Antwerp, 5 September 2018. Technology company Rombit has been nominated for the ‘Prize of the Flemish Government for the Scale-up of the Year’. This competition is, equally as the ‘Company of the Year ®’-award, organised by consultancy firm EY, De Tijd and BNP Paribas Fortis. The other finalists are Lemon Companies (Kontich), Ontoforce (Ghent) and UgenTec (Hasselt). On 16 October 2018 the successor of previous winner Playpass will be elected.
The Flemish Government has introduced the ‘Prize of the Flemish Government for the Scale-up of the Year’ to support businesses that clearly manifest themselves as growth companies. This year is the award’s 13th edition. A professional jury under the presidency of Jurgen Ingels, Founding Partner of Smartfin Capital, selected the nominees based upon several specific criteria, amongst which the potential to become the ‘Company of the Year ®’ in the future.
Reward ambitious growers
“The purpose of the ‘Prize of the Flemish Government for the Scale-up of the Year’ is to support and encourage ambitious, fast growing entrepreneurs that play a crucial role in our economy and, ultimately, our welfare. The prize is an award for the achievements of these talented companies as well as to give them an incentive to continue their investments, innovations and international growth and eventually become tomorrow’s market leaders.” says Stefan Olivier, Partner and Markets Leader EY Belgium.
Nomination Rombit
Rombit makes industrial organisations more efficient and secure. Founded in 2012, the IoT company develops end-to-end solutions for large organisations, by connecting human resources, assets and devices through one central cloudplatform. Rombit’s R&D team develops unique IoT products and commercialises them either directly or via partners. Examples are the Romware™ industrial wearable and the digital parking sign A-Sign™.
CEO Jorik Rombouts founded Rombit immediately after graduating from his IT masters. Rombit’s ambition and drive for innovation has been repeatedly awarded: VOKA Most Promising Start-Up (2014), Trends Start-Up of the Year (2015), Fujitsu Global Startup of the Year (2017) and the BridgeSF International Innovation Award (2018). In 2016 Rombit successfully closed a Series A round, with Michel Akkermans becoming Executive Chairman. In 2017 Rombit acquired security firm Sercotec. This not only strengthened its position in the port industry, it expanded its offering with the capacity to install and support IoT systems. In 2017, Rombit also opened an office in Singapore to support its growth internationally.
Rombit has grown into a company with 70 staff and customers such as PSA, Deme, Brabo and the City of Antwerp. The Antwerp-based scale-up is currently accelerating its international expansion activities. Together with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) it is targeting port areas in the US (San Francisco and Houston), France and other European countries.