The Vako Vision: Smart, Stylish, Safe

THE VAKO VISION:

SMART, STYLISH, SAFE

BY GAIL GUTSCHE

With a family heritage steeped in the textile industry, it was destiny that Nanne Valkenburg ended up at the helm of a window treatment components business. As co-owner and CEO of Vako, Valkenburg draws on a decades-long tradition of innovation and quality to produce the components that make for smart, stylish and safe window treatments.

True to His Roots

Valkenburg’s great-grandfather, Teus, founded a weaving mill that manufactured technical slitting and folding tapes for the garment industry and for curtain tapes. Grandfather Arie joined the business, then founded a separate company he called Vako, which Valkenburg’s father eventually took over. Valkenburg bought Vako in 1997 and transitioned it to a window treatment components business. Today, the Netherlands-based company (which is co-owned by Erik Kunst) sells to large drapery workrooms, fabricators and wholesalers globally.

Valkenburg likes to make clear what Vako does: “We sell components for blinds and curtains. Only components.” Highquality products include grommets, lead cords for curtains, various drapery tapes and hooks, roller blind systems and curtain tracks. These components make their way into roman shades, roller shades, honeycomb blinds and vertical blinds, as well as drapery hardware and workroom accessories.

Driving Forward

Dutch design, engineering and prototyping fuel Vako’s success. “Innovating is in Vako’s DNA,” Valkenburg says. “We proudly manufacture everything in-house, which guarantees quality and service.”

Vako is also unique in its customer centricity. “The knowledge in our company is collected from customers and manufacturers all around the world,” Valkenburg explains. “Because we travel to numerous countries, we see lots of products, which helps us to create inspired products. That’s what sets Vako apart.”

Vako products borrow from trends and developments worldwide. A regular exhibitor at international events like Heimtextil, R+T Stuttgart, R+T Asia and INDEX Dubai, Vako ventured into the U.S. market in 2015 with its debut at the International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) in Las Vegas. The company quickly found that U.S. customers have unique needs, driven partly by regulations.

Above: Vako headquarters in the Netherlands. Left: Vako owners Nanne Valkenburg (l) and Erik Kunst (r). Right: Valkenburg with his wife, Anne Marie.

“Our customers are looking for different products in the U.S.,” Valkenburg says. “Child safety regulations are different in the U.S. In Europe, curtain tapes with pockets and hooks are popular; in the U.S., ripplefold snap tapes are popular.”

Clearly Vako needed to adapt to American regulations, needs and appetites. Building on successful operations in France, Spain and Hong Kong, the company began designing and manufacturing tapes in Wisconsin. In March, it unveiled a new product for the U.S. market to much fanfare at IWCE in Nashville.

The 4-inch hybrid tape is a cross between a wave and snap tape,

giving draperies more body and lift. It generated strong interest. The Vako booth was swamped with customers eager to see the unique tape, many holding the ad from Window Fashion VISION.

To stay current, Valkenburg traverses the world in search of inspiration for new products to make his customers’ work easy and efficient. His love of extreme sports also takes him and wife Anne Marie far and wide. Helicopter skiing in Sweden, long-distance ice skate racing (120 miles!) in Austria, running the New York City marathon and car racing in Monte Carlo are all on the menu.