Scaling Industrial Business in Europe Despite Economic Hurdles | Jo De Wolf, Montea

Is Europe's biggest obstacle to industrial growth Europe itself? Europe has the capital, engineering expertise, industrial companies, and infrastructure to compete globally. Yet turning those strengths into new factories, logistics facilities, and long-term investment is becoming increasingly difficult. Energy costs, limited industrial land, lengthy permitting procedures, infrastructure constraints, fragmented markets. For businesses trying to build and expand in Europe, these are not abstract economic problems. They influence where companies invest, how they operate, and whether ambitious projects can move forward. Is Europe creating the very conditions that make its businesses less competitive? In this episode of Dranaissance, Brecht Seifi, Founder & CEO of DraghiAI, sits down with Jo De Wolf, CEO of Montea, to explore the realities of building and scaling a business in Europe. Jo brings the perspective of a leader who helped grow Montea from a real estate portfolio of approximately €200 million into a major European logistics real estate company with a portfolio valued at approximately €3.2 billion, as discussed in the episode. His experience provides a direct view of the relationship between industrial investment, logistics, infrastructure, and Europe's wider economic competitiveness. The conversation raises an important question: Can Europe remain a global industrial power if the practical conditions for building, investing, and expanding become increasingly difficult? TOGETHER, THEY EXPLORE: • Why Europe struggles to translate its industrial and economic strengths into greater business growth. • What Jo De Wolf learned while scaling Montea into a major European logistics real estate company. • Whether European bureaucracy and permitting procedures are making industrial development more difficult. • Why energy availability and infrastructure are becoming increasingly important considerations for industrial investment. • How limited industrial land affects the ability of businesses to expand in strategically important locations. • Why Europe's fragmented markets create additional challenges for companies seeking to scale. • The relationship between logistics real estate, manufacturing, supply chains, and European economic growth. • How geopolitical uncertainty is changing the way businesses think about supply chain resilience. •…