A successful new venture.
Image top: The Steel Blue team at the 2019 A+A Exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany. From left to right, Friederike Buettner, John Cooper, Rens Van Krieken, Garry Johnson, Jan Volders, Flavio Dehaas, and Ross Fitzgerald.
We are celebrating our team members to mark the Steel Blue 25-year anniversary.
As we celebrate Steel Blue’s 25-year anniversary, we focus on the people behind the Australian brand and how Steel Blue boots has grown to become Australia’s leading manufacturer of safety boots.
This week, the spotlight is on our European operations as we get to know Steel Blue EMEA Sales Director, Flavio De Haas.
Flavio De Haas
Sales Director EMEA
A lot has changed at Steel Blue since a travelling Dutchman pulled up to the head office, based in Malaga, Western Australia in 2004.
While travelling throughout Australia, Flavio had read about Steel Blue winning the Telstra Small Business Award in 2003 and decided to approach Steel Blue regarding a proposed new venture, a European arm of the business.
Flavio began his career at age 17 as a Carpenter in The Netherlands and was aware that there was a gap in the market for safety boots in his homeland. He had a solid plan and soon became the proud Distributor of Steel Blue boots across the Benelux region.
The business commenced from humble beginnings as Flavio was initially based out of his home! Over time, the business transitioned to Steel Blue Europe EMEA (BV) and the region has now grown to include not only The Netherlands but also the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Israel, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
Image left: Flavio (center), with the EMEA Sales Team, exploring the Australian outback after attending an International Sales Conference in Perth, Western Australia. Background from left to right, Rens Van Krieken, John Cooper and Jan Volders.
Congratulations to Flavio for achieving 16 years of service with Steel Blue and for taking Steel Blue boots across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with his dedicated team.
Steel Blue products can be viewed by region on our website – simply select the region drop-down in the top left-hand side of the website.
