Baleno - When Country Clothing meets High Tec Innovation
Baleno Innovative Country Styling
Country clothing conjures up all sorts of images, from country pursuits like fishing, horse riding and hill walking to meandering through bluebell filled pathways and running through fields of gold. For over fifty years Baleno have been giving you the clothing to do this not only in style but in some of the most advanced, modern, and outstanding, technological fabric of the moment.
In the 1960’s fabric was just fabric no one really understood it to be anymore than what it was. Barely anyone had heard the term technological textiles and definitely no one was wearing any.
Jean-Jacques Sioen was about to change all that. A visual entrepreneur he realised that there was investment to made in technological textiles and soon built his first small coating company in Beveren-Roeselare (Belgium).
In 1967 Jean-Jacque’s wife, Jacqueline, saw the apparent potential in the coating and started her own apparel workshop in Roeselare, using the Sioen coated materials to make rainwear for fishermen, farmers, etc.
Jean-Jacques and Jacqueline Sioen
The commitment to one another, not only through marriage but through business acumen and entrepreneurial belief has led to Jean-Jacques, Jacqueline and their daughters expanding the business to the Internationally listed company it is today.
One of Jean-Jacque’s favourite expressions was “Standing still is going backwards” and the company did not stand still throughout the 70’s and 80’s the business went from strength to strength. Eventually the company outgrew its founding buildings and the company moved to Ardooie which was to become the headquarters and still is today even though a fire in 1991 destroyed the original building.
The set back of the fire would be a call for most companies to throw the towel in but not the Sioen family, in fact the opposite happened, the set back added new impetus and a state-of-the-art production plant was built.
Jean-Jacque’s mantra was ‘protection through innovation’ and investment was plied into applications, markets, products, new processes, and techniques. Today the company is the world market leader in technical textiles, professional protective clothing, and fine chemicals.
Baleno is a subsidiary of SIOEN Apparel. Born from a need to design technically advanced clothing for the demanding pursuits of the country enthusiast Sioen has used its state-of-the-art technical abilities to produce country clothing which not only is aesthetically pleasing but has been stringently tested to guarantee a product that does what it says on the tin.
Having their own top of the range facilities including a ballistic laboratory with its own shooting range Sioen’s laboratories compete with some of the top research institutes in the world keeping them well ahead of their competitors.
Baleno has used the knowledge garnered from its founders to make exceptional quality clothing for the everyday country clothing consumer. With there own research and development facilities they can produce revolutionary products that will keep you warm, dry and stylish wherever the countryside takes you.
Visit Holland's Baleno Collection
