Elfa and Faes Cases: the ingredients for a successful cooperation

At Elfa, the third generation is already at the helm. For more than 100 years, the family-owned company has been an expert in the field of A-brand lighting, batteries, primary and secondary batteries for clients in the industrial (OEM) and institutional sectors. Elfa has established a unique leadership position in the market by uncompromisingly delivering high quality and added value. In packaging specialist Faes, Elfa found a cooperation partner whose working methods, philosophy and core values are uniquely in line with those of Elfa.

“Elfa’s strength lies in our broad view of solutions and service towards our customers. We are flexible and deliver customized solutions. We unburden the customer by also offering complementary products and services that are not part of our standard range. Our motto is: “if it is not there yet, we will make it”. We structurally fulfill this promise in the broadest sense of the word.”

Pieter Schutte, CEO of Elfa.

Tightened laws and regulations for transporting lithium batteries
In the context of emergency management, there was an increasing focus on safety around primary and secondary lithium batteries. Laws, regulations, standards and requirements were further tightened, including in the area of transportation. For example, IATA (International Air Transport Association, the authority on Dangerous Goods Regulations) initiated new regulations, which only allow batteries to have a maximum ‘state of charge’ of 30%. The challenge of coming up with a solution to reduce the maximum charge of batteries quickly and efficiently has been successfully met by Elfa with their customers.

Made a virtue of necessity
The collaboration between Elfa and Faes came about from a similar need. Indeed, restrictions on packaging and labeling also became stricter in the early 2020s, leaving customers with their hands tied. Transporting certain types of batteries according to standards and requirements was cumbersome and time-consuming. This prompted customers to ask Elfa for help in finding solutions. After all, doing nothing was not an option. An Elfa employee suggested packaging specialist Faes Cases as a possible partner to take on this challenge together. So it happened that Pieter Schutte (CEO of Elfa), Daan Schutte (Sales Director) and Jeen Budding (Marketing Manager) visited Faes in Reusel, North Brabant.

“I immediately had a conection with the people of Faes and felt at home right away, also in our philosophy and way of working we appeared to match very well. Like Elfa, Faes is a family business and, like us, they attach great importance to a human approach, loyalty, integrity and mutual trust.”

Pieter Schutte

Shortly thereafter, Bart Burmanje (Sales Manager at Faes) in turn visited Elfa and that was the beginning of a first joint project and close cooperation.

“From the very first conversation it was clear that Elfa and Faes have a lot to offer each other. After all, Elfa has nice challenging packaging issues for Faes and Faes in turn delivers very nice packaging solutions, with which Elfa feels fully understood. In my opinion, the ingredients for a close and long-term cooperation.”

Bart Burmanje, Sales Manager at Faes

What makes the collaboration between Elfa and Faes successful?
In addition to personally, Elfa and Faes proved to be on the same wavelength professionally. Both companies excel in flexibility and customization and consider total solutions, rather than just products, as their core business. Solutions with which they unburden their customer or support them with specific issues. For example, Elfa thinks along with its customers about safety risks and supplies complementary products, such as (lithium) fire extinguishers and suitable packaging in accordance with the applicable standards. Faes not only delivers sustainable custom packaging, but also thinks along with you about the correct specifications of packaging for specific applications. They also advise customers on efficient and effective packaging management. All of this is done by both companies with a view to providing added value, so that customers regard them not only as suppliers, but also as partners. The similarities are the ingredients that make the cooperation between the two companies successful, now and in the future.

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