A global player in biogas upgrading with membrane technology and desulfurization products. That is DMT, a fast-growing company. With their technologies and products, DMT helps companies contribute to a better environment in a profitable way. DMT director Erwin Dirkse has outspoken ideas about entrepreneurship. He blogs about his vision and hopes to inspire others by doing so. Under his leadership, DMT operates according to "The Big Five for Life" principle.
This principle combines the main goals of employees with the five main goals of the company. At DMT, these include improving the quality of life on the planet, social responsibility & good entrepreneurship, designing innovative and sustainable solutions in the field of environmental technology, providing a challenging and stimulating work environment, and collaborating with other organizations.
This style of business grew organically at Dirkse. As a young man, he first worked under the tutelage of his father, who founded the company in 1987. "Gradually I developed my own insights and learned to stand on my own two feet. The common thread in my approach is setting big, ambitious goals and going for them. Along the way to that dot on the horizon, anything can change, but you have to know where you want to go."
Turnover quadruple
DMT has set its sights on 2022. As a market leader, the company wants to be a leader and continue to grow significantly. "Our new goal is to quadruple turnover in five years," explains Erwin Dirkse. "That is tough, but certainly not impossible.
We want to achieve this by expanding our activities in North America and Southeast Asia, developing new products and acquiring activities and/or companies. By clearly defining these goals, we also create support. And when all noses are in the same direction, the energy is unstoppable."
The world as a market
DMT has offices in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia. The company has a clear focus outside the Netherlands. "For the last 10 to 20 years, more than 90 percent of our sales have come from abroad," says Dirkse. "The world is our market."
To grow globally, capital is needed. "Anyone looking for funding in the North of the Netherlands - we were looking for venture capital - ends up at NOM. You can't miss that. I was also quick to decide, NOM suits us best. We work in one of their core areas and share goals such as continuity and employment. We were looking for money, good conditions, people to work with and trust. We found that at NOM. We have now been working together for 12.5 years."
Setting big, ambitious, goals and going for it
Clean and prosperous
By always returning to the basics, The Big Five for Life, DMT remains proactive and alert to opportunities. "Of course, things don't always work out and we sometimes experience difficult phases where our size declines. Then you partly start all over again. But you're doing it for something, in our case: actively contributing to a clean and prosperous world with technical solutions. You never have certainties, but if you believe in something, you keep moving. Entrepreneurship is ambition."