Mobility Masters has experienced remarkable growth. The second place in the category ‘Large companies’ at the Trends Gazelles of the province of Antwerp proves this. A great result, especially when you know that the division of Multi Masters Group has only been in existence for 7.5 years.
The growth of Mobility Masters: an overview
With the Trends Gazelles awards, the economic magazine Trends rewards the fastest growing companies. And that certainly includes Mobility Masters, as the Belgian market leader in vehicle cleaning.
“In December 2014, our sister company Cleaning Masters received a request from a Dutch company to assist them in cleaning about 20,000 aircraft a year at Brussels Airport. After internal consultations, we said ‘yes’ and decided to bring our specialists in cleaning all types of rolling stock together in a separate division. This is how Mobility Masters came into being,” says Philip Paelinck, managing director of Multi Masters Group.
Flawless start and drive for expansion
After the flawless start at Brussels Airport the idea of expansion soon arose. “We drew up a plan for the future with ‘advanced specialisation’ as the guiding principle. We decided to focus on the aviation sector, fleet and public transport.”
Mobility Masters experiences spectacular growth in 2016 and 2017
In 2016 and 2017, that choice brought Mobility Masters spectacular growth. “We successfully participated in the tender for the cleaning of trains throughout Flanders, including the removal of graffiti. That project started on 1 February 2016. It was difficult but we managed to make it a success story. The customer is still very satisfied with the quality and that is of course the credit of our motivated ‘masters’.”
The same year, Mobility Masters secured another major project. “At the end of 2016, we reached an agreement with Brussels Airlines for the cleaning of about 40,000 aircraft per year.” And a few months later, in February 2017, Mobility Masters started also taking care of the ‘deep cleaning’ of the aircraft.
So aircraft cleaning is taking off, but the rest is not lagging behind. In April 2017, Mobility Masters started cleaning high-speed trains.
2018 and 2019: consolidating growth
After the intense growth came a period of relative calm. “We then took some time to put everything in order, thoroughly review all our ongoing projects and make adjustments where necessary. Given our steep rise at the airport and in public transport, we then decided to discontinue our fleet department. A difficult decision, but in hindsight the only correct one.”
First nomination for Trends Gazelles
In 2020 Mobility Masters is ready for a new growth spurt. “Just before the corona outbreak we were assigned the cleaning of the trains in Wallonia. The whole country came to a standstill because of the pandemic, but we shifted up a few gears. In that period, for example, we recruited 40 additional employees.”
It was in that period that Mobility Masters received its first nomination for the Trends Gazelles. “That was a special moment. A recognition for all the work of the previous years. For our employees it was also a nice reward for their commitment and flexibility.” Mobility Masters finished eighth in the category ‘Large companies’.
Buses and trams
The most recent addition to Mobility Masters‘ project list came in 2021. “Since 2020 we have been cleaning all trains throughout Belgium. One year later, we added the cleaning of almost all buses and trams in Flanders. In this way, we strengthened our position in the public transport sector.”
Confirmation follows in early 2022 with a second nomination for the Trends Gazelles. Mobility Masters came in a close second.
The secret behind the growth of Mobility Masters?
The continuing growth of Mobility Masters raises the question of whether there is a secret recipe. “No, there is no secret recipe”, smiles Luk Hermans, manager of Mobility Masters. “There are two things that have proved important in our development. Firstly, we have always kept our ‘no nonsense’ mentality. We have always kept in mind that performance is still delivered on the work floor. We are enormously grateful to our ‘masters’ for that.”
“Secondly, we have always listened carefully to our customers. We collaborated with them to find solutions to their problems. And we have always done so in full transparency.”
Mobility Masters’ plans for the future
Mobility Masters has already experienced enormous growth. But its hunger is not yet satisfied, it seems. “Of course we are looking for opportunities to expand our scope. Besides that, we’re going to share our knowledge and expertise with the other companies of the Multi Masters Group. That way, we can all benefit from our experience”, concludes Luk Hermans.
Mobility Masters in figures (performance 2021)
- 1,250,000 railway carriages cleaned
- 150,000 m2 of graffiti removed from trains
- 31,920 buses and trams cleaned
- 435,600 buses and trams disinfected
- 30,000 aircraft cleaned
