Our history

“We have acquired enough businesses for the time being.”

One manager, seven different departments within one group. Noël Fasquelle, CEO and owner of Landtmeters Naval Stores Group: “Various acquisitions have made the company stronger. But now we are going to focus on further building what we have. It must remain manageable.”

Fasquelle spent the earliest part of his childhood on an inland vessel. “After my father went ashore, as they say, he acquired an existing ship supply company. This was a smart move because his former colleagues in the shipping industry recognised a familiar face, and sales skyrocketed. Thirty years ago, when I finished school, he saved Landtmeters Yachting & Industrie from bankruptcy – a company that supplied accessories to the sailing/inland shipping industry, shipping companies, and the emerging yachting sector, with a history dating back to 1870. Among other things, it made the sails for the Belgica, the famous polar expedition ship of Adrien de Gerlache. I took over the management immediately after my military service.”

Today, Landtmeters still supplies materials for the pleasure craft industry. “From small yachts to superyachts, where the sky is the limit.” But Fasquelle, himself an avid sailor, is now at the helm of the Landtmeters Naval Stores Group, with twelve employees and seven divisions. Over the past ten years, he has acquired one company after another, a deliberate strategy: “Around 2008, we noticed that the market for smaller yachts, up to ten or twelve metres, was slowing down, mainly due to an ageing population. It seemed wise to diversify a bit more, with an eye toward risk spreading and stability. That’s how we acquired Bandera Vlaggenmakerij. We still manufacture in-house under the Bandera name today. Our clients include NATO, the Royal Household, Total, Esso, and others.”

Fasquelle also set his sights on Uvo Yachting & Scheepvaart and Uvo Dekzeilen, where we manufacture all types of tarpaulins, and Landtmeters Maritime & Industrial Equipment, where we primarily supply goods to the shipping industry. “We also acquired R. de Wit Shipstores, a company dating back to 1814 that once supplied materials for the Red Star Line and the legendary yacht Christina O. owned by Onassis. Our latest acquisition is The Falcon Seamanshop at the famous Falconplein, where we supply sailor clothing and uniforms to the maritime academy and the pilot service. This business has existed for four generations and features the interior of a genuine ship chandler from the past – unique in the world!”

“Today, we can supply almost everything related to maritime, coastal, and inland shipping, as well as related industrial activities. Think of buoys (floating & life buoys), tarpaulins, windsocks, cables, ropes, ladders – we are the only company in Belgium that manufactures pilot ladders – but also swimming pool covers, student ribbons, and more. We have over 250,000 different products in stock! We aren't the largest player in any single sector, but we are unique because we cover so many areas. It is also our ambition to offer almost everything within those fields. Since we started focusing on online sales, we have customers all over the world. We are regularly asked to deliver parts just-in-time, from the Côte d’Azur to the Caribbean. Service is very important to us, which is why we are open every day of the year, with flexible hours.”

Landtmeters is currently generating strong revenue, but Fasquelle is convinced that there is room for even more growth. “Next year – the year Landtmeters celebrates its 125th anniversary – we are moving to a new building located right between the port and the city. For the first time, all departments will be under one roof, with a single central reception desk. This new building will allow us to work even more structurally and efficiently, and I am confident that we will reap the rewards. There are no further acquisitions planned for the time being: “Everything needs to remain manageable.”