Dirk Torfs Email & Phone Number

Haacht, Be

Services4Growth wil bedrijven ondersteunen vanuit 3 pijlers:🤝 Algemeen management ondersteuning• Vertrouwenspersoon/coach/ mentor als klankbord voor de ondernemer• Coach en mentor voor het managementteam• Multidisciplinair (meerdere bedrijfsdomeinen) managementadvies• Duurzame groeiontwikkeling • Lid adviesraad + lid raad van bestuur of uitvoerende bestuurder• Specifiek advies op vraag🤝Ontwikkeling van transformaties• Strategie (bv. vertaling van groepsplannen) & Organisatie• Operationele verbeteringen• Marktaanpak/partnerships (ecosystemen), customer centricity• Innovatie aanpak• Change management – cultuur analyse🤝Begeleiding van transitie- & transformatieplannen• Hands-on begeleiding of uitvoering van plannen• Optimalisaties, opzetten van KPIs, dashboards, …• Operationele - efficiëntie - verbeteringen inclusief• Uitwerking van organisatiestructuur en invulling ervan met competentie gedreven aanpak

Leuven, Be

Bij het eeuwfeest in 1998 kende de Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen van KU Leuven voor het eerst de titel van 'Fellow van het Hogenheuvelcollege' toe aan een selecte groep van kaderleden en bedrijfsleiders. Sindsdien worden door de verschillende vakgroepen jaarlijks nieuwe mensen voorgedragen die hun uitmuntendheid bewezen door het toepassen van principes van wetenschappelijke bedrijfsvoering.

Flanders business school organises in collaboration with Kellogg School of Management (Chicago (USA)) an Executive MBA with focus on Entrepreneurship.Highly recommended: a practical approach for encouraging people to entrepreneurship, a unique MBA on the Belgian markethttps://www.flandersbusinessschool.be/nl

The Open Manufacturing Campus aims to be not only a physical place where innovative manufacturing companies can establish themselves, but also a virtual Open Manufacturing Community that reaches far beyond the boundaries of the physical campus.Your company can become part of the Open Manufacturing Community and benefit from all sorts of activities and advantages:A multitude of networking moments around manufacturing in the broader sense via frequent symposia and workshopsAccess to a wide range of measuring devices and test equipmentAccess to engineering and production consultancy resourcesParticipation in the development of new production concepts and the valorisation of those conceptsJoint establishment of new strategic manufacturing clusters

Lommel, Be

Lommel, Be

Flanders Make is a fast growing innovation ecosystem with a unique approach for a circular innovation ecosystem covering all TRL levels at equal level and being active as an innovation platform driving the industrial competitiveness."Flanders Make vzw" is a strategic research center for the manufacturing industry with focus on Flanders. The initiative will contribute to the creation of research and innovation capacity at top level, this is essential to strengthen the competitiveness from the Flemish manufacturing industry.Flanders Make is the strategic research centre for the manufacturing industry. From our sites (Lommel, Leuven, Kortrijk and location at all Flemish universities) all over Flanders, we stimulate open innovation through excellent research. As we bring together companies and research institutions, we help realize concrete product and production innovations in the vehicle industry, in mechanical engineering and in production environments. Our expertise is focused around 4 key competences: (1) sensing, monitoring, control and decision making, (2) design and optimization of products and production (focus on flexible assembly), specification , architecture and validation of motion products and products in motion and (4) specification, architecture and validation of flexible assembly production. All competences are based on modelling and virtualisation.Our goal is to contribute to the innovation services and technological development of the vehicles, machines and factories for the future. We create daily added value for the industry for better and faster innovations.Today Flanders Make has a consolidated turnover of 70 mln euros and it counts almost 700 researchers and who work full-time as a unique research community on a joint industrial research agenda; as a circular innovation ecosystem covering all TRL levels and being active as an innovation platform driving the industrial competitiveness.

Berchem, Antwerp, Be

Brussels, Be

EARTO – European Association of Research and Technology OrganisationsFounded in 1999, EARTO promotes RTOs and represents their interest in Europe. EARTO network counts over 350 RTOs in more than 20 countries. EARTO members represents 150.000 of highly-skilled researchers and engineers managing a wide range of innovation infrastructures.EARTO Missions: To promote and defend the interests of RTOs in Europe by reinforcing their profile and position as a key player in the minds of EU decision-makers and by seeking to ensure that European R&D and innovation programmes are best attuned to their interests; to provide added-value services to EARTO members to help them to improve their operational practices and business performance as well as to provide them with information and advice to help them make the best use of European R&D and innovation programme funding opportunities.EARTO Vision: A European research and innovation system without borders in which RTOs occupy nodal positions and possess the necessary resources and independence to make a major contribution to a competitive European economy and high quality of life through beneficial cooperation with all stakeholders.

Initiated by Flanders Make from Belgium, Brainport Industries from The Netherlands and SmartFactory-KL from Germany, SmartFactoryEU EWIV was founded in September 2019 as an association based on EU law.The SmartFactoryEU EEIG is a European umbrella organization coordinating the various European smart factory research and demo centres in order to strengthen collaboration and the voice on the world market.The founding members have defined the following aims and values for the organization. Goal is to strengthen the European ecosystem and to become the frontrunner in manufacturing:Connecting manufacturing and digital transformation research and demonstration centresBeing their common voice towards the EUSharing and promoting a common vision and roadmap to enable and speed up “Industry 4.0 adoption”Serving as a reference for the future of sustainable, inclusive and climate neutral manufacturingSupporting the creation of digital talents

Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Be

DSP Valley is an independent cluster of excellence in smart electronic systems and embedded technology solutions. DSP Valley groups 100+ members: universities, research institutes and companies, from small start-ups, over SMEs to large international groups with a local R&D activity. DSP Valley offers its members a networking platform that allows them to explore each other’s expertise and that stimulates innovation by exploiting complementarities. With its extensive offer of high quality activities DSP Valley is one of the top clusters in Europe in the area of smart electronic systems and embedded technology solutions. Its activities include for example regional and international inter cluster B2B forums, Academia-to-Business forums, a shared group booth at international exhibitions, custom matchmaking events, technical seminars, a bi-monthly newsletter and brokerage services for participation in European ICT programs.DSP Valley is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium and has a branch office in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Flanders’ Bike Valley (“The Global Cycling Center”) was established in 2013 as one of the first bottom-up clusters in Flanders. As an Open Innovation Center for the Cycling Industry the cluster was founded by 4 local SME’s (bottom-up) which are lead plants in their sector, together with one knowledge institute: BioRacer (a cycling clothes manufacturer), Lazer Sport (helmets), Ridley Race Productions, Voxdale (a specialist in aerodynamics who engineered and designed for Indycar) and Flanders Make (a knowledge center for the Automotive Industry).Flanders’ Bike Valley focuses on 6 major topics: Mobility, Sports (involvement of Belgian Cycling Foundation and Belgian Olympic Comittee), Safety and Healthcare, Science & Technology, Industry&Government and Turism.Although the cluster recently started, the amount of members grew to more than 70 within the last 6 months. This number will still increase in the coming years. More than 50% of the members are other SME’s which come from a diversity of sectors (not only the cycling sector) like electronics, design, ICT, Healthcare,…Flanders’ Bike Valley organizes partner matching events (often together with other clusters/valleys), is setting-up breakthrough open innovation projects for multiple partners and will also focus on joint internationalisation and incubation in cooperation with BikeVille Incubator (the goal is to set-up a cycling technology incubation center by 2016). Since cycling is anchored in the roots of the Flemish People (as early adopters for new cycling technologies) and all involved Flemish SME’s are globally leading innovators in the cycling world, Flanders’ Bike Valley is seen as a smart specialisation for the Flemish Region.

Brussels, Brabant, Be

De BG Industrial Automation van Agoria vertegenwoordigt de bedrijven actief in industriële automatiseringsproducten en -oplossingen, systeemintegratie, IT-software solutions for industry en bordenbouw.

Zurich, Zh, Ch

Zurich, Zh, Ch

Antwerpen, Be

Engineering office with focus on logistic solutions and laboratories, sectors : logistics, laboratories for pharma, bio and hospitals, pharma industry, buildings

From 2005 managing director of Imtech Belgium (Imtech Projects, Imtech Maintenance, and Van Looy Group)From 09-2000 manager-director of Imtech Belgium ProjectsImtech is active in electromechanical projects in industry, infrastructure and buildings and corresponding in maintenance. Moreover engineering activities are focussed on logistic centers and laboratory and hospital facilities inclusive buildings

Zurich, Zh, Ch

Being part of department Flexible Automation, Robotics

Herstal, Walloon Region, Be

Being responsible for European Space Agency robotics related projects and programs working together with its technology center ESTEC, Noordijk

Leuven, Be

Doing fundamental research and cooperating to industrial projects related to high speed motion control of systems leading to a PhD dissertation and obtaining a Doctor (PhD) degree in Applied Science in January 1995.

Mba, Entrepreneurship

Advanced Management Program

Phd (Dr) In Applied Science, Modelling And Control

Burgerlijk Ingenieur (Ir) Electro-Mechanica, Applied Engineering