CANADA/BELGIUM: Aucxis merger with Schelfhout spearheading growth of perishable commodity auctions

"The partnership is working." This is how Luc Schelfhout described the relationship between SCS, the company he founded sixteen years ago, and Aucxis, the Canadian giant which acquired it earlier this year. The son of a Belgian farmer, Schelfhout knows the perishable commodity business from the ground up, and the electronic auction systems he makes for producer cooperatives and trading sites have won him a solid client base throughout Europe.It was this base, as well as SCS's established reputation, which attracted Aucxis to the Belgian group. Aucxis offered to overlay the core price forming functionality created by SCS with a range of financial services customers would find beneficial - and in time essential. Schelfhout had initial reservations, but jetted into London this week to tell just-food just how smoothly the merger has gone. The sizeable cash and share package he gained from the deal doubtless helped convince him of the sense of harnessing SCS to its Canadian suitor, but his continued involvement with the group is strong proof of his commitment.So far the news has all been good - since the merger Auxcis/Schelfhout has gained a number of important new customers including Turners & Growers Flower Group in New Zealand and the Dutch fish trading network EFICE. It has also begun developing new functionality to facilitate goods delivery.