan is a Belgian stand and interior building company with an average annual turnover of 10 million euros, founded in 1994 by entrepreneurial duo Dirk Deleu & Ann Vancoillie who established the company as market leader in the sector. This momentum of growth was continued in 2018 with the reinforcement of external shareholders KeBeK Private Equity & Walter Mastelinck, assisted by an experienced management team. With a team of 50 permanent employees and about 80 freelancers, the company from Nazareth designs and builds stands and interiors for SMEs and multinationals all over Europe.
For Live supplies complete facility solutions for events. Every year the company finishes more than 250 projects in the corporate and sport events market, at the request of (technical) producers, event agencies and inhouse event departments. The firm from Amersfoort was founded about 10 years ago by owner Ruud van den Berg. With a team of 15 permanent employees and over 150 freelancers, the company achieves an average annual turnover of 5 million euros.
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For Live - Events. Audiovisuals. Broadcast.
Creaplan Jaguar Land Rover Brussels Motor Show
Creaplan - Create. Capture. Connect.
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Creaplan, based in Nazareth and specialised in exhibition stands, interiors and displays, takes over the stand building activities of Bulik in Izegem. In doing so, the Belgian market leader expands its international client portfolio.
Read moreThe acquisition fits in with the growth strategy that Creaplan applies. Walter Mastelinck, director and co-shareholder, explains. “On the one hand we grow organically, on the other hand we want to grow through acquisitions of Belgian as well as European companies with a similar or complementary offer. The takeover of the stand building activities of Bulik is fully in line with this growth strategy.”
Bulik is a fitting complement to Creaplan, says CEO Michael Debaveye. “We consider it a good opportunity to incorporate their customers into our structure. Bulik, just like Creaplan, holds years of experience with clients from various sectors. Their in-house production with talented craftsmen, choice for high-quality materials and innovative approach fit seamlessly with our vision.”
Bulik shifts its activities as stand builder to Creaplan but remains active as a creative supplier. “The current situation has accelerated our step but is not the cause of the acquisition. Family circumstances make us want a more structured life, in a less deadline related sector. We will however continue being creative.” Bulik Standbouw becomes Bulik 2.0 and will focus on displays, pop-ups, micro events, marketing and numerous creative activities. “We will gradually discover our new core business and find out for what competences our clients appreciate us the most”, says Sofie of Bulik 2.0.
These last few months Creaplan has not sat back. COO Vincent Lievens explains. “Although the corona crisis has had an undeniable impact on the events industry, covid has allowed us to accelerate the further broadening of our activities, particularly in interiors and displays.”
Creaplan is the Belgian market leader in exhibition stands, interior design and displays. With a team of 50 permanent employees and about 80 freelancers, the company from Nazareth designs and builds stands and interiors for SMEs as well as multinationals all over Europe.
Vandaag werd in de gebouwen van Creaplan de uitbreiding van industrieterrein De prijkels getekend door 13 bedrijven, ditalles in coördinatie van intercommunale Veneco en met de nodige persbelangstelling. In aanwezigheid van de 3 burgemeesters van de omliggende gemeentes Kruisem, Nazareth en Deinze werden alle plannen voor de uitbreidingszone onthuld.
Creaplan gaat naar een nieuwe site langs de E17 van ruim 25.000 m² en verdubbelt zo zijn huidige oppervlakte. Deze nieuwe locatie zal alle mogelijkheden geven om de groei-ambitie van het bedrijf te faciliteren en kracht bij te zetten.
A great article in the Benelux professional press about Ann Vancoillie and Dirk Deleu sharing their story about Creaplan and Aluvision. (01/05/2019)
Read the story
(11/06/2018)
Press release