Ivo Verheye is Application Expert at Rousselot’s EMEA Application Laboratory in Ghent, Belgium. He enjoys developing – not to mention tasting – confectionery and playing the trumpet in a marching band, which he has done for over thirty years.
 

‘I’ve been with the EMEA Application Lab since 2010, first in Isle sur la Sorgue, France, then in Ghent, Belgium, when it moved there in 2011 and became what is now the EMEA Application Lab. I really enjoy my work here. It’s varied, technically challenging and involves working with a lot of different people from different backgrounds. As a chemist, I am constantly challenged, either to find new solutions for customers, or to explore new possibilities[BC1]  for applying collagen and gelatin in different markets. There’s research, product development, testing, trouble-shooting – you name it, we do it.’

Career highlights

‘One of the highlights I was a part of was the development of #SiMoGel, Rousselot’s solution for starch-free confectionery production, launched in 2017. It was, and still is, a real innovation for the industry and it was brought about by simply getting together and trying. That’s typical for Rousselot: we had a hunch and were given the space to follow it up.’ (read the blog article on how SiMoGel was created). Ivo adds that SiMoGel has led to more highlights, such as the development and launch in 2020 of the ‘gummy caps’ concept, an extension of SiMoGel’s capabilities and the first concept for center-filled gummies on the market. ‘It was a logical next step to take with SiMoGel ’, says Ivo, ‘yet also an entirely novel concept – creating it took quite a complex combination of formulation and technology.’

Systematic, quiet and helpful

Ivo’s role at the lab involves a lot of different tasks, from supporting Sales and Technical Support Teams in resolving customer challenges to running tests and exploring new ideas. ‘I believe in a systematic, structured approach to projects, but with the flexibility to make changes on the go, as and when needed. What my colleagues think about me? You’d have to ask them! But my humble answer would be: a quiet colleague with a lot of technical know-how who is always open to lend a helping a hand.’

Prompter for the local drama club

In his free time, Ivo is involved in various associations and clubs in the village in which he grew up. He acts as prompter for the local drama club, is involved in a youth club and some of its cross-generational activities, and plays the trumpet for the village orchestra. ‘The music is a bit of a family thing,’ he says. ‘My late grandfather, my dad, my two sisters, my brother-in-law and my nephew all play in the band.’

Always new challenges

When Ivo joined Rousselot in 2011, he already knew the company, having done an interim research stint at our company just after his graduation. ‘I then was offered a job at a lab specialized in environment-related analyses, and stayed there for eight years. In 2009, I began to search for another job and Rousselot reappeared. I joined Claude Capdepon’s team at the plant in Isle sur la Sorgue, but only for nine months: after that, I moved to Ghent, back in my home country, to help set up the Application Lab I still work for today. I love it here, and there are always new challenges and exciting new growth directions.’

Learn more about the Ghent Pilot Hall where Ivo works: https://www.rousselot.com/innovation