The history

In the mid 90’s, Karel Perriëns joined a family business producing funeral monuments. The family members were very skilled stone masons and there couldn't have been a better place to learn the real meaning of granite industry. It was the time when Indian granites were finding their way to the market. Soon after he joined, the family business developed a successful import activity of finished monuments from India and South Africa. In 2001, motivated by wider perspectives, Karel then joined Brachot, a well-known name among stone companies. In line with his experience, Karel was asked to set-up and manage a department within the company for purchasing and marketing imported monuments from India and later China. The business from China was booming at that time, not only for monuments but for the whole range of granite products. On behalf of Brachot Karel moved to China in 2005 to set-up an import-export company with the intention to distribute blocks from Norway on one hand, and manage the supply chain of Chinese products shipped to Europe on the other hand.

IThe aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis caused a change of plan and Karel was invited to return to Europe. An offer to head the Far East operations (China-Vietnam) for Marshalls PLC, market leader for landscape projects in the UK, made him stay in China. For Marshalls, he built and managed a team of 8 specialists, including 3 professional inspectors, an engineer, an AutoCAD designer and 2 employees responsible for logistics and admin. Being Belgian, Karel masters Dutch, French and English. In the course of 20 years, Karel studied Mandarin and speaks Chinese fluently. He was involved in numerous iconic projects. Due to changes in the business after Covid, Karel decided to set-up ISUP with his core team, an Integrated Service for Urban Projects. The intention of ISUP is to bridge the gap between cultures, specifically where projects are concerned. Experience has learned that things we take for granted, are not always as we think in the minds of those who produce our orders. It needs mutual understanding to avoid misinterpretations, and that's where ISUP comes in. Born and raised in Europe and married into the Chinese culture, Karel knows both worlds. Cooperating with ISUP can become an important added value to your business.