MHK Congress 2026: joint perspectives and cooperation at center stage

On May 3 and 4, the joint MHK Congress 2026 of MHK Netherlands and MHK Belgium took place at the Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk. Under the guiding motto “Creating Value Together,” partners from trade, industry and the MHK community came together to discuss current market issues, exchange experiences and formulate perspectives for further business development.

Central to the two-day event were knowledge transfer and active interaction between participants. The aim was to develop sustainably successful solutions for the kitchen and sanitary trade and to further strengthen cooperation.

Strategic cooperation in the Benelux central

Cooperation in Europe is an essential part of the MHK strategy and also defines cooperation within MHK's Benelux cluster. Marc Asbeek Brusse, general director of MHK Netherlands and MHK Belgium, emphasized, “‘Creating Value Together’ is daily practice within the MHK Group. Especially in an international context, the added value of open exchange and joint development for sustainable growth is apparent.”

Orientation in a dynamic market environment

A strategic look at the development of the MHK Group and the market landscape was given by Volker Klodwig, CEO of the MHK Group. He underlined the importance of a clear positioning of the company: “Added value arises where stability and further development come together,” Klodwig said. “Our strength lies in the common: we bundle expertise and competencies, offer orientation to our partners and remain competitive even in a dynamic market.”

This is supported by MHK Group's presented 2025 operating results. The MHK Group increased its total gross sales to 9.664 billion euros in 2025, an increase of 5.1 percent over the previous year. The European subsidiaries developed particularly strongly: with sales of 3.608 billion euros, they achieved growth of 8.6 percent. At the same time, the number of affiliated partners also continued to increase: in 2025, 72 new branches joined the cooperative, bringing the total to 4,382 affiliated partners.

Awards and content momentum

A regular part of the MHK Congress was the presentation of the “The Golden Triangle” award. This award values kitchen and bathroom designs that convince through clear space concepts, high design quality and craftsmanship precision. The nominated projects were judged by the public via live voting, after which the favorites were chosen.

A substantive focus was set with the keynote by the duo Rob Mollien and Emiel Lensen. With a mix of sharp analysis, interaction and self-mockery, they focused attention on themes such as operational blindness, customer focus and revenue growth. Their contribution invited reflection and offered valuable thinking impulses for entrepreneurship in practice.

Practical added value and personal exchange

For the second time, the program was complemented by hands-on workshops, which provided participants with concrete ideas and tools for daily business operations. In addition, during the MHK Industry Talk, Geert de Keyzer (nobilia), Stefan Verhoeven (Miele Benelux), Francis Ghistelinck (Novy) and Geert-Jan Engbers (Kemie) discussed current market developments, strategic challenges and future perspectives of cooperation. Central questions were about joint responses to changing customer expectations and the role of partnership between industry, trade and MHK.

The MHK Congress 2026 clearly demonstrated: value creation occurs where people take joint responsibility, share knowledge and actively shape development. With the guiding motto “Creating Value Together,” the congress provided a strong framework for constructive dialogue and partnership-based, future-oriented cooperation within the MHK community.