Winner of the Prize for Entrepreneurs in Roermond announced
Van Houtum Papier was one of the three finalists for the award for De Roermondse Ondernemer van het Jaar 2010 (The Best Entrepreneur in Roermond in 2010). 18th January, City Alderman Jos van Rey handed the award to Poulissen Audio Video Center. The third nominee was Houben Mediatechniek.
In a reaction to the nomination, Henk van Houtum, Van Houtum Papier's Managing Director, says that he sees this as the crowning glory on the work of all his 190 employees. 'A place in the final is a public acknowledgement of our activities in the region. We have all earned this honour. Consequently, I am hugely proud of our people's effort and involvement.’ Furthermore, this nomination proves that the organisations that have chosen Van Houtum as their supplier have made a wise choice. ‘I often hear our customers say that Satino is a product that they can really sell. It's much more than just tissue paper. We are very open about our philosophy and publish an annual CSR report each year. People can read how we deploy our resources, treat our staff and manage our production processes in the report,' says Henk van Houtum.
The Prize for Entrepreneurs in Roermond ('De Roermondse Ondernemers Prijs' or DROP) is intended as a “stimulus for innovative and successful entrepreneurship”. Without being informed beforehand, a number of entrepreneurs were nominated for the prize by fiscal advisers, accountants, banks and business clubs in Roermond in the spring of 2009. This resulted in a short-list of five companies that were asked to participate in a variety of exploratory interviews and arrange a company tour. Our company was one of the three innovation finalists that were selected from the many strong candidates at the beginning of November.
The jury report states that “Van Houtum Papier has struck an excellent balance between the core values of 'People', 'Planet' and 'Profit'. Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility are primary areas of focus, as is the company's work in the area of creating 'Cradle-to-Cradle' products.
Van Houtum Papier has already won many international and national prizes with its consistent sustainability policies.”
Roermond is a dynamic city and that is largely due to the initiatives of the city's entrepreneurs. The municipal authorities like to reward good entrepreneurship. City Alderman Jos van Rey of the department of Economic Affairs created De Roermondse Ondernemers Prijs for this reason. This independent initiative is open to all entrepreneurs in Roermond. The award ceremony was held in Theaterhotel De Oranjerie in Roermond. DROP is expected to mark the start of a new tradition.