Soprofen wins the 2023 Z&R Product of the Year Award

"We immediately had the belief that we were going to win!

You could call it un-Belgian, but there is no lack of self-confidence at Soprofen. "We immediately had the belief that we were going to win!" says sales manager Bertje Lecluyse of Soprofen Benelux quite early in the conversation. "We are happy with this award for our Screenamax, especially also because trade magazine Z&R is an independent party." 

Lecluyse says it intends to use the Z&R Product of the Year Award 2023 to generate more publicity for the Soprofen brand. "It is therefore very valuable for us that the trade press has awarded this prize to us. For now, we are deliberately not addressing the end customer directly in our marketing policy, but rather focusing on the sun protection specialist. We are making headway by regularly approaching our customers and potential customers in person. We leave it up to the sun protection specialists to decide how they want to approach the end customer, but if they wish, we can of course support them in this." 

Soprofen, with six production plants in France, including a large plant in Froideconche, a few dozen kilometers north of Strasbourg, is a major player in the French market, selling mainly roller shutters (80%) and also garage doors (10%) and blinds (10%). Screens are still only a small part of sales in France. In Belgium, Soprofen has a plant in Châtelet, near Charleroi and a site in Lokeren. The latter plant mainly produces screens, mainly for the Belgian and Dutch markets. 

Soprofen's R&D department is located in Mertzwiller, where the product developers have at their disposal, among other things, a wind tunnel and a climate chamber, where products can be exposed to freezing temperatures, for example. "We ask our customers - both sun protection specialists and end users - a lot and often what they consider important, what requirements they have for products. In addition, of course, we also follow developments in construction and architecture," says Lecluyse. "For screens, end customers find a small box and a screwless design important. Shading specialists naturally value ease of installation. In architecture, there is a trend toward larger windows. Climate change and energy demand ever better shading for summer and insulation for winter."

Taking all these aspects (and more) into account, Soprofen's R&D department set to work, resulting in the first prototypes of the Screenamax. The product developers tried to make the screen as simple and assembly-friendly as possible. Then the product was tested in the factory, as well as at and by dealers in practice. That whole process took about two and a half years. 

Soprofen also attaches great importance to product safety emphasizes Lecluyse. All products are CE approved. "Safety is important! That aspect also partly determines the maximum sizes of a product. Absolutely no concessions are made to safety by us. As a company we try to be at the forefront in all aspects and to distinguish ourselves, but always with an eye for safety." 

Soprofen looks for partners that fit the company says Lecluyse. Companies that subscribe to Soprofen's way of working and business philosophy. "We don't work with brand ambassadors. Customers are free. They can purchase a lot or a little from us, it's not a problem." Much attention is paid to customer support. There is an online ordering platform, but in addition there is a lot of customer support. "Customers have one point of contact internally, so they always get the person on the phone who is aware of their specific situation, and if necessary, Soprofen also provides assistance on the construction site. That this approach works is proven by the growth in the number of clients currently being realized. Soprofen is therefore looking to expand its commercial team.  

The Z&R Product of the Year Award 2023 was presented Wednesday, May 17, in Lokeren to Bertje Lecluyse and Unit Business Manager Lokeren David Meul of Soprofen. Project Manager Erik Imming of Z&R said that the first round of the Z&R Product of the Year Award election had gone fairly smoothly, but that the second round had been a bit more challenging. The combination of the Screenamax's large maximum size and slim, screwless design, made possible in part by the innovative pre-tensioned shaft that slips into the original fabric tube, had ultimately been the deciding factor. 

Runners up were SAULEDA GREEN by Guillaume Janssen and LED Kanvaslight by Totallux, both coincidentally cloth products, but very different. SAULEDA GREEN by Guillaume Janssen is a special awning fabric that purifies the air through photocatalysis. It features a coating with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide that is able to convert harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen dioxides into relatively harmless compounds. In addition, GREEN also improves air quality by filtering out particulate matter. 

LED Kanvaslight from Totallux is a special, fiber-optic fabric that offers whole new lighting options for fabric awnings. The woven optical fibers used can be easily adapted to any space or design. The material is lightweight and flexible, making it easy to manipulate and install and very widely applicable. Because the optical fibers are waterproof and UV-resistant without losing its visual appeal, the material is quite suitable for outdoor installations.

This concludes the election for the 2023 Z&R Product of the Year Award. Another physical R+T will be organized in 2024 after six years(!). Possibly that will inspire companies to develop many new products. So the expectations for next year are high. The hope is that this year's number of sixteen entries - as well as last year's - will once again be substantially exceeded. After all, innovation remains an indispensable requirement, on the one hand for the industry to continue to develop and on the other hand to help cope with the consequences of climate change and warming.