4 minute read
THE ROYAL SERVICE OF ENERGYKING
ALUMNI IN FOCUS
2,500 satisfied customers, ten years’ experience, and six and a half years’ average payback period. These are figures that Leuven-based engineering firm EnergyKing is happy to crank out. Wiet Vande Velde and Lucas Robberechts, two engineers from Group T Campus who founded the company in 2013, set the bar high. “We only work with the most sustainable materials so that that our installations continue to work and pay off as long as possible,” they say.
Solar panels, air conditioning, heat pumps, charging stations, home batteries and ventilation systems. After ten years, EnergyKing’s product range has diversified to such an extent that a suitable answer can be given to every demand for renewable energy. “When we started EnergyKing, we had a central goal in mind,” explains Wiet. “That was and still is bringing cheap and renewable energy within reach of the widest possible audience. Ecology and economy should be able to go hand in hand. It is our duty to leave the planet and humanity better than we got it.”
Joining forces
Wiet graduated in 2007 as an electromechanical engineer from the then Group T University College. Not only engineering but also entrepreneurship is in his genes. Barely 16 years old, he founded his own small business and started restoring old houses and then selling them. A serial entrepreneur, Wiet came into the sights of the still fledgling Technovation Hub, the incubator of innovation and entrepreneurship of the Faculty of Engineering Technology, which regularly invited him as a guest lecturer in the Postgraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Engineers. One of the students who followed Wiet’s lectures with more than ordinary attention was Lucas, a recent graduate in Electromechanical Engineering. He and five fellow students had set up an audit firm advising companies on how to produce and operate more efficiently.
Things clicked immediately between the experienced entrepreneur and the young team leader. Both decided to join forces and founded EnergyKing in 2013. The founders immediately divided the roles. Lucas would focus on the technical aspects of the projects. Wiet on sales and the long-term strategy. The formula worked. The company now employs 45 people, seven of whom are engineers from Group T Campus. On site, 70 engineers are permanently working on an average of 20 sites. The company building is soon bursting at the seams. In 2023, EnergyKing will move into a brand-new complex in Herent near Leuven.
Ecosystem
With the energy transition gaining momentum, companies providing all kinds of services are springing up like mushrooms. Mostly they are installers of solar panels, charging stations, heat pumps, etc. “Our strength is our holistic vision of renewable en- ergy,” says Wiet. “We do not start from standard solutions but look at each question in a broader context. Smart networks, known as smart grids, play a crucial role here. These advanced grids facilitate the integration of different renewable energy sources and allow us to deal flexibly with fluctuations in supply and demand.”
“By the way, the future of renewable energy is not only in the energy sector,” Wiet continues. “We are moving towards an integrated energy ecosystem that includes other sectors such as transport and construction. Electric vehicles, smart buildings and circular economies will further accelerate the energy transition.”
Customer-friendly
EnergyKing’s second asset is a full service and support. “Regardless of the size of the assignment or the client’s budget, we follow a five-step model,” Lucas explains. “We start with an informal intake meeting in which we identify the client’s desiderata as accurately as possible. Based on this, we look for or develop a tailor-made solution including a price tag. Once this is approved, several technical visits follow in preparation for the actual implementation. Once the installation has started, we continue to follow up the site until its completion. Of course, we also have an extensive after-sales service.”
EnergyKing is not only friendly to the customer. Its own staff are also well looked after. Wiet labels the complementarity of talents as the company’s third major asset. “Project managers, department heads, ICT people, the back office, the sales staff, consultants and technicians, together they form a perfect mix of age, study background and gender,” Wiet confirms. The test is the numbers. EnergyKing has been doubling its sales every year since 2015. A recent online consumer review also speaks volumes. On a scale of five, the company scores 4.8 on quality, 4.7 on price and 4.5 on service. For the entrepreneurial engineering duo, these figures confirm that a shared ambition can go hand in hand with sound financial management and a pronounced social commitment.
Yves Persoons
