In 2021, Don Quichotte celebrated its 100th anniversary, becoming a world leader in hardened steel nails, and is known as the "one-stop shop" for fasteners, fixings and electrical installation materials, as well as its complete private label services. Here, we talked with Sales Director Jan-Willem van der Wijngaart and Product Marketing Manager Naj van Galen about the past 100 years, current market conditions and future goals.

The company behind Don Quichotte, JH de Wit & Zonen BV, was founded by Johannes Hubertus de Wit in 1921 and was originally named Ned. Kleinijzerwarenfabriek Jan de Wit. From the beginning, the focus was on the production of standard nails. However, by the 1950s/1960s, standard nails began to become a commodity, and it was difficult to obtain the necessary profits. 

Therefore, the De Wit family introduced hardened steel nails that can be directly used in concrete. The company must use all its expertise and experience when launching this professional product, because it requires a precise hardening process to ensure the highest quality. They have become very popular due to their ability to harden steel nails, thus making the business stronger and making them an expert in this product field.

By hardening steel nails, the business has also become more international, although this presents the only challenge because JH de Wit & Zonen BV is particularly difficult to pronounce for foreign language customers. With this in mind, it was decided to establish a trade brand-Don Quixote.

"The brand name Don Quixote originated from the fact that Mr. JH De Wit's son visited a market in Paris one day-where he stumbled upon a statue of Don Quixote made of steel wire-this is our product The main resource. He fell in love with this statue, bought it, and named the trade brand Don Quixote after it. The statue still gleams at the entrance of our company," said Jan Don Quixote’s sales director. -Willem van der Wijngaart explained.

With the Don Quixote brand, the company has continued to develop into an internationally recognized leader in hardened steel nails, which is still the case today. In addition to the hardened steel nail series, Don Quichotte has also diversified the production of plastics and combination products for many years, such as nail plugs Speedplug, cable clamps and other electrical installation materials.

The expansion of its product range has also led to the growth of its sales channels, from hardware wholesalers and traders to electronic wholesalers. "We are developing so fast that in 2004 we had to move from the old site to the new business park in Helmond," Jan-Willem points out. "Today, we have a very diversified investment portfolio, but our core will always remain on the nails. We still produce more than 10 million nails for these nails every day."

Even with 100 years of experience, Don Quixote or any company cannot prepare for the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. "Like everyone, the pandemic has had a big impact on us. However, we were able to adapt quickly and believe that we handled it well," said Don Quixote's product marketing manager Naj van Galen. “In the beginning, we often worked from home. Although we did encounter some problems with production, due to the Covid-19 case of our employees, the team got together with office workers and even helped package products and place orders with customers. " 

Naj continued: “Due to the hard work of our employees, we are doing our best to meet the influx of orders. Of course, the pandemic has made business more difficult, transportation (container) prices have risen, material prices have risen, and travel has not been possible. We have done everything We can ensure that we provide customers with a consistent supply chain. Because of the investment we have made and our internal capabilities, we can produce and purchase almost all goods in Europe, which is a great benefit. This sees us during this period It’s certainly interesting to receive requests from many European companies. However, we know very well that we need to satisfy our existing customers-so this is to get the right balance."

With its experience, capabilities and production scope, Don Quichotte has positioned itself at the forefront of the industry, not only a supplier of nail industry, but also a supplier of electrical installation materials. Even so, the company is still committed to investing in the future and expanding its capabilities and markets.

"Investment and innovation are one of the key pillars of our future," Naj said. "If there is no investment and innovation, the company will quickly come to a standstill, which means you will be behind. We must continue to innovate our product range and processes, and continue to invest in our people and prepare for the future."

This is why Don Quixote has made several major investments in recent years to enable it to continue to grow and develop. This includes a high-rise warehouse with more than 9,400 pallet positions, and investment in full LED lighting for the entire site-combined with a heat regeneration system in the hardening furnace to help the company save energy. Don Quichotte also installed several new machines, including three new packaging lines, a bag packaging machine, and some cobots (collaborative robots). In addition, it has created a new subsidiary in Germany with its own warehouse for cable routing and trunking products.

"We will continue to innovate and expand our product range, and we will continue to provide our OEM/private label customers with better customized services," Jan-Willem concluded. “We continue to develop ourselves and talk to our customers in our main markets to understand and experience their needs. By doing so, we can develop and expand our products and services according to their wishes. However, we are hard Famous for its steel nails, this is where our hearts will live forever." 

Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007. In the past 14 years, he has experienced all aspects of the fastener industry-interviewing key figures in the industry, visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the world.

Will manages the content strategy of all platforms and is the guardian of the magazine's prestigious high editorial standards.

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