GSF GLASS GROUP

Since the end of 2023, GSF Glasgroep has been based in Almere. This added a renowned glazing company to the city, including Europe's first circular glass factory. Director Maarten Rood grew up in the family business that his parents founded in 1991. As a boy, he worked there during holidays and on Saturdays. In 2005, at the age of 26, he took over. Since then, GSF has grown from a small company with six employees to a professional organisation with some 60 people and a solid position in glass repair and project glazing.

A next step in glass innovation

GSF's growth provided a solid foundation for the next step: developing circular glass. Maarten: "As a company, you have to keep innovating to stand out. If you only do what others do, you get lost in the crowd. So we were looking for a way to really make a difference, and that eventually led to the development of circular glass and the construction of our own factory." The opening of the glass factory in 2021 gave the company a new impetus. Maarten: "I had been walking around with the idea of making circular glass for some time, and in the corona period we had the space to really start working on it. Together with HS Amsterdam and TU Delft, we demonstrated that you can recycle glass, then I started looking for partners who could produce it. The traditional glass shops did not yet see a business model in it, and so we started doing it ourselves."

Cooperation with Hemubo accelerates circular growth

GSF Glasgroep set up its first glass factory in Hilversum using its own resources. This immediately proved a great success: within six months, demand grew so strongly that production capacity was no longer sufficient. The company therefore sought an investor and succeeded: "We chose to continue with the Hemubo Group. That's a party from Almere with whom we had worked well for a long time and which fits well with our working methods and ambitions. With their investment, we were able to increase our capacity and are now working further on the development of circular glass. Currently, half of the glass we produce consists of circular raw materials and half of new raw materials. The goal is to produce fully circular glass by 2030."

GSF Glasgroep finds perfect home in Almere

In 2023, GSF Glasgroep and the entire company moved to Almere. The choice was obvious because of its central location and relatively low housing costs. With the help of a real estate agent, a perfect location soon came into view: a spacious building around the corner from Hemubo Groep, large enough to accommodate all GSF Glasgroep's activities and, in time, to expand as well. The move made it possible to combine the Hilversum, Amsterdam and Lelystad branches into one central building. For the first time, all sixty employees now work under one roof. Maarten: "That saves me countless trips and gives the company a totally different dynamic. Everyone knows each other here and can easily drop in on each other. Despite our growth and further professionalisation, the company feels closer and more energetic than ever."

Together for a circular future

The relationship with the municipality of Almere is excellent. Maarten: "GSF Glasgroep was already well known here, because many of our clients are located here, such as the GoedeStede and Ymere housing associations, as well as the municipality itself. The move therefore felt like a logical step. The business park looks neat, the facilities are excellent and the team felt welcome from the start. This is partly because Almere, like GSF Glasgroep, is strongly committed to circularity. The municipality's account manager quickly contacted us to get acquainted and put us in touch with PRICE, the Praktijk- en Innovatiecentrum Circulaire Economie for entrepreneurs in Flevoland. Mayor Hein van der Loo and Alderman for Economic Affairs Maaike Veeningen also visited us. We greatly appreciate that interest".

Inside GSF Glasgroep

"We see sustainability and innovation not only as means to profit, but especially as the way forward. That is why we opened our location to visitors during Circular Economy Week. We like participating in initiatives like this, because we think it is important that more and more people discover what circularity means and what opportunities it offers. The visitors who came showed a lot of interest and went home with new insights. Very different was the open day we organised ourselves shortly afterwards for our own audience - customers, family of employees and colleagues of Hemubo. Then we welcomed eighty guests in one afternoon. A completely different setting, but also very valuable."

Central location makes Almere magnet for professionals

Like many other technical companies, GSF Glasgroep is facing a tight labour market. The company regularly seeks new employees, ranging from production workers to highly skilled specialists. Although this is sometimes a challenge, so far it always manages to find the right people. The location plays an important role in this. Maarten: "Almere has many inhabitants, relatively few technical jobs and well-educated people who like to work close to home. Moreover, the location is favourable. Around 90% of our employees live in Flevoland, from Zeewolde to Almere. The rest come from Amsterdam, Utrecht and the Veluwe, all places that are easy to reach from Almere.''

Plenty of opportunities for talent at GSF Glasgroep

"We usually train new colleagues ourselves through an apprenticeship program, in collaboration with the two-year glazier training program. We have a large core of regular people and those who have found their niche here often stay for years. Those who want to, get the chance to grow further but then you have to take the opportunities yourself and let us know what you want and what you need for that. A good example is a boy who once started with us as a 14-year-old trainee. He is now in his early thirties and leads an entire department. We have more examples like that including myself, of course. From Saturday help to director. It is possible in Almere!"

The power of pioneering and innovation

GSF Glasgroep looks to the circular future with confidence and sees plenty of opportunities to continue building a sustainable city together with Almere. With the glass factory, Almere has a world first: the world's first circular glass factory. This gives the city a powerful and positive image as a forerunner in the circular economy. The two parties also match up well in practice. GSF Glasgroep already provides glass breakage repair in Almere's public buildings, and the municipality was the first in the Netherlands to have circularity weighed heavily in tenders, a step that fits perfectly with the joint ambitions. Maarten: "Anyone who wants to do circular business will find the perfect place in Almere. The city breathes innovation, the infrastructure is excellent and the municipality actively contributes ideas. Circularity is not an empty slogan here, but a spearhead. For pioneers and entrepreneurs with good ideas, this is the place to make those dreams come true."

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