-IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT ST. PAUL COMPETED IN THE BELCAR HISTORIC CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH ITS OWN RACE TEAM IN 2018. THE FAMILY BUSINESS HAS A PASSION FOR RACING! OF COURSE, THE FAMILY’S LOVE OF CARS AND TECHNOLOGY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE HERE. BESIDES, SPORT SHARES MANY SIMILARITIES WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
The similarity is in several aspects. In addition to good equipment – which is a must in both the production of our cheese solutions and in racing – dedication, passion and a winner’s mentality of the team are at least as important. Racing forces a team to step out of its comfort zone and be sharp. Precision and resilience are essential. After all, you have to deal with unexpected situations. All to achieve the common goal: winning. It is easy to draw a parallel between this and delivering top performance at work.
On the floor
St. Paul aims to be a global leader as a producer of high-quality and functional cheese solutions. For this, the team delivers top performance every day. After all, the company wants to excel in all areas of its operations. This requires the same characteristics as in racing. Due to the innovative, solution- and goal-oriented nature, St. Paul delivers high-quality standards all year round.
On the track
A love of cars has long lived in the Kuijl family. For father Dieter, this started with restoring classic cars and trucks and building a collection of vintage cars. Sons Wim and Tim were introduced to car racing through Trackdays – organised events by circuits. In 2017, Dieter competed in his first car race. This positive experience was the deciding factor for the formation of St Paul’s own racing team: drivers Dieter (Ford Capri), Wim (Ford Capri) and Tim Kuijl (BMW) and Samuel Verheggen (Mercedes in DTM version) and six mechanics. With great attention to detail, the cars are kept in original condition to ensure their authenticity. As a result, St. Paul’s race team will preserve the experience of these old legends – the 2 Ford Capri’s have even been labelled ‘rolling heritage’ by UNESCO – for future generations. 2018 saw the first full season in the Belcar Historic Cup: a championship suitable for old- and young-timers with a year of manufacture up to 2000 that, for the time being, takes place on circuits in Belgium. The team competes in four different categories.
Enthusiastic
Every race weekend – six in one season – the drivers’ entire family goes to the track with them. Business relations of St. Paul receive an invitation for these races to introduce them to the passion for racing. In addition to a pit walk and explanations about the team and racing, the races are the highlight of that weekend. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm for racing has led to St. Paul being title sponsor of the Belcar Historic Cup as of 2022. With this, the company aims to encourage racing with historic cars and make it more professional. You can think of organising more races abroad with the organisers and participants in due course, for example.