Hardware that changes lives deserves a story that does the same.

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shared expertise, bigger impact

international press coverage

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manley is a strategic PR and storytelling agency. We help organisations earn the recognition they deserve through the media, so their impact lands with audiences and policymakers. Since 2014 we've spotted the strongest stories inside companies and put them on the page with edge. From Antwerp, across Europe. In a world full of AI content, authentic stories are the only ones that still count.

hardware & manufacturing · structural visibility, year after year

Comate engineers at work / iconic product (Comate image library)

Comate grew fast. manley built the media strategy that kept that growth story visible: from product launches to expert positions.

Comate is a Belgian developer and manufacturer of innovative hardware for large companies, universities and startups. With more than ninety engineers, designers and product developers, the company delivers around a hundred high-tech products a year — from early prototype to production. Strong in medtech and life sciences, but active across many more sectors.

The products Comate builds are striking. The Onward implant that helps people with spinal cord injuries move again. The device for Trince that optimises personalised cancer treatments using laser beams and nanotechnology. The bankcard-sized mini-lab for Blood2collect, letting you take a blood sample yourself at home.

Hardware innovations are often the quiet force behind big success stories. The market knew Comate as a reliable partner — but it was time to give them the spotlight they deserve: not just as the expert behind the scenes, but as the engine behind the innovation.

MetaMAP product photo

a PR strategy on two tracks

manley built a PR strategy on two tracks: partner stories and own thought leadership. Both reinforce each other.

Track 1 — via clients.

Comate has grown into a mark of quality. As soon as a client launches a major innovation, Comate's involvement is the proof of technological excellence. manley made that unique position the thread through the communication: at every partner product launch, Comate provides the credibility and organically claims its own rightful place in the spotlight.

That delivered coverage in De Morgen and L'Echo around the launch of the MetaMAP tool with Perseus Biomics — a breakthrough in gut flora analysis. And on Trends Z around the partnership with Bloomlife on prenatal at-home monitoring for pregnant women.

Track 2 — own voice.

Alongside the partners' success stories, manley built Comate's position as the thought leader in the Belgian hardware industry. Because while European manufacturing is under pressure, Comate sees real opportunities right now — especially in Belgium. As a hardware expert, they've proven for fifteen years that you can successfully develop and produce high-tech products here. Comate speaks with authority about what's possible today, what needs to be better tomorrow, and how policy can really strengthen our ecosystem.

We translated that vision into tangible impact. It led to a sharp opinion piece in Trends: 'Turn Europe into the world's smart manufacturing hub'.

We also launched our own large-scale study into the explosive growth of spin-offs at Belgian universities. manley delivered the concept, ran the data collection, analysed the figures, and wrote the press release. But the real strength was in the co-creation: we actively involved the universities of Antwerp, Ghent and Liège in the project. By letting them speak in the press, the story gained serious academic weight. The approach paid off, with major, in-depth pieces in De Tijd and L'Echo.

L'Echo press clipping — 641 spin-offs from Belgian universities

L'Echo — 641 spin-offs from Belgian universities

We used the same coordinated approach for the opening of the new office in Liège — a critical strategic move into the strong Walloon medtech sector. manley didn't just handle the press release, but pitched and directed an in-depth report on Trends Z.

To make sure the message came across cleanly, we gave the management intensive media training upfront for every press action. For the TV interview specifically, we also prepared the narrative in detail. The result? Key figures who delivered the story sharply, comfortably and consistently on camera.

Opening of the Liège office / La Grand Poste — Sander Van den dries and Stefaan Motte

shared expertise, bigger impact

the power of co-creation

Successful product development is rarely the work of a single party. At Comate we see how their technological skill matches perfectly with the specific market knowledge of their clients. It's a textbook example of Belgian innovation.

manley translates that dynamic into clear positioning in the media. We don't claim the success of one side, but tell the story of the collaboration. We show the path two teams take together to move an idea to a product that meets the strictest international standards.

By spotlighting both the concrete client cases and Comate's own industry expertise, we build a credible and consistent brand story.

Thought leadership:

opinion piece

'Turn Europe into the world's smart manufacturing hub'

in Trends (AVE: €3,474). Own study on spin-offs at Belgian universities — major pieces in De Tijd and L'Echo.

Partner communication:

Perseus Biomics x Comate (MetaMAP): De Morgen (print + online), L'Echo (print + online), Kanaal Z, De Vlaamse Ondernemer, Engineering.net, Made in Vlaams-Brabant and international trade press in the UK. Bloomlife x Comate: report on Trends Z. Comate Ventures x Zeal Robotics: trade and regional press.

Own news:

opening of the Liège office — press release + Trends Z report. Four years in a row in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50.

Comate has never lacked strong stories; what was missing was a structural method to get them into the media consistently.

manley brought that structure. By playing both tracks — the success of partners and their own thought leadership — in parallel, Comate now claims a place in the press at every key moment: at major client launches, in the middle of the sector debate, and around their own growth news.

Complex hardware rarely hits the headlines on its own. With a deliberate, strategic PR approach, it does.

about manley

manley is a strategic PR and storytelling agency. We help organisations earn the recognition they deserve through the media, so their impact lands with audiences and policymakers. Since 2014 we've spotted the strongest stories inside companies and put them on the page with edge. From Antwerp, across Europe. In a world full of AI content, authentic stories are the only ones that still count.