Three production sites. Two brands. One ambitious deadline.
When Marlux-Stradus was acquired by the Vercruysse family in March 2025, the company regained its independence, coupled with an acute problem. The parent company CRH's ERP system had to go. And quickly. We spoke with Tom Henderix, who led the sales aspect of the project, and with Lode Simons (scapta) about an implementation where everything happened at once: an acquisition, a move, and oh yes… a complete ERP transition.
Tom, for those who don't know Marlux-Stradus yet: what exactly do you do?
“We make concrete paving stones and other concrete products. However, under one roof, there are actually two completely different markets. Marlux specializing in the garden market and building materials trade: patios, driveways, the work that finishes at people's homes. Stradus is another story and focuses on contractors in road construction and public authorities: parking lots, streets, and squares. Two brands, two sales organizations, three production sites.”
Behind the company lies a beautiful family history.
“A long one, that goes back to 1907. Marlux originated in Londerzeel at that time, and later moved to Tessenderlo. In addition, there was Klaps Beton in Neeroeteren, where I myself started more than 20 years ago. In 2005, these two family businesses merged, and thus Marlux was born. The Stradus brand came a little later. Both companies were acquired by the CRH group at the time. And last year, in 2025, the Vercruysse family bought Marlux-Stradus back from CRH. So we are a family business again, with around 200 employees, and a solid position among the top 3 concrete producers in Belgium.”
Why a new ERP all of a sudden?
“We were running on SAP, CRH's ERP. When we were spun off, we had to leave it. The question was: do we stay with SAP and set up our own environment? Or do we switch to something else? In a few weeks, we weighed SAP, Business Central, Odoo, and a few other systems against each other.”
And how did you end up at Scapta?
“Actually, it was just a matter of doing some research. We started by asking ourselves: which solutions are right for us? Business Central came up as an option, and when I Googled ‘Business Central Limburg,’ I found Scapta. I also checked with a former colleague who works in IT, and he confirmed it. So we had no reason to hesitate.”.
What ultimately made the difference?
“The approach. We requested demos and quotes from several vendors. Someone from Scapta came on-site to see how our processes worked. Not with a sales pitch in mind, but to truly understand what we needed. A thorough analysis was conducted, and non-standard requirements were addressed right from the start.”. We didn't feel that as strongly with any other party. And, not least: the price was competitive.”
“We had the feeling that the people at Scapta knew what they were talking about, that they understood our processes. This was not as clear with other parties. In retrospect, this has been confirmed.”
What has been implemented?
“We identified everything that was needed, because in addition to the ERP system, the parent group was also running other applications that we needed to address. Specifically, three major components were implemented:
- Business Central new ERP system — to replace SAP.
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM — because the CRM system had to be moved as well.
- Boltrics — a specialized transport management system, linked to Business Central.
Additionally, there were a number of external software packages that were previously integrated with SAP and that we now had to re-integrate with Business Central.”
How exciting was the timeline?
“It was really nerve-wracking. Management had decided it had to happen quickly. And scapta was always on board with that. In December, we even briefly considered postponing it. We were struggling with that uncertainty, and so was scapta. In the end, we decided to go ahead. In retrospect, we are happy about that. ”Not everything was perfect at the start of 100%, but the system worked. And everything else? We fine-tuned that later.”
And what about the collaboration with the Scapta team?
“The people we've worked with the most not only know the system. They also understood how Marlux-Stradus works. Very quickly. That's worth its weight in gold when the pressure is high. The timing was constantly under strain, but the deadline was met. We went live with a working product at the beginning of January.”
Lode Simons (scapta): “The short timeline actually forced us to really focus on the basics: what is needed to go live and run the business safely? It's only now, after going live, that we're seeing the practical challenges people are facing. What we're doing today is primarily automation and optimization, making things just a little easier for the end-users, with fewer manual steps. But it's an impressive achievement how the Marlux-Stradus team threw themselves into it. Some people made time on the weekends to test. There were certainly plenty of pats on the back for that back then.”
It wasn't just an ERP project. A lot was happening all at once.
“Far too much, to be honest. On top of the tight deadline, the head office moved from Tessenderlo to Zolder. All in the same period. This asked a lot of our people, and especially during the testing phase, it was all hands on deck. Except for me, I was hired externally for this project, no one had this as a dedicated job. Everyone did this on the side.”
“We didn't test all scenarios. But even with twice as much time, we wouldn't have foreseen everything. There are always things you don't think of beforehand. The difference lies in how you handle those things when they arise. And that's where Scapta proved itself.” Tom Henderix
How are end-users experiencing the system today?
“We have about fifty end users working with the system, about ten of whom were very closely involved in the project. The feedback has been mixed. Business Central clearly has its advantages—for example, the integration with Excel works really smoothly, and it’s very intuitive.
For new users, it’s much more accessible than SAP used to be. But we also have people here who’ve been working with SAP for 15 years, with a lot of customizations tailored specifically to their needs. For them, it’s a major adjustment. Still, we’re seeing that everyone is finding their way and that things are really starting to come together.”
What else is on the roadmap?
“A lot. A big part: optimizing the process chain after order entry. What are the subsequent logistical steps, who does what, how does that translate into Business Central? That was difficult to estimate beforehand. That's where our focus is now, together with scapta. Plus automations and flow improvements. Just that little bit faster, just that little bit easier.
"Peace has—if I may use such a grand word—returned. There’s a certain flow to everything."”
Final thoughts?
“What sticks with me is that these used to be three separate projects: a new ERP system, a new CRM system, and external integrations. Each one was a separate project, each taking a year to complete.”. We did it together. In six months. ”We launched in July and went live in January. The teams at Marlux-Stradus and Scapta have been working hard and efficiently. You know going in that not everything will be perfect right away, and that’s not a problem. We’re continuing to work on that together.”
Project Team Marlux-Stradus: Tom Henderix (Sales), Mauro Berti (Production & Logistics), Dante Lauwers (Finance)