The family business, founded in 1883 by Louis Vandecasteele, is now led by the fourth and fifth generations (Stefaan & Louis Vandecasteele) and has established a reputation as well in Belgium and abroad as a leading supplier of hardwood from Africa, South-East Asia, and South America, plus Scandinavian softwood, North American soft and hardwood, and European hardwood.
A

company like Vandecasteele simply could not afford to miss the latest Carrefour International Wood Show in Nantes.
After an interruption due to the covid pandemic, everyone was yearning for the opportunity to meet clients and suppliers in person.

Isabelle Polfliet tells us: ‘We were craving a new Carrefour and it was very clear that we weren’t the only ones.
The Carrefour International Du Bois exhibition in Nantes was a great success for Vandecasteele. The number of visitors who popped by was amazing and the quality was second to none, and with exhibitors coming from near and far, the event was a true international mix.
The Timber show is one of the best timber showcases in Europe, and the 4-year gap between the last show and now made the atmosphere even better – definitely well worth waiting for.
There were times when our stand was overlowed with visitors. After the interruption caused by the Covid pandemic, everyone was eagerly looking forward to finally meeting their customers and suppliers again.

Striving for 100% certified wood
At the stand, amongst other things, Vandecasteele presented its extensive range of sawn wood with over 130 different species from all over the world, including several species suitable for parquet floors. Furthermore, there was a broad range of finished garden wood products on display. They highlighted how they not only import timber from all over the world, but also how they purchase timber in a responsible way.

‘The most important message we must remember after Nantes is that wood still proved to be a viable raw material and this even more so than it was in the past. Though it may be an ‘old’ product, but it fits in very well with the climate narrative.’ It’s a completely renewable building raw material that is 100% recyclable and still retains the absorbed CO², even as a finished product.

Own audits with suppliers
‘Obviously, checks are necessary in order to show that this is all true. That’s why we’re fully committed to using only certified wood; we’re not quite there yet, but we are striving to achieve this by 2025. It’s been a few years now since we have employed our own forest engineer, who audits our Brazilian suppliers and their harvesting projects on site. At present, there is also an audit in progress of a partner in Congo. One of the purposes here is to make the public more aware that it is important to use tropical wood. Sustainable forest management is the key to guarantee the safeguarding of the forests’ future, everywhere in the world. Indeed, if the forest generates income for the local population, the forest will remain forever. This ensures the ongoing existence of the forest, so it won’t be used for something else (cattle, agriculture, mining, and other land use). In our case we can say that we are assuring future generations that their tropical forest will be preserved by using only certified timber.’

Apart from Carrefour, we also asked about the immediate future of Vandecasteele Houtimport. They certainly do have plans: ‘Not only are we striving to get our wide range of wood species fully certified, but also we’ve invested in a new client portal where our customers can log in to our stocks and order on-line, we also guarantee a swift delivery.’

They are clear about their participation at trade fairs in the near future. Next year in April they plan to take part in Bau in Munich. They will also be present in Nantes again: ‘Both shows are top class, so we simply must attend. Those two appointments are important to us because they generate a lot of face-to-face contacts in a short space of time.’