31 March 2022

Grafityp, a warm family business since 1970

2022.03.31 - Grafityp is a real family business. Our story starts more than 50 years ago. That's when Herman Bosman senior founded 'Grafityp Lettersystemen'. Today, the third generation of the Bosman family still has a seat in the board and is still active in the company.

De familie Bosman - Grafityp familiebedrijf

Son Herman Bosman and his daughters Patricia and Brigitte are the driving force behind Grafityp in 2022. Herman was already active in the company at a young age and didn’t hesitate to follow in his father’s footsteps. Today he is still active behind the scenes. Daughters Brigitte and Patricia are active in the company as Sales Office Coordinator and HR, Safety and Health Manager.

Herman Bosman en dochters Brigitte en Patricia - Familiebedrijf

A close-knit family

At Grafityp, we like to extend the family feeling to our employees and distributors. You can feel that in everything. Patricia: “During the dealer meetings here on our site we see that the distributors like to be here. For us, our distributors are also a part of the Grafityp family.”

In our search for a new CEO, it was important to find someone who wanted to step into this family business story. Patrick Nijs fits that profile perfectly. He was already active in family businesses and shares the family values and vision. “Finding someone who is on the same wavelength is necessary if you are still active in the business as a family,” Brigitte says.

“For us our distributors are also a part of the Grafityp family.” – Patricia Bosman

Not the biggest, but the warmest

Grafityp is certainly not a small company, but on a global scale it is a smaller fish in the sea.
Larger competitors offer a more extensive range, but what makes us so unique is the focus we put on it. Grafityp focuses on the niches sign & digital printing, industry, automotive and decoration. We’ve really immersed ourselves in those areas and that’s what catches the eye of our customers.

After all, small is also a relative term. We export our products to more than 60 countries, we have almost 100 employees and Grafityp is located on a large industrial estate. And there’s more. Our English holding company in the UK employs another 35 people. Certainly since the Brexit, ‘Grafityp UK’ has been a great asset.

In addition, our stock is immense. We can handle the vast majority of orders from stock, which is unique compared to our competitors.

Focus on environment and people

At Grafityp, we are proud of our products, they are the basis for the development of new products. Our PVC-free products, for example, have been around since 2005. At that time, the demand for environmentally friendly alternatives was still small. Nevertheless, at Grafityp we kept focusing on this ecological alternative for our films. And with success, because more and more companies are putting sustainability high on their agenda.

The demand for PVC-free films and environmentally friendly alternatives is increasing. Brigitte Bosman: “You can only realise such innovations with people who believe in what they do. We do everything together here. We cannot do without the people in production, but neither can they do without us. They make the product. I make sure it gets sold. Everyone in the company feels involved and that’s what you need as an organisation.”

“Innovations can only be realised if everyone believes in them. We do it all together here, like a real and close family.” – Brigitte Bosman

Herman compares Grafityp to a racing car: “If you deflate a valve in a tyre, the race is over. It’s exactly the same for a company. Our developers design, our production people produce, our warehouse people store and prepare orders and our sales people sell. If everyone is driven, we can offer our customers the best service and the best product.”

“If you deflate a valve in a tyre, the race is over. It is exactly the same for a company.
As long as everyone is driven, we can offer the best service.”
– Herman Bosman

Familie Bosman - Familiebedrijf