Marcel Mourmans: “Business is like doing sport at the highest level!”

“On the relay track” is a series on Crossroads introducing local and regional personalities who have made their mark in the landscape of Limburg or who are still involved in developing the region. Each guest is asked to recommend and pass on the relay baton to the following personality to be featured on the series.

One cannot fully explore a city like Maastricht without examining its local history. It’s not just about taking a guided tour of the Basilica of Saint Servatius, or walking along other historical monuments on both sides of the river Meuse. No. It’s also important to look at the ordinary day to day activities of its citizens, and especially at local initiatives that stimulate the economy and employment in Maastricht and surroundings.

For this reason, Louk Hustinx suggested to hand the relay baton over to Marcel Mourmans (73), entrepreneur extraordinaire, a man for whom the word ‘retirement’ simply doesn’t exist.

Marcel Mourmans, photo by Gina Vodegel

“Mora kroket”
‘Een broodje kroket’ (a croquette sandwich) is a typical Dutch snack that can be found on almost every menu in popular lunchrooms around the country. Next to ‘de uitsmijter,’ the Dutch equivalent of ham & eggs, ‘een broodje kroket’ has become a classic dish loved by people from all ages and backgrounds.

A croquette sandwich: a typical Dutch snack

The croquette is an 18th century French invention that first appeared in Dutch cuisine around 1830. Nowadays, Dutch people commonly associate the word ‘kroket’ with the brand Mora that has made its mark for nearly fifty years. But did you know that this successful croquette first saw the light in a garage in Maastricht?

The success story of Mora begins in a butcher’s shop that used to be located at the corner of Alexander Battalaan and Sint Maartenslaan, close to where now stands cinema Minerva.

The name Mora is the result of the combination of two names: the “Mo” from the name of its founder Marcel Mourmans, and the “Ra” from his wife’s Robbie maiden name Ramaekers.

“Mora, de lekkerste kroket van Nederland”
(“Mora, the most delicious croquette in the Netherlands”), photo by Sueli Brodin

The trading business came naturally to young Marcel, whose father owned the butcher’s shop. “When I was in the fifth and sixth grade of elementary school, I bought these comics, “The Adventures of Dick Bos”. I’d let other kids borrow and read them for five cents a piece, “ Marcel Mourmans remembers with a large smile.

“I went to school until I was fourteen. My father arranged a job for me at a bakery when I told him I didn’t want to work in the butcher’s shop. It was a tough job with a difficult boss, but my father reckoned that I would really learn something there. At the age of seventeen I returned to the butcher’s shop, but I felt I needed to do more than just help customers for the rest of my life.”

“My idea was to get into business myself. In the meantime I’d managed to obtain some diplomas. I knew how to make sausages like “knakworst” and “bokworst” and sold those to local cafés and snack bars. Initially I delivered them to the clients on my bicycle, then with a carrier tricycle. After I’d served my time in the military, I bought a car and used that for my deliveries. All this was done with my girlfriend Robbie, who later became my wife. She has always been very supportive, and still is!”

One thing leading to another, Mourmans soon expanded his assortment of snacks. Besides sausages he manufactured croquettes, egg rolls, bami and nasi snacks (fried snack made of Indonesian style noodles and rice), all in a backroom of his father’s butcher’s shop.

Mora Snacks
In 1960, he moved his business to a larger space in a former garage, which he turned into a small but efficient workplace, thereby laying the foundation for what would later become a range of Mora Snacks factories.

Mora factory in Veldhoven

Cantina garden for factory workers, designed by Marcel Mourmans’ wife Robbie

Mourmans saw his original staff of less than a dozen employees grow into a workforce of about eight hundred over the years! But he felt that it was important for him to continue to work alongside the people on his payroll, on every level of the factory. “If problems occurred, I wanted to solve them myself. I like to see people in a good mood when at work. It is very important to make sure your employees are satisfied,” Mourmans says nodding.

In 1995 Mourmans decided to sell the Mora company and its three branches in Mol, Veldhoven and Maastricht to Unilever. This also happened the Mourmans way:

“They had approached me before to sell the company, but I took my time to make a final decision. When I did, I went to The Hague to negotiate a good deal, for my employees as well. But when I took another look at the figures, I saw that the factories weren’t operating at their full potential and I couldn’t stand behind the sale. So I cancelled the deal, went back to Maastricht and worked really hard in all three factories to reduce costs and upgrade productivity. When the factories started doing as well as I wanted, I contacted Unilever again and came to an agreement.”

Mora factory in Mol

“My goal is always to be the best!”
Passion, commitment and drive are no hollow words in a life well spent. If we ask Mourmans if there was anything else in his life besides Mora, his answer is quite entertaining. “In addition to my work for my company, I have always been passionate about sports. For 25 years I played water polo, even in national competitions, within the team representing the south of the Netherlands, until my shoulder acted up. I was 38 when I quit and then I started to play tennis. But I have this rule, that if I am to undertake something, my goal is to always be the best!”

Statue of the prestigious BDO Van Lanschot Prijs Limburg 1986 for outstanding entrepreneurship

“People who know me are already aware of this, but I think being in business is like doing sport at the highest level. You have to make sure that what you do and deliver is good. It’s also imperative to grant your competitors their share of success. As a tennis player I entered the competition for veterans, which is the age group of 35 years and older. I won many championship tournaments in Limburg. In the national championship I made it to the finals three times, but I never won. I did win doubles. There have also been numerous competitions in Belgium where I won.”

“When an injury forced me to quit playing tennis, I decided to play golf. I trained for more than ten years on about a ten-hour practice schedule a week including technique and hitting balls off the practice court. I spent five of those hours under the guidance of an excellent coach. Unfortunately I had to abandon my ambitions in golf due to a heavy injury. Now I swim, row, bicycle and walk, mainly to keep my body in shape and healthy. And I also play pool.”

All of these details are shared in a casual and lighthearted manner. Mourmans is merely giving the facts without any hint of ego or bragging. Those who know him as an employer, a fellow athlete or a business relation agree to describe him as a man who is simply driven, who gives himself with heart and soul to achieve whatever goal he sets up. It goes without saying that for Mourmans playing pool isn’t just about keeping in shape. “Yes,” he admits with a spirited smile, “my goal is for our club to make it to the national championships.”

A new challenge
Six years ago Mourmans acquired Thiessen Wijnkoopers, the oldest wine merchant in the Netherlands, located in Maastricht in a beautiful monumental building with breathtaking wine cellars. His wife Robbie, an interior designer and architect, renovated the entire building with the help of a dedicated team.

Marcel Mourmans helping out in the factory

“It’s a wonderful company with an impressive history dating back to 1740. We have invested in Thiessen the same time and effort that we had invested into Mora Snacks. I am proud of our staff who with all their experience and passion for the trade, manage to create a great atmosphere. Some of our employees have worked at Thiessen for more than forty years and some will probably stay until long after they’re entitled to retire, simply because they enjoy doing their job. The cellar master for example took that position 17 years ago!”

“I try to revive the old way of approaching the business and it works out well. Not long ago my wife and I, along with about seven or eight staff members, spent an entire Sunday taking stock in the wine cellars. This is what creates commitment, one of the ingredients of a successful life.”

By Gina Vodegel
Gina Vodegel (45), freelance writer/journalist
Writing Affairs

NB. The B&W photographs are courtesy of Marcel Mourmans.