1988 - 1991: The very beginning

1988: Plastic Machinery Equipment BVBA is a fact.

Plastic Machinery Equipment BVBA was founded by Willy and Eliane van Muylem in 1988. After working for years as an Asburg distributor at the then DVG, Willy took the difficult step of starting his own independent  representation of peripheral equipment for the plastics processing machinery industry. Willy introduced GEIGER sprue pickers  into the injection moulding world.

1989: Plastic Machinery Equipment NV.

PME, at the time a small, one-man business, was transformed into a public limited company, a logical step in the growth of the young company.

1991: 565 Provincieweg, HERZELE.

As a result of their hard work and the success of this formula, Willy and Eliane were able to expand. They bought property in Herzele and convinced Rony van Grunderbeek and Annie Van Peteghem to join them.

 

1992 - 1997: Reinforcement of the Engineering and Sales Teams

1994:  An additional technician

Wim Dhaeseleer was taken on as an interim worker for the construction of the EUROPLASTICA fair in Brussels. Wim made such a good impression that Willy offered him a permanent contract. In the following years, Willy developed into a GEIGER robot specialist.

1997: An additional sales representative

The total representation package became too much for Willy alone, so Yves Drappier joined the PME team as a sales representative specifically for the sale of S+S metal detectors and raw material handling systems.

 

 

1998 - 1999: Business As Usual, but with major changes

Step by step, the company became a full partner in the plastics industry, a position achieved through the commitment of all of the staff to earn the confidence of their customers.

In April 1999, Willy van Muylem decided that the time had come to admit that he had reached retirement age, so he sold the company to Guido Manhaeve, a former NETSTAL employee. This came as a bolt from the blue for many of the staff.

 

2000 - 2008: Expansion and increase in scale in BELUX

As the century turned, policy at PME also changed, and the company expanded on many fronts. Its workforce grew from 6 to 15 employees, and, in the two specializations –  raw materials handling and automated systems – larger scale and technically more complex projects were accepted. Fernand Taverniers joined the company in 2002 to strengthen the marketing.

In August 2003, PME moved to new industrial facilities in Industrial Zone II, 25 Ballingsweg, Zottegem. More space, more opportunities, and certainly better accessibility contributed to further expansion.

 

 

2009 - NOW: A management buyout and increase in scale in BENELUX

In May 2009, the company was taken over by Yves Drappier and the business plan is completely rewritten. Service, customer satisfaction and technology become even more important.

In 2010, expansion into The Netherlands becomes a reality with John Liebregts. He is soon joined by Mark Andringa and Martin Van Zuilekom. Moments later Gerard Nijkamp joins the PME team in the Netherlands. The same business plan is put into motion there.