The deal is official: Michel Van den Brande (64), founder of the well-known scaffolding company Kontrimo, has sold his business to Vybros Capital Partners, the investment firm of the wealthy West Flemish Vande Vyvere family.
Van den Brande, a familiar face from the TV series The Sky Is the Limit, had hinted at the sale for some time. After months of speculation and negotiations, he ultimately chose the Vande Vyvere family’s firm for the takeover. The three brothers – Guy, Jean, and Michel Vande Vyvere – run Vybros, a company no longer affiliated with the Matexi real estate group.
Kontrimo will now become part of the Intermat Group, a Belgian firm specializing in the sale and rental of construction equipment.
With its headquarters in Wielsbeke and six locations across Flanders, Intermat aims to become the leading name in scaffolding solutions. The integration will include close cooperation with other scaffolding companies TD-S and Devan Steigerbouw.
Despite the sale, Van den Brande won’t completely disappear from the scene. “I’ll whistle even louder every time I ride past a beautiful scaffold”, he said in an emotional first reaction to HLN, hinting at a continued connection to the company he built.
The Kontrimo name is expected to remain intact under its new ownership.
