Yitch aims for solid growth

Automation and digitization expert Yitch from Bornem, Flanders, has more than twenty-five years of experience in automating and digitizing production processes at companies. "With our help, companies can ensure their competitive future in a cost-effective and ecological way and still keep their production as close to their customers as possible," say co-ceo's Wim Van Soom and Werner Fransen. “This is a win-win for everyone, because by doing so we contribute to job security and quality of life in the given region."

Out with the old, in with the new!

Yitch, the new brand name of Reditech Engineering, provides companies throughout Europa with solutions for factory, process and logistics automation. "Wim and myself started working as young engineers at Reditech in the early 2000s," says Werner Fransen. "In 2006, we got the chance to become co-partners. From that moment on, we really started to push forward. We started growing strongly, opened additional branches in Belgium (Genk), the Netherlands (Breda) and the United Kingdom, and also opted for a much broader approach."

Tripling the turnover in 5 years

"In 2016, Werner and I bought out the founders of the company," continues Wim Van Soom. "Since that moment, we have continued to evolve and grow as a company. By now, we have 85 employees and counting, which is essential for our growing ambition. Because in order to achieve our strategic plan - to triple our turnover in the next five years - we will need to hire many additional employees.”

You + Tech + Itch = Yitch

The old name - which was also a reference to the founders - really didn't fit the bill. With Yitch, we opted last year for a sounding and eye-catching name that incorporates all aspects of the current company. It stands for You + Tech + Itch = Yitch. You, because our employees and customers are so highly valued by us. Tech, because we are all about technical processes and Itch, because it itches us to help companies."

Strategic partners: from shop floor to boardroom

With its new name, the company carries on doing what it does best. "We help companies in automating and digitizing their production facilities," explains Werner Fransen. "But we go beyond just the implementation of these projects. As a result, we are increasingly regarded by our customers as the strategic partner that they involve in numerous operational challenges."

Consultancy

"We invest heavily in our team of business consultants who support our customers in the digital transformation of their supply chain," continues Wim Van Soom. "What distinguishes us is that we always look at the bigger picture. When doing business with us, we always start with a thorough analysis, and we will map out the customer's entire supply chain. This includes looking at the existing machinery, documenting all the processes in place and collecting as much data as possible. With this information as a basis, we create - together with our client - a clear transformation plan with clear budgets and a roadmap. With this plan, our client can then get to work to realize his plans for the future. For the implementation of these projects, we have multidisciplinary teams at our disposal, who can carry out the entire project from A to Z. But we can also temporarily deploy our specialists to reinforce the customer's own engineering team".

"Growth is essential. Many companies have yet to take steps towards digitization."

Continuity

"An aging staff and the loss of know-how at an organization is one of the drivers of digital transformation," says Wim Van Soom. "We provide an answer to this with our Continuity department. Through 24/7 support we help our customers to maximize their production output. Our aim is to use digital tools to secure knowledge. However, Yitch also wants to proactively look along with its customers. By collecting the right data we can help them gain insights into their operations. This allows for better, faster and above all proactive decision-making. Advisory services are of the utmost importance here, both at the start of projects and afterwards.

The digital evolution

Yitch's goal is to allow companies to keep production and consumption as close together as possible. "Our customers are mainly European companies, but we do support them in their global activities," explains Werner Fransen. "Thanks to our automation and digitizing techniques, it is still economically feasible to keep production in Europe. And during the corona crisis, everyone became aware of the importance of local production."

"Our activities enable companies to produce in a more efficient way, but also more sustainably and with reduced energy consumption."

"Our activities enable companies to produce in a more efficient way, but also more sustainably and with reduced energy consumption. As a result, they do not have to relocate their production site to low-wage countries, which is a very big deal for the job security of future generations in the immediate vicinity of the production facility. In this way, they do not have to relocate their production site to low-wage countries, which is a very big deal for the job security of future generations in the immediate vicinity of the production facility."

"Many manufacturing companies still have a long way to go in terms of automation and digitization. That is why we invest quite a lot of time in inspiration sessions for those companies, to show them what the possibilities are and what improvements they can make - step by step - in their production processes."

Scouting 4.0

With the Scouting 4.0 program, which Yitch is participating in, Voka (a Flemish employers' organization representing roughly 18,000 companies) is highlighting the importance of having an infrastructure and business model that is up-to-date in the light of the digital evolution. "We are very happy to be able to help broaden the view of manufacturing companies with our expertise," the co-ceos conclude.