Jasper, could you briefly introduce yourself?

Jasper: “My name is Jasper and I’m 39 years young. I live in Uden together with my partner Lisette. We’ve been a couple for 12 years now. Our lovely son Lio will turn 3 years old in October, and Lisette is expecting our second child, who is due at the end of November.

Personal development is very important to me, both in my professional and personal life. As the proud owner of We R Asia for the past 16 years, I’ve had the privilege of making a remarkable journey. My connection with China goes back 18 years, during which I’ve traveled there more than 50 times. Last year, I visited India for the first time, and we’ve now been active there for two years. Our operations in Vietnam have already been running for three years.

It’s essential for me to keep exercising, as it helps me stay sharp and maintain both physical and mental fitness. This approach contributes to my role as the leader of Team We R Asia, which is active in the Netherlands, China, India, and Vietnam.”

How did you get started with We R Asia?

Jasper: “My uncle Ben, who was involved in producing plastic injection molding products, introduced me to China 18 years ago. Although I had a bachelor’s degree, at the time I wasn’t interested in starting a job right away. Instead, I decided to continue studying at university. But being a young village boy, I wasn’t quite ready for that step and had to leave university after half a year.

My uncle, who had business connections in China, then asked me if I’d like to join him. I could even bring a friend along. So we traveled to China together for two weeks. During that trip, I gained a lot of experiences—both socially and professionally—meeting people and joining business contacts who visited China. It was my very first trip there.

After that first experience, I realized I could actually live there. My uncle closed a business deal and asked me if I would go back for 2.5 months. I agreed, curious about the opportunities. During that time, I lived with Guy Holder, his English business partner, who had a relationship with a Chinese woman. Our days were long, working around 12 hours per day with frequent client visits. Guy’s girlfriend took care of us, cooked meals, and did the laundry. We worked six days a week. It was intense, but also a lot of fun.

After 2.5 months, I returned to the Netherlands for three weeks, and then went back to China for another 2.5 months. I kept up this rhythm of back-and-forth travel for about 1.5 years.

Eventually, I had to make a choice: where would I build my future? I decided on the Netherlands because of the high quality of life. Then I asked myself what kind of business opportunities I could build from here. That’s how the idea of We R Asia was born.”

What milestones has We R Asia achieved since its founding?

Jasper: “I think the first important milestone was moving from a home office to a shared office space. Back at the home office, there were many limitations—everyone could hear everything and there was little privacy. During that time, we hired a new colleague, but it wasn’t attractive enough and that colleague left after six months. That’s when I realized we needed to become a more appealing company.

So we decided to move into the Ideeënfabriek in Uden, a beautiful shared building. There, we created a stimulating environment for our team and had opportunities to meet new people. For example, that’s where I discovered Podio, the project management system we still use today. This was definitely a key step forward.

Another milestone was taking over my uncle’s company about six years ago. His daughter lived in Amsterdam and wasn’t interested, while his son was co-owner of Montimar restaurants and went into hospitality. That gave me the chance to buy his share, which was a crucial step toward independence, and I’m very grateful to him for that.

A third milestone was starting to work with Gerard Werkhoven, my growth coach, three years ago. This collaboration has been a real eye-opener and helped me grow in a healthy way. And of course, a major step this year has been moving into our own building and planning for an even larger office space. That marks another important milestone in my career.”

Jasper, what makes We R Asia stand out from competitors in the industry?

Jasper: “It’s our dedicated people who truly make the difference. For example, here in the Netherlands, we always ensure that each customer is paired with a Dutch project manager. These managers deeply understand the client and can communicate and collaborate seamlessly. Since we’re a Dutch BV, customers can do business with our Dutch office, and they’re always welcome to walk in.

Our team members in Vietnam, India, and China also play a crucial role. In China, for instance, Vanessa has been with us for 15 years—almost from the very beginning—and Schumi has been with us for 10 years. Our people are truly dedicated.

We also have a strong organizational structure, supported by thoughtful systems and excellent project management tools. Internally, we use Podio, and externally we use AFAS for customer interaction. This makes us highly scalable. If someone goes on leave or moves on to a new opportunity, such as joining Disney, we can easily scale up. The replacement can quickly integrate and review all agreements and contracts. Our scalability is really made possible by our dedicated people—they make the real difference.”

How does We R Asia contribute to corporate social responsibility?

Jasper: “We try to produce only sustainable products. For us, sustainability means creating products with a long lifespan that also make a positive contribution to society. A personal priority for me is to ensure that we mainly ship full containers by sea and minimize the use of air freight. In addition, we are actively working on offsetting part of our CO2 emissions by planting trees. This initiative is still in development and is part of our effort to contribute positively to the environment.

We also focus on certifications, which are thoroughly assessed by external Notified Bodies. These parties certify and guarantee that our products meet the required quality standards. This is very important to us. On top of that, we have our own ‘Code of Conduct,’ which we agree on with the Asian factories we work with. This ensures that our products meet the set conditions.

We’re also a member of NVO Nederland, through which we embrace and follow the Sustainable Development Goals. Within this framework, we select specific goals to focus on. For example, goal 3: ‘Good Health and Wellbeing,’ where we work to promote and ensure the wellbeing of all our employees in the Netherlands, Vietnam, India, and China. We also emphasize goal 8: ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth,’ which means we strive for safe and healthy working conditions for all factory workers in China, Vietnam, and India.

We also contribute to goal 9: ‘Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure’ by working with suppliers who treat people and the environment responsibly through the use of innovative technologies. Finally, we focus on goal 12: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production.’ While fully sustainable production may not be feasible for us, we are determined to make continuous improvements. So we put in a lot of effort to make a positive impact in multiple areas, including of course the wellbeing of our employees.”

What is the most important leadership principle you’ve learned during your career that you apply at We R Asia?

Jasper: “I believe that when you make a commitment, you should follow through—whether it’s to a client or within the internal organization. When you make a promise, you carry the responsibility to deliver. If it turns out to be impossible, it’s essential to communicate transparently. This could mean explaining why it isn’t possible, when it might be achieved, or what obstacles are in the way. Clear communication is crucial.

In my opinion, this is the most important principle. I’ve found that consistently applying this approach has helped me tremendously and will continue to help in the future. The same goes for our team. A valuable practice is to listen carefully and use those insights to make effective decisions and take meaningful actions.”

How do you see the future of We R Asia in the next five years?

Jasper: “I see a very bright future for We R Asia. Our strategic spread is healthy and promising. At the moment, we mainly source from China, and we’ll continue to do so because of the proven success and excellent price-quality balance the country offers. This allows us to deliver high-quality products. On top of that, automation in China is increasing, which further strengthens that balance in our favor.

We aim to expand our sourcing from Vietnam and India as well, to diversify beyond China. In my view, this is a very positive development. For We R Asia, I see strong customer growth, which also creates opportunities for our employees to further develop themselves. This way, the company grows while our team members grow in their roles too.

Personally, I see my role as being an ambassador for We R Asia. I want to position myself as the outward face of the company. Within our project management, we’re seeing the rise of autonomous, self-steering teams. My role will be to stay involved as an ambassador while the teams operate independently. To me, this paints a beautiful and optimistic picture of the future of We R Asia.”