Waterland Private Equity Investments will provide growth capital to Dematra, a specialist in the storage and fine-meshed distribution of food and non-food products.

Dematra, located in Nazareth (Belgium), was founded by the De Jaeger family in 1976. The company generates a turnover of ~€ 25m and is specialized in the storage and distribution of food and non-food products in the Benelux. The company employs around 120 people spread over 3 sites in the ‘De Prijkels’ industrial zone (Nazareth, Deinze and Kruisem) and 1 site in Roeselare, with a total of 80,000 pallet spaces.

Dematra has experienced high growth in recent years due to strong market demand for quality logistical services. The company's strategy is based on taking care of the entirety of its customer's logistical needs through the unique combination of warehousing and finely meshed distribution, developing long-term relationships with its employees and customers, and offering excellent service. The De Jaeger family has attracted Waterland as a financial partner to accelerate Dematra's growth; Waterland will provide additional financial resources and strategic support. In this context, investments will include the expansion of the current storage and distribution capacity and the development of a 4th site in the ‘De Prijkels’ industrial zone. In addition, Dematra wishes to develop itself more rapidly by cooperating with other logistical service providers.

The current Dematra team, led by the De Jaeger family, including the brothers Geert and Stefaan De Jaeger, and Geert’s son Cedric, remains active in the company to continue the growth story in the coming years.

Geert De Jaeger, CEO: "Our customers are growing like never before. In order to support them even better, we want to further expand our sites and services, which will require the necessary investments in the coming years. To this end, we have engaged Waterland as a partner to assist us in this journey. ”

Cedric Van Cauwenberghe, Managing Partner Waterland Private Equity: "For Waterland, the investment in Dematra perfectly fits in our strategy to invest in growing businesses with a strong value proposition that have the ambition to become leaders in their sector."