Founded in 1988 by two West Flemish farmers, the Ypres CID LINES has grown over the past three decades into one of the major players in the market for cleaning and disinfection products. "Of the top companies worldwide we currently occupy third place, but it is our ambition to climb higher as soon as possible", they say ambitiously.
Thirty years ago, Koen and Pierre Brutsaert, nephew and uncle, each ran a farm. "Both saw the need for professional hygiene solutions in intensive livestock farming," explains Helena Brutsaert, Chief Commercial Officer at CID LINES and Pierre's daughter. "On the advice of the University of Ghent, both founders tested and registered the products they developed against the most important poultry and pig farming diseases, such as swine fever, aujeszky, gumboro, foot and mouth disease... When that swine fever actually broke out, Cid 20 turned out to be one of the few registered effective disinfectants ", continues Helena Brutsaert.
Export
Cid 20 quickly became a big success and soon the company was obliged to expand. Because of that, the company moved to the industrial park in Ypres in 1990.
Building on the success of Cid 20, work continued on a complete range of cleaning and disinfection products, including Virocid, which was launched in 1993 and is now the most sold disinfectant in the world. Virocid owes this status to the fact that it is one of the most tested disinfectants with a proven effect against viruses, bacteria and fungi and that it is safe for the user, animal and material.
Partly thanks to this broader range of products, CID LINES continued to grow rapidly. We quickly opted for export in order to continue to grow strongly. "We determined that we were very good in the market with a high-quality product from Belgium and were able to compete well with local producers. That way we have been able to make CID LINES a highly appreciated brand anywhere in the world ", says our hostess.
She compares disinfectants with insurance. "You do not see with the naked eye whether the bacteria and viruses are actually killed. In order to compete with cheaper products, you have to be able to give a guarantee and we could do that thanks to the registrations we have in all those countries. This allows you to read on the label which bacteria and viruses are being killed by the product. That gives assurance to the customer. We have been working this way for thirty years and that is certainly one of the reasons why CID LINES was so successful in these new markets ", she explains.
"Another reason for our success is that we have chosen to work with distributors and importers who have the same entrepreneurial mentality as us with the aim of helping the farmer move forward. They have grown with us and we with them ", she continues. These distributors employ commercial people and technically trained people themselves, who are trained and supported by CID LINES.
At this moment everything is still being produced in Belgium. "With that production, a lot is being automated. As a result, we can produce quickly and very efficiently and the total production cost can be kept under control. Moreover, we have the advantage that we are in the heart of chemistry in Belgium, with Antwerp as its center. So here we are good in purchasing raw materials. We also work with fine chemistry and that requires a lot of know how and that is present here. "
Prevention
In response to the demand for the evolution of the company, our hostess notices that the biggest challenge for livestock farming is to be efficient, but also to raise animals in a healthy way. "That is why the sector needs to go from a curative to a preventive way of working. This can be done on the one hand by increasing the immunity of the animals and on the other by reducing the infection pressure on the farm. "
"It is not enough to sell a cleaning or disinfectant if people do not know how to use it correctly. We provide tailor-made advice for the situation and also offer products that can be easily applied. In addition, we provide protocols and training so that users can measure whether they have applied it properly. We also do many tests ourselves to test the results of our products and the way we work. The provision of advice has therefore become a very important part of our solution. This often happens in collaboration with the company veterinarians. "
"In collaboration with the University of Ghent, we regularly contribute to the development of tools that help the sector in their preventive measures. For example, we have started our collaboration with the Bio-check TM project, a checklist that gives a good picture of the state of biosafety on the farm. CID LINES has participated in the advisory part of this tool and ensures that the reports are automatically returned to the users together with company-specific advice. The automatic Feedback system is exclusively for CID LINES customers.
Innovation
Over the years, CID LINES have marketed many new products. "Research into new products is done in our own laboratory. This gives us an advantage of speed in development of new products. In total, around 25 people work on developing new products and registering them. That is a very broad team of bio-engineers, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacists, virologists and bacteriologists. On the other hand, our experts also work together with external labs and with universities and research centers on certain diseases, "continues Helena Brutsaert.
"As far as the registration of products is concerned, our country is among the most stringent in the world. This places high demands on us, but on the other hand, it offers the advantage that when we go to other countries to apply for registration, our file is already very complete. The strictness of the registrations in our country has thus actually been a strength for CID LINES. "
Quality assurance
In order to always guarantee the quality of the products, CID LINES is also certified on various levels. For example, the company is ISO-certified, but also GMP-Pharma, which allows it to produce pharmaceutical products (dip products, for example) and GMP-Plus, for example, for feed additives that help to improve the immunity of the animals. As a chemical company, the production company also falls under strict Seveso legislation.
We work very environmentally friendly and safe work is being done during the production process. In this way, all the rainwater from the company is collected and purified to an unloadable level. In addition, all empty packages are taken back to be subsequently processed back, eg to garden furniture in plastic, and the like.
Samples are taken and analyzed for every delivery of raw materials and also during production. Thanks to a very strong system of tracing (including barcodes and pallet passports), every product can be traced back to the beginning of its production process.
We make hygiene work
In the future, Helena Brutsaert sees livestock farming becoming more professional and large-scale. "There will also be more and more integrated work. That is why the advice given to livestock farmers must also be able to grow with that industry. That is why we invest heavily in people with technical baggage who can give our clients customized advice. There are numerous specialists and veterinarians in our sales teams. "
"On the other hand, we are also convinced that preventive work will become more and more important to guarantee healthy animals in a healthy environment. CID LINES knows how to do this and we want to transfer that knowledge to our customers. "
"We also look forward to the future of our company. We have grown over the past years and it is our ambition to continue to do so in the coming years, and to increase our market share in the different countries where we are present. "
"We want to fulfill these ambitions under the motto 'We make hygiene work'. That means that we stand for total solutions. We ensure that the hygiene measures deliver good results, thanks to the quality of our products and we 'unburden' the customers, so that they can focus on what is important to them, namely keeping their business healthy. In short, we ensure that hygiene and prevention at the company is workable, "summarizes Helena Brutsaert.