Deceuninck North America Names Joren Knockaert as its New President & CEO

Deceuninck North America Inc. Names Joren Knockaert as its New President & CEO

Mr. Knockaert Succeeds Longtime President & CEO, Filip Geeraert

Deceuninck North America today named Joren Knockaert as its new President & CEO. The company appointed Mr. Knockaert to succeed Filip Geeraert, who announced his retirement as President & CEO this spring. Mr. Geeraert will now serve as Chairman of the Deceuninck North America Board of Directors.

Francis Van Eeckhout, CEO of Deceuninck Group, the parent company of Deceuninck North America, says Mr. Knockaert comes to Deceuninck with extensive global experience and a deep understanding of vinyl manufacturing.

“Joren is an outstanding organizational leader with a keen eye for new product development and nurturing talent,…We are excited to have him step in to orchestrate our continued growth at Deceuninck North America.”

Francis Van Eeckhout, CEO of Deceuninck Group

Mr. Knockaert comes to Deceuninck from Mohawk Industries, the world’s largest flooring company, whereas VP of Operations he ran Mohawk-IVC’s North American operations in sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl flooring. In addition to overseeing four manufacturing plants, Mr. Knockaert guided the start-up of a $200M state-of-the-art facility to produce next-generation LVT product.

Prior to Mohawk, Mr. Knockaert had executive roles with Bekaert, the global steel wire transformation and coatings company, managing operations in China and production in Belgium. He started his career with Solutia, the American manufacturer of chemical-based materials, working with their PVB and artificial turf extrusion division in Gent.

“The fenestration industry is well-primed for innovation in products and processes. I believe Deceuninck North America is ideally positioned to advance innovation, design, and reliability for each of our fabricators across the continent.”

Mr. Knockaert sees a significant opportunity for Deceuninck North America ahead.

Mr. Knockaert holds an Industrial Engineering degree in Electro-Mechanics from KHBO and a Civil Engineering degree in Manufacturing & Management from KU Leuven.

“Joren has the skills, expertise, and leadership qualities 2 that will take us into new territory. I am looking forward to working with him and our Board to continue our transformation into a new age of fenestration.”

Mr. Geeraert confirms.

Following the resolution of administrative delays caused by the COVID-19 crisis, Mr. Knockaert will join the DNA team on August 1, 2020.