Our Heritage, our story
Asteria didn’t start as a group, but as a family-owned business, Accent, founded in 1985 in Heule, Belgium. The label company was steered to remarkable growth over the past two decades by CEO Ives Declerck.
Expanding via Acquisition
It reads like a fairy tale, Accent’s growth story under the leadership of CEO Ives Declerck. In five years, the label specialist from Gullegem evolved into the Asteria Group, which now has 33 companies, from Estonia to Spain.
The strength? It lies in the DNA that all these companies share. The customers have always been at the center of what we do. Because of our scale, they can always be assured of continuity and capacity.
“All printing technology is present under one umbrella. Our customers can always count on the best possible solution for their product and existing processes,” states COO Stefaan Gouwy. Local knowledge with trusted relationships … that is what we offer.
Pan-European Operations
Shortly after a series of Belgian acquisitions and the first steps in neighbouring countries like the Netherlands, France, and Germany, the group started moving north (Denmark) and south (Spain). In 2021, the Spanish colleague Coruñesa de Etiquetas (Coreti) joined Asteria, with a turnover of EUR 20 million and 110 employees, as one of the larger acquisitions.
‘With acquisitions like this, our portfolio is broadening exponentially. We want to become a solid pan-European player that can offer a wide range of packaging products for small to very large customers’, said CEO Ives Declerck back in 2021. Two years later that ambition has become reality.
Rich heritage and experience
Asteria continued making acquisitions in Northern Europe as well: for example by acquiring a company with an office in Finland that is also the market leader in Estonia with two production sites there.
Meanwhile, the list gets longer but it’s not just about the numbers. ‘The companies we allow in our group have to have that entrepreneurial DNA being extremely flexible and offering a very fast delivery service. We are proud of our heritage as a family-led business and we automatically connect to similar companies in every country we go to. Every company in our portfolio has its local specialties and clientele and now we can exchange this rich heritage and experience within the Asteria Group’, says Declerck.