Patrick Van Glabeke, the founder of Positronica and Computer 2000, has passed away suddenly. He was 67 years old. ‘Patrick Van Glabeke laid the foundations for the IT distribution in Belgium.’
Patrick Van Glabeke was a particularly well-known entrepreneur in the IT landscape of the last century. Although he was trained in the nuclear sector, this empathetic and charismatic enthusiast quickly realised that the IT sector was set to be the future.
In the mid-1980s, he set up the distribution company Positronica in Erpe-Mere. That was long before the major American players such as Microsoft or Compaq had established a presence in our country. ‘It was one of the first distributors in Europe and represented many companies that are now among the very IT-leaders.’
In the late 1980s, Patrick Van Glabeke set up Computer 2000 in Ternat, near Brussels, which grew to become the country’s largest distributor. ‘Close to two thirds of all PCs passed through the Computer 2000 warehouse,’ recalls one of the first employees. ‘He was an incredible entrepreneur who was always keen to seek out new products, long before anyone else had even heard of them,’ said another employee.
Computer 2000, which had its headquarters in Germany, was acquired in April 1998 by Tech Data (now TD Synnex) for the equivalent of over 300 million euros. The name Computer 2000 disappeared from Belgium in April 2000. At that time, it had 3,500 customers and distributed products from 180 suppliers.
Patrick Van Glabeke had previously left the group and then turned his attention to the automotive sector, where he founded Curbstone. He competed at Le Mans, and in the 24 Hours of Zolder and Spa, where he finished second in his category.
With the passing of Patrick Van Glabeke, we have lost a pioneer who helped shape and build the current IT landscape.
