About Banden Michel
To get to know the Michel Tires company better, let’s take you back in time. On February 25, 2002, manager Michel Vantilt decided to start his own business. Before that he was employed as a salesman of truck tires at Bogemans Banden Service. He was responsible for attracting new customers and advising existing customers.
From ambitious startup to thriving family business
Over the years Michel had built up such a strong network as a salesman that it was a logical step to continue to service this customer base when Bogemans Banden ceased to exist. In concrete terms, this meant that on a daily basis he would pick up wheels from hauliers, earthworkers, concrete batching plants,… He took the wheels to his workshop, where new tires were mounted or existing tires were repaired, before delivering them back to the customer.
Continuing to build the services and team
In the early years, all this was still done in a shed on the other side of the road (diagonally opposite the current building). Gradually the customer base expanded, and only the help of father Georges Vantilt was no longer sufficient. And so André joined Michel as Michel’s first real employee. This gave Michel the opportunity to be even more on the job to further expand the customer base.
Over the years they moved to a warehouse on the site of the current tire plant. Additional help soon arrived for Michel. Chantal became the first administrative employee and David a depanneur who mainly took care of depannages. Gradually, the core business expanded from truck tires to a fully-fledged tire center that also welcomed cars, motorcycles, agricultural vehicles and leased vehicles. The machinery was expanded to include passenger car and truck alignments.
Growing toward a modern future
The continuous growth provided a nice apotheosis in March 2021, when the business moved into the new building located at Leuvensesteenweg 48 (Hever). This new building is equipped with all contemporary infrastructure and space to provide a large stock and sufficient storage capacity so that every customer can continue to be served.
The team now consists of 12 staff members, including a truck driver, warehouse worker, tire fitters and counter staff. As a team, we always try to represent the values that Michel holds dear: delivering quality for the customer.
Takeover by Seppe and Ellen, who will continue to grow the business based on the same core values
As there was no family successor to take over the business from Michel, he had to look for an external successor. Fortunately, the search did not take long, as long-time employee Seppe Van Hoof and his wife, Ellen De Vos, decided to take over the reins.
Seppe joined Banden Michel in June 2021. Even during the job interviews, the first conversations about a possible future takeover had already begun.
By then, the tyre industry was already familiar territory for Seppe. Before joining Michel, he had spent five years as branch manager of a tyre service centre in Zaventem. In addition, he and his father, Dirk, successfully operated a filling station that also offered tyre services. The filling station was later sold, and Dirk has since joined the Banden Michel team as well.
Seppe is committed to continuing the company’s growth in the same spirit as Michel, always putting the customer first. His partner, Ellen, supports the business behind the scenes as part of the administrative team.
