Jansen Electro Techniek Expands from Belgium to Louisville
September 15, 2026
awtcky_administration@wtcky.org
Episode 40: How does a 30-year-old family electrical business from Belgium successfully transition into a global industrial automation supplier? In this exclusive episode of the This Global Trade Adventure podcast, recorded live at the World Trade Center Kentucky’s World Trade Day event, we explore the strategic expansion of Jansen Electro Techniek (JET). Hosts Steve Marks (WTCKY Board Chair / Givaudan Sense Colour) and Parashar Joshi (Ex-Board Chair / JIO) speak with Jan Jansen about JET’s journey, their upcoming Louisville office grand opening on September 15th, 2026, and why the Midwest manufacturing ecosystem is the perfect fit for their growth strategy.
Episode Transcript:
Steve Marks:
Good morning. I'm Steve Marks and just a quick introduction, I'm the head of supply chain and procurement for Givaudan Sense Colour. I'm here representing the World Trade Center where I’m currently Chair the Board. And I'm here for another episode of This Global Trade Adventure with my good colleague, Parashar.
Parashar Joshi:
Yes, good morning. My name is Parashar Joshi. I'm the CEO and the founder of JIO, Joshi International Operations Consulting Company, formerly from Valvoline and Amium. I'm Ex-Board Chair for the World Trade Center and done a great job in joining This Global Trade Adventure with Jan.
Steve Marks:
Yeah, we're here with Jan Jansen from Jansen Electro Techniek. Did I say that right?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, you said it correctly.
Steve Marks:
Excellent. Welcome and thank you for joining us this morning, all the way over from your home in Belgium.
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, correct.
Steve Marks:
Got in and had some great conversations and look forward to a good couple days here in Louisville, Kentucky. Jan, why don't you start out and tell us, you began a family business, you took over a family business that was an electrical business and you've grown it into really an industrial automation and engineering company. Can you share a little bit about your story along the way?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, sounds great. Thanks for having me guys. It's really great being on the podcast. Big fan of the show. Yeah, Jansen Elektro Techniek, we're a family-based company based in Belgium, started in General Electric contracting works, but our customers asked more and more to take up responsibilities. So we set the next step to panel building, eventually electrical engineering, software, and at the moment machine design and machine building, custom-made.
But it was always, we didn't want to just be a supplier of working hours. We wanted to be, what's it called? We want to take the responsibility of the technical problems customers have and it just started an evolution. Yeah, it just started, customer kept on asking, "Can you do this? Yes, of course. Can you do this? Yes, of course." And eventually it's becoming a global thing.
Steve Marks:
How old is the company?
Jan Jansen:
It's 30 years old. My father started it. I'm the second generation together with my brother. We took over seven and a half years ago and we're now slowly transforming the business to being a global supplier.
Parashar Joshi:
I was just going to say I was lucky to meet Jan through the World Trade Center and got to know him from the trade mission that World Trade did in Dubai last year, that we'll again do this year. One of the big things, Jan, is growing the business out of Belgium, it's scary. It's not easy. And you ended up picking Kentucky. Why Kentucky and how did you end up being involved in the World Trade Center and trying to pick Kentucky as an opportunity to start growing your business outside of Belgium?
Jan Jansen:
Why not Kentucky?
Parashar Joshi:
Yeah, great question.
Jan Jansen:
In the end, it just made sense, but our first customer was actually based in Louisville, and for us it just made sense to be close to our customer because we want to have a good customer relationship. But once we started that and looked at the bigger picture, we saw what Kentucky is actually providing us. It's a big manufacturing ecosystem. We're close to Indiana, close to Ohio, so it just made sense. And we got to know the people, we got to know World Trade Center, we got to know you guys. Everyone is very helpful. We got to know the economic department, development, and everyone is just really helpful setting it up. So I can say the customers brought us to Kentucky, but the ecosystem made us stay here.
Parashar Joshi:
Yeah, and that's the key with World Trade Center. Steve, you know it, I know it. Jan, and you're learning it that you may not know everything, but if you find an organization like the World Trade Center, it ends up being the opportunity for you to link you to a lot of places that can be value-add for your growth into the company in Kentucky for that matter.
Steve Marks:
I'm really curious, starting as a family company in Europe, very different culture when you look at the European business structure and especially from a family-owned company, how did you find transitioning that culture or how did that culture transition over here in starting your engineering and manufacturing that you've done in the US? Has it changed much? Has it influenced your culture that the company has back in Belgium?
Jan Jansen:
It's definitely influenced a Belgian company, but we're still making the first steps in the US. I'm glad to announce that we're setting up the office in Louisville and we don't want to just copy our culture from Belgium to the US because that doesn't make sense. The US has to have his own identity, but we do want to copy the principles that we have, staying close to the customer, at the end of the day, being proud of what you've done and always be honest with the customer, put the next step for your customer. And that's something we don't discuss. That's something that will be copied to the US.
Parashar Joshi:
Yeah, perfect. He did say they're opening an office in Louisville, right?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, correct.
Parashar Joshi:
The opening is going to be September 15th. And in Kentucky, that's important to know. So those that are going to be around, please join. Jan, where can they join you for the grand opening for the offices here?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, in Louisville. I don't have the address on top of my head, but if you reach out to the podcast, they will definitely set you up. [1700 UPS Dr, Ste 203, Louisville, KY 40223]
Parashar Joshi:
Perfect.
Jan Jansen:
Excellent.
Parashar Joshi:
Excellent. I don't know, Jan, anything else you want to add as you get involved with the World Trade Center? Anything that you're worried about as the situation, the economics, the geopolitical issues are happening in the world? Is there something that makes you worry that, "Hey, I'm coming over here trying to set up a business, but yet I'm questioning if it's the right time, the right platform for me to come with the economic situation as it is?"
Jan Jansen:
If you're always scared of things that are happening outside of what you can control, then we would never jump. It's never the perfect time, but it’s always the right time to jump. And we're happy we're doing it. We're not afraid. Tariffs is a small thing, but that's why the big goal is to set up manufacturing and operations eventually in US to don't have to take care of taxes of tariffs anymore.
Steve Marks:
Your strategy, obviously going back to Louisville as an initial base, is your strategy to grow from the Midwest out or you have customers on the coasts? I'm just curious as geographically how you're managing that expansion.
Jan Jansen:
We first want to start locally, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, but eventually we'll see how big we grow. Yeah, for us it just makes sense. In Kentucky, Midwest there’s a lot of manufacturing and for us, we see a lot of opportunity helping other companies scale production, get more output, make more quality products. Yeah, all of those things.
Parashar Joshi:
So for those that don't know what, I mean, we talked about what JET does, what are the customers that you're currently working with, names that you can mention that people would recognize, and then what are the types of industries that you're looking to go after? So when we talk about this, people are aware of what JET is looking to go into in the US.
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, we're not focused on certain industries. In Belgium, we work for metal companies, building material companies. Yeah, all kinds of things. In the US, we work with DTI, in Jeffersonville. We work for MagnaWave (Louisville). We've got a lot of contacts here around the region. I would be happy to say, okay, we're working for them, but that's two weeks too soon to say okay.
Parashar Joshi:
Sure. Yeah. Well, it's good for people to know that you're not industry specific. Your technology, your automation, your customized building is meant for anybody that can require that in a manufacturing industry, right?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, correct. That's the key. We're now in Belgium, we're working for automotive companies at the moment with some robotic equipment we're working for, and that's actually a great thing that we're doing. You might've seen a Natural Geographic, the big aquariums that they make waves to do some testing. We're making a wave generator at the moment. Yeah, that's just a cool thing. Wow. I'm an engineer. I just love to do those things. Give me a challenge and we'll make sure we will manage them.
Parashar Joshi:
Perfect. The solution for companies really is what you end up being now, right?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah.
Parashar Joshi:
Yeah. Love it. Awesome. Anything else you want to add to the situation that you think it's important for people to know?
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, for us, Kentucky is a great cultural fit. It's more pragmatic. It's not like on the coasts. We like the Midwest. It's like doing business in Belgium, a little bit different, but in general, it's just great being here.
Parashar Joshi:
Yeah. The US people love Belgium until they beat us in soccer. Then we have a concern there that real football has been taking place in the World Cup, and we forgive the Belgium for that though. It's okay.
Jan Jansen:
Thank you.
Steve Marks:
And great cycling culture. You guys have a great cycling culture there. I follow it strongly.
Parashar Joshi:
Listen, I think, Jan, you picked a great city, a great state, and a great organization like the World Trade Center to work with to help you grow your business. I think we're proud to have new companies come in from Steve and I being parts of the organization supporting that. And I think we wish you nothing but the success. And I think everybody on the podcast that listens to you will learn how you're going to grow your company and how it's going to grow. And we'd love to have a follow-up several months from now about how the company is growing. And then a year from now, we're talking about potentially maybe a manufacturing conversation about where we're establishing something within Kentucky. So that'd be awesome.
Jan Jansen:
Yeah, it would be great to do that. Yeah.
Parashar Joshi:
Perfect.
Jan Jansen:
Appreciate it.
Parashar Joshi:
Lovely. Thank you, sir.
Jan Jansen:
Thank you so much.
Steve Marks:
Thank you for your time. Thank you for coming over here, and for your work.
Jan Jansen:
Thank you for having me as a member of the World Trade Center.
Parashar Joshi:
Love It.
Jan Jansen:
Absolutely.
Parashar Joshi:
Great.
For More Information about Jansen Electro Techniek:
Website: www.J-E-T.be
Thank you for listening to today's episode. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. You can find more information on our website at wtcky.org. Be sure to register for the upcoming events. Until next time, from all of us at the World Trade Center Kentucky, and our This Global Trade Adventure podcast, remember, if it involves global business at the World Trade Center Kentucky, we grow trade.
Upcoming WTCKY EVENTS:
- 09/29/26 – 10/01/26 – International Trade Certification
- 12/05/26 – 12/11/26 – Dubai Trade Mission 2026
- 04/04/27 – 04/07/26 – Vietnam Trade Mission 2027
Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow This Global Trade Adventure on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.WTCKY.com/podcast.