Steady growth

I remember saying in 2011 that a team consisting of eleven employees would be a great thing. Something we strived for and took the time to accomplish. I can say now that we have the ideal number of staff, all posts are filled in correctly and the company is where I envisaged it to be. Some of this was luck, but also the result continued reflection and focus on key aspects. 

 Artidor now is a solid company, where a motivated team uses the increased production capacity, while keeping delivery time short as before. Artidor is a stable company, with more than enough work for everyone. Where we managed to create more space for product development. We were not guided by the issues of the day, because there will always be those, but by focussing on key aspects, continually asking ourselves ‘what makes us happy?’. Of course, you have to be a little impulsive sometimes and look back to learn from your mistakes. But on the whole, I can say that we can be proud of this year’s developments. 

 Smart choices

And then it is time to look ahead. Ahead to a new phase. Now the company is where I envisaged it, it is time to take a closer look at products and markets. For one we decided to stop delivery to the American market. The existing claim culture there leads to very high insurance costs. When we calculate the costs and benefits it makes sense to no longer serve the American market. Likewise, we are faced with the amount of work involved when trying to send a parcel containing products to for instance Africa or the Middle-East. Custom costs, administration, mailing back and forth. When transport involves much of a hassle, we balance that against profit.  This makes it easier to make smart choices. We keep asking ourselves whether we are doing the right things and how they can be done more efficiently. And we did take some major steps, steps we can build upon in the future. 

 Product development

These are organisational developments we started for a reason. In order to help us in selling our products, developing them or improving them. We are happy with the products we developed over the last year, for instance the zone 1 and zone 21 versions of the   AR-047 and the AR-048 LED signal lamps. And it’s really good to see that we are already developing additional new products. Some are ready for prototyping, others ready for certification, like the rooftop air conditioner. The developed products look promising and I predict 2025 will be a busy year for us at Artidor. We’re looking forward to it!