Krepel - News

A brief company history

This year the family-owned Krepel company celebrates its 150th anniversary. The company is now managed by the eighth generation of the Krepel family. The company has a rich history in which inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit have played an important role. It all began with the construction of a copper mill in 1732. A few years later, this copper mill was taken over by Austria-born Johann Richarti Gröpel (whose name was quickly changed to Krepel). He was the founder of the family business.

From copper mill to sawmill

With the advent of the steam engine in the 19th century, copper mills became redundant, and the demand for copper also decreased considerably. The Krepel family was forced to focus on another core business in order to keep the 40 employees in work. They set up a saw mill/cigar factory powered by steam and hydropower. This turned out to be a good choice. Soon the first forest stock - which could be purchased locally - was fully processed and Krepel had to look for other wood suppliers.

But what was the best way to get the timber to the factory? In 1882, the fourth generation of Krepels made sure that a train station was built in Klarenbeek, the village where the family business was located. The railway was given a branch to the Krepel estate for the transport of timber. This enabled the Krepel sawmill to run at full speed.

150 jaar Krepel 1 150 jaar Polen 2

From cigar boxes to luxury gift packaging

The high quality of Dutch cigars caused an enormous growth of the cigar industry and this sped up the production of cigar boxes. Unfortunately, the tide turned when new anti-smoking legislation was introduced. Krepel saw the turnover from cigar boxes decrease considerably between 1995 and 2000. The share of cigar boxes in production decreased and Krepel was once again faced with the challenge of developing new products and tapping into new markets. Now they began to focus on products such as tea, chocolate and exclusive drinks. This turned out to be a hit. It is an industry in which creativity, craftsmanship and quality are essential, which suits the family business perfectly.

150 jaar Krepel 3

A factory in Poland

As the capacity of the factory in the Netherlands was no longer sufficient and production costs were too high, Jan Richard Krepel (seventh generation) began to look for opportunities across the border. In 1995, he came across a manufacturer of wooden kitchens in Poland. Not only was the production hall perfect, Krepel was also able to work with experienced craftsmen here. The labour costs were lower than in the Netherlands and large stocks of the right type of wood were available locally.

Krepel makes a name for itself in the luxury segment

After the first steps in the luxury segment of wooden gift packaging, Krepel quickly made a name for itself. Mainly thanks to years of experience in fine woodworking, extensive craftsmanship and unlimited creativity. Developments in the market and within the family business occur at an ever-increasing pace. Recently, for example, it became possible to combine wood and cardboard in a creative manner. In this way, Krepel is once again able to reach a broader target group and remain true to its core business: making distinctive packaging with added value for the brand equity of its customers.

kartonnenverp

Product innovation at Krepel

Big news! From 2020, Krepel will be offering even more possibilities in the field of luxury packaging. "We're going to be combining wood with cardboard. With this, we’ll be offering a brand new solution in the packaging sector," says Bernhard Krepel, Managing Director of the Krepel Group. "It's all still in its infancy, but the possibilities are very promising. We can support our customers even more in creating distinctive luxury packaging."

Delivering added value

"Offering cardboard solutions will be an addition to our current services. The way in which we’ll combine wood and cardboard will be unique. We expect it to be of interest to both existing and new customers," says Sławomir Ćwikła, Managing Director of Krepel's production site in Poland. He explains that the benefit to customers is twofold: "On the one hand we’re offering a very attractive product and on the other, it will be interesting from a cost point of view. Customers come to us for a unique luxury packaging that perfectly matches their brand identity. The arrival of cardboard solutions makes this option more accessible to a wider target group, while remaining true to our core business: creating packaging that adds value to our customers' brand equity."

Production

Krepel now has a machine with which a cardboard substrate can be prepared for connection at an angle of exactly 45 degrees. The first samples and small series of packaging made of wood and cardboard are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2020. "As our customers have come to expect from us, we also offer a wide range of personalisation options for our new products

In the new year, we will of course let you know about the new possibilities in the field of luxury packaging.

DSC 2190 Medium DSC 2192 Medium

DSC 2195 Medium DSC 2196 Medium

Oak is the connecting factor

Whisky lover or not: when you talk to Gerard Velthuis you are immediately infected by his enthusiasm. He is the founder of a distillery, Stokerij Sculte in Twente, where they work exclusively with wooden barrels of Dutch origin. The barrels impart beautiful characteristic flavours to their whiskies which have been awarded with international prizes. These quality products come with a packaging that presents the whisky in an authentic and powerful way.

"I just want to create things," says Velthuis. With a background in the world of advertising, that's not really a surprise. "In Austria, I came into contact with the distillation of fruit. What a beautiful and pure process! That inspired me to create something pure, based on what nature gives. Don't add anything and make a wonderful drink.” After distilling fruit spirits, an authentic whisky emerged. "It took some time, but now we have a number of beautiful whiskies to our name", Velthuis adds.

It’s a puzzle

Stokerij Sculte's distillates mature in barrels made of local wood, i.e. Twenthe wood. Velthuis: "That's quite a puzzle. I wanted a whiskey with its own character, matured in its own barrels. It's a process that will always keep you busy. Of course, it's a little absurd how meticulous we are about the wood, but it's a lot of fun for me. Besides that, the work and testing wasn't all for nothing, because we've managed to create some award-winning whiskies.”

Craftmanship

Velthuis pre-selects the wood that is used to make the barrels: "Every year, we buy an oak tree that's about 250 years old. As soon as we've made the pre-selection of the wood to be used, it is shipped to Austria. That's where the cooperage I work with is located and where they continue the selection process with the wood. The barrels are then virtually made by hand. Part of the waste wood from the same tree is used to burn out the barrels. There is no gas burner involved! 70 to 80% of the taste of the whisky is determined by the wood. For me, it makes sense to be so diligent with the wood. I'm proud to be the first in the world to use Dutch wood and that it also gives it such a fantastic characteristic taste...”

Working with people with passion

When you work on something so passionately, you only want to work with people who have the same passion for their own profession. Velthuis, for example, chose a small cooperage for a good reason: "It's almost like a museum, a real pleasure to visit. Our barrels are made by a father and his two sons. The process we use is far too cumbersome for a large company, but we don't have to worry about that. Our cooperage doesn't look at how much the barrels cost, but at how they can get the best aromas. Everyone I work with is passionate about what they do, whatever their role in the process.

Oak packaging

"The packaging is very important to us," says Velthuis. "I think the bottle should sit on wood. The holders containing the bottles of whisky are made of oak, just like our barrels. This particular wood is very important. In addition, it was a deliberate choice, for example, to burn the logo into the wooden packaging, as a link to our burnt-out barrels. It made sense to me to include wood in the packaging, to choose the material that is close to our product. I would never have chosen plastic packaging.”

Collaboration with Krepel

Velthuis knew Krepel from the time he worked in advertising: "I am impressed by how they make their products. When you sit around the table with Krepel you notice their love for wooden packaging. That suits us exactly. Their passion is as great as ours. This means that you can inspire each other and make beautiful things together, where oak is the connecting factor.”

IMG 3373 Medium

IMG 3376 Medium

les

Royal Talens celebrates the Year of Rembrandt

2019 is the year of Rembrandt. He died exactly 350 years ago and is now remembered as the greatest master of the Golden Age. There are many initiatives to mark the Year of Rembrandt. For Royal Talens, 2019 is extra special: 120 years ago they introduced the Rembrandt painters' brand. So it's a double anniversary. To celebrate this, Royal Talens, in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum, has launched a unique limited-edition painter's box that is jointly dedicated to the artist and the Rembrandt paint brand.

Everything about the box is special

Even at first glance, the box is quite impressive. But when you take a closer look and understand the meaning of all the unique elements and details, you’ll agree with us that this box is truly a collector's item. Only 120 copies were produced, most of which were sold within a day.

The icing on the cake

"Everything has a meaning. In the box, you’ll find 120 colours, which refers to the anniversary of the Rembrandt paint brand. As well as the fact that only 120 boxes have been produced, all with a unique number. Namely, the years from 1899 to 2019", says Willemijn Brinkman - International Brand Manager at Royal Talens. "The box had to be really special. It was decided, therefore, that the Rembrandt 'R' on top of the box would be made of real gold. This was the icing on the cake!" The box is highly detailed. ‘Something really needs to happen when you open the box’, was part of the brief for designer Bas van den Hurk. And indeed it does!

The video shows how the box works.

The design

The Rembrandt brand from Royal Talens is very traditional, but also very contemporary. Young talented artists from all over the world work with this paint. The dark classic box fits nicely with the traditional aspect of the brand. Yet the sleek design and the bright orange artwork in combination with the golden R makes the whole thing very contemporary.

Sold out in a day and a half

Willemijn: "We thought it was all very exciting. We hadn't done anything like this before, with a price tag of € 3,500, they are pretty expensive boxes. The first box was quickly sold by one of our sales people to a customer in Asia. "This customer bought the box based on its special story, the design and their trusted association. The orders just kept flying in after that. All the boxes were sold out within a day and a half! What's more bizarre, the box hadn't even been made at that point." The box was officially launched at the Frankfurt trade fair in January, for which, one box was made.

Wonderful collaboration

"Krepel was the perfect match for this unique box. They contributed some great ideas and were very flexible. They never said anything was impossible, and fully lived up to that promise. A small compartment was milled out for each and every tube of paint. The 'R' on the front of the drawers were also carefully milled out, one by one. It all looks so pristine. The colour of the circle came out exactly the same as in the design. I was very anxious to see how that would turn out. Thankfully, it turned out to be just as beautiful and impressive as we had hoped," says Willemijn.

Sneeboer’s craft: forging tools

Sneeboer is a family-run business in the Netherlands that has been making garden tools of the highest quality for more than 100 years. Made of stainless steel and hand-forged. 100% craftsmanship! Sneeboer combines craft with innovation. Examples include developing innovative tools to make life easier and reviving forgotten tools. That’s also one of the reasons why we like working with Sneeboer so much. “Sneeboer is a fantastic family business with plenty of common ground with Krepel in terms of craftsmanship and sustainability, for instance”, says Antoon Pelgrim, Sales Manager at Krepel.

nbn

A family-run business with a passion for craft

When the Sneeboer family talks about their profession, you’re listening to 100% passion! Their products are of incredible quality, which is quite logical according to Wilma Peelen and Jaap Sneeboer (the owners of Sneeboer). “We know what we’re doing. I guess you can compare it to a chef, he also knows exactly which ingredients to put in a dish. And so do we. Everything is made and tested in our own “kitchen”.” According to Wilma, the forging of the tools is very much a trick of the trade. “The forges are and always will be the heart of our business. That’s the strength of our tools. Forging isn’t something anyone can start doing just like that, it's a true craft. It takes years for a smith to get the hang of it. You have to know exactly when a scoop has the right hardness, for instance, you have to sense it and that takes experience”, Wilma says.

Diversity in tools across the world

With more than 200 different tools, Sneeboer has a very wide product range. “That’s not so strange”, Wilma explains. “We have an international customer portfolio. There is a lot of diversity in tools in the various countries. And we offer both newly developed tools and tools that have been used for decades, such as the Old Dutch Plant Trowel. It’s a favourite hand tool which we redesigned and which is always used to plant bulbs at Keukenhof (a typically Dutch park full of flowers and highly popular with tourists).”

Popular gifts

The hand tools are the most popular. “They make very nice gifts too. That's why we offer various gift sets, from a children’s set to an exclusive titanium set that was made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sneeboer in 2013. Krepel Timeless Wooden Packaging takes care of the packaging for these products, among others”, Wilma says.

Collaboration with Krepel

Our collaboration started with the development of a maintenance box, which resulted in a wonderful product. “We deliberately opted for Krepel as the supplier of our wooden packaging”, Wilma says. “Krepel came up with ideas and gave us the opportunity to start out on a small scale. We thought that was really wonderful. The contact we have is also very pleasant, there’s always room for new challenges and they come up with ideas about sustainable applications, for instance. The wooden packaging in itself is a fantastic sustainable choice as customers won’t throw it away but will use it to keep their tools in. And it’s made of FSC wood, which is also mentioned on the packaging. We think it's important for customers to know where our products come from. In the future, we will definitely do more projects with Krepel.”

Our designers in the spotlight

Did you know that Krepel has its own 3D design department? Thanks to this department, we can serve our clients even better, we are able to create even more beautiful products, we can continue to innovate and we can save time. In order to achieve a perfect design, the sales, production and design departments all work closely together. It’s about time we introduced our designers to you! Our colleagues Marcin and Sławek are responsible for creating the 3D visualisations within Krepel.

3D V02