"Wire is our common thread"

The entire range of industrial wire – that is what the Dutch company Metalwire B.V. focuses on. 40 employees ensure that the customer gets exactly the wire they need. Metalwire can respond flexibly to customer requests and deliver promptly. Whether it's stainless steel wire, galvanized wire, baling wire, quick binding wire, or the plastic variant EcoWire – with these wires, Metalwire is today one of the few companies with this product breadth. However, success did not come overnight, but is the result of hard work and deliberately guided development, as the commercial managing director Barry van Soest reports. "In 1990, the current managing director Peter Janssen founded Metalwire together with his father, not out of the proverbial garage, but as a very small company with few employees. Originally, we were a wholesaler for the wire fence industry. One of our main markets was North Rhine-Westphalia, where most of our customers were based. The coronavirus crisis has changed a lot in this segment."

Value-Added Products

What sounds like a dry description of the state of affairs also brought significant changes for Metalwire. The former customers struggled with weaker demand and aggressive competition from low-cost manufacturers in countries like Turkey. "Our response was clear: We no longer wanted to operate exclusively in the mass market, but instead focus on promising niches where we could offer products with added value, such as in the recycling sector or in products we manufacture ourselves. Especially in the recycling sector and in the circular economy, there is great potential." Metalwire produces eye wire and quicklink wire. These two types of wire are used in pressing machines, for instance to press cardboard, foil, plastics, textiles, or car tires. "Particularly today, the recycling industry is a focus within the EU – keyword sustainability. More and more is being recycled, making this a clear growth market. Of course, there is competition here as well, but we have made a name for ourselves and are confident that we can continue to grow strongly," said Barry van Soest.

Highly Visible in the Market

Accordingly, the company has invested heavily in recent years: Professionalization has been the focus in almost all departments, whether in supply chain, procurement, or marketing, to approach the market with a stronger and more future-oriented perspective. Additionally, Metalwire was acquired in July 2025 by the US company Accent, a US market leader in baling wire and fastening systems, which is increasingly focusing on the European market. "Through this new organization, we have gained additional strength to continue growing in Europe, particularly in our target markets of recycling and circular economy," explains Barry van Soest. "Nothing has changed for our customers, but we can expand our offering with a big partner." Rebranding is currently a major topic, as marketing specialist Joey Steegh explains. "We are currently repositioning ourselves. Next week we are launching a new website and want to redefine our position in the market. We operate in a traditionally very conservative market, which has recently been entered by the younger generation. We are now starting with Metalwire 2.0 and want to be more quickly found online in the future. It's all about improving our visibility in the market. Our customers should be able to find us." Besides large multinationals from the paper industry or manufacturers of balers, specialized manufacturers are also among the customers. "And most of them are based in Germany, but we also have customers in Great Britain, Northern France, Poland, and some in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic," says Barry van Soest.

Many Possibilities

Metalwire maintains close contact with its customers, who appreciate that they can get flexible and customized products – whether it is a single wire reel of 1,000 kg or an entire truckload. Especially the fact that Metalwire positions itself as a full-service provider and can deliver the desired products within a short time makes the company appealing to its customers. "The desired quantity in the desired time from a large assortment makes us attractive. We have a large stock on-site," emphasizes Barry van Soest. But it's not only the customers who like coming to Metalwire, employees also feel at home in the family-like atmosphere. This familial DNA is to be preserved. At the same time, the company wants to continue growing and combine international presence with local strength, so that the proverbial good connection to the customers doesn’t break off.