Who are we
Arop is a sheltered workshop in Wilrijk, which provides work for 219 employees with an occupational disability, accompanied by 35 people. Arop is a sheltered workshop in two directions: on the one hand we provide work tailored to the capacities of our employees, on the other hand we deliver services tailored to the needs of the customer.
The location of our sheltered workshop in Wilrijk has 8,500 m² modernized workshops: a machine park, warehouses and offices + 2,000 m² refrigerated space for storage and packaging, but also the processing of open and closed food.
Companies that want to spend their production or part thereof can contact us for this.
Meet the Team
Olivier Janssens
Managing Director
Guy De Boeck
Director of Production & Staff Services
Luc Jannes
Director of Personnel Services & Social Affairs
Luc Schuit
Manager Commercial Service Sales & Marketing
Martine Brosius
QA
Peter Beulens
Bert Berteloot
Accountancy
Carina Joris
Farhan Omar
Social service
Veerle Van der Goten
Dirk Vermant
Stephane Brys
Ken Verswijvel
Production office
History
On October 25, 1961, Dr. Rene Smeyers, Mr. Michel Verwulgen, Mr Theo De Cuyper, Mr Leo Vandeputte established the non-profit organization Social Rehabilitation Foundation.
Completely independent of any denominational or political group or institution, these people had an ideal: they cared for the fate of a disadvantaged group of people with disabilities.
As a result, the Sheltered Workshop AROP was started in October 1965.
AROP stands for ARbeids-OPleiding. Since its foundation, the goal has been: to offer people with disabilities the opportunity to gain work experience and to offer opportunities for advancement into the normal work cycle.
AROP started its activities with one able-bodied and seven disabled persons in a rented house in Borgerhout. The initial capital was 300,000 borrowed Belgian francs.
Some highlights
In 1970 an old industrial building of 2300 m² was purchased. The successive renovations in 1982 and 1987 tripled our surface.
Together with the acquisition in 1979 of a second branch in Wommelgem, the total surface area was already 7 times more. In 1992, a third workshop with a surface area of 4000 m² was put into use.
The last renovations of the workshop in Borgerhout date back to 1995 and brought the total area to 22,000 m² site surface.
These expansions were only possible due to the steady growth in orders that increased the workforce. This created a lack of space. By 1995 the workforce had grown to more than 300 people with disabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
