proviron, around the world in 45 days

Leo, you are the founder of Proviron. So it’s your honor to tell us how it all started.
As a civil engineer I had already done some great projects before the Proviron period. But in the 70s, the economy was shaken by the oil crisis. During this “hectic period”, I was surprised that many companies had a rather hypocritical and short-term view. Recruiting staff was focused on “bringing information and knowledge” rather than on the individual. In addition, there was a rather conservative atmosphere among many engineering firms that was not conducive to critical scrutiny of business models.

And so I came to the point that setting up my own agency was the only way to develop real solutions with my approach. Being able to focus on the real core business without dead weight is the power of a startup. And you can still find that mentality today, for example in the organization of the business units.

In the early years, Proviron was an engineering firm. Only after a few years did Proviron start production itself.
A good network is important. People must be able to trust you as an honest person, which gives you respect. From the beginning of my career, I have paid a lot of attention to this. I was known for my pragmatic and down-to-earth approach and was regularly asked for my practical expertise.
When Proviron started as an engineering firm, we mainly had projects where together with customers we were looking for solutions and better processes. The switch from laboratory setup to production often appeared to be an underestimated step. Because a lab set-up can work perfectly, but when it comes to a large execution, there’s a lot more to it in practical and economic terms. 

An example. When drawing up a reactor vessel, you can include a rounding margin in the calculation. This margin is increased X times during execution. Sometimes it has little impact and the process will work anyway. However, if the direction of the non-return valve is not specifically indicated in the design and is installed in reverse, the entire process immediately crashes. In the field you notice that immediately. But if you just have a plan on paper, it’s going to be very hard to remove this mistake.

After a while we were instructed to deal with problems in the design of brake fluid production. For example, we were able to enter into a fair deal to carry out contract manufacturing assignments in addition to engineering development.

Cooperation with knowledge institutions such as the University of Antwerp has always been important. As an engineer, you can make great plans, but to get the investment process completed, you must be able to submit the necessary tests and trials. Thanks to the good cooperation, we were able to carry out test projects until they were fully completed. An anecdote that is still being told to the UA students is that they had to remove the roof of the facility to get our test stand in the building.

Over the years, Proviron grew steadily and expanded to Ostend and USA in 1996.
In the mid-90s, we continued to grow in our production year after year. The site in Hemiksem was at its limits and I started looking for an expansion in another location. During one of the networking moments at a work committee at the UA, I talked about my quest for expansion during the coffee break. This led to my discovering a site in Ostend that could be taken over.
The Proviron America trajectory also originated from good contacts and companies looking for honest partners. For years I had had good contact with Mr. Walsh, an American who led a production unit in Antwerp for a while. When the demand arose to build a more efficient production chain in America, we joined forces and I founded Proviron Inc. together with Walsh. Once again, a fair deal was the reason for the long-term vision, which after 25 years has become Proviron’s hub for the Americas.
Even later came the opportunity to expand to the East. And so 10 years ago Proviron China was founded.

You’ve seen a lot of people pass through during your career. What attributes do applicants need to join Proviron?
Just like the startup in 1977, the drive to look at things critically, to tackle them practically and to think out of the box is in Proviron’s DNA. Innovation is often not just about developing big theories and conducting years of research in test environments. Many innovations arise from logical thinking and looking at things with a helicopter view. And that’s what characterizes a Provironer. You must remain open to continue to discover things outside your domain. When I interviewed a chemist in an application at the time, I asked them to explain “Ohm’s Law”. Even though this is completely outside the comfort zone of chemistry, this is basic knowledge in a production environment. You can therefore at least expect the applicant to ask how this relates to his or her future job. (… yes, even as an interviewing marketer, I had to dig deep for the terms Volt and Ampere, but could see the link between chemical processes and the electrical control of the installation)

Proviron will undoubtedly be around for another 45 years. Where do you see Proviron then?
This is a difficult question on the one hand, because there are so many parameters that influence good opportunities. On the other hand, I am sure that the core values will ensure that Proviron has a bright future. Integrity and willingness to maintain a broad view are the ingredients for long-term growth. Because with sustained growth, you give employees the opportunity to develop. And that is not only good for the person and the company, but it also makes Proviron a reliable business partner.

Finally, you have an anecdote for us.
There are so many anecdotes to tell. From times when it was necessary to keep watch in the production hall on a camp bed at the launch, to funny misunderstandings. But the “toothpick” among newcomers is one that is worth telling.

As an engineer, you know that manual operation must be taken into account in the designs. But because concentration in humans is not constant, systems are installed to compensate for this. By having the operator press a button every half hour, this can be checked. But people are human and sometimes this process is simply tricked by holding the button with a toothpick. We also had such systems installed, but there was an extra function where the timer only starts counting again after releasing the button. If it turned out that the button was still being pressed after that half hour, an alarm went off that immediately alerted all those responsible. Imagine this happens during your evening shift and the alarm is raised to the highest level. And so you get all the superiors out of their beds … for a toothpick. So to the newcomers at Proviron, even if the new systems no longer have a physical button, be careful if you get a toothpick from one of your colleagues!