Invaders Amplification: the Walloon success story exported to Europe

In July 2024, François Descamps celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Hutto-based company. For 10 years, he has been repairing and building amplifiers for guitars and basses. For some years now, he has been exporting his creations to Europe. His goal? One day to export his amplifiers to the United States.

10 years ago (in July 2014), François Descamps, freshly graduated as a sound engineer, launched his company in Huy: Invaders Amplification. The aim? To repair top-brand amplifiers for guitars and basses. Five years later, François Descamps decided to build his own amplifiers. “Even though I knew something about repairing, manufacturing was something else again. It's a bit like starting from scratch,” explains the craftsman.

Behind this project is a desire to offer a product that's as local as possible. “There are some electronic components that you can't find in Belgium. But the joinery and aluminum frames come from Belgium. Assembly is also done in my workshop in Huy,” he explains.

The success of Invaders Amps? “The amplifiers can be customized according to customer tastes. It's a bit like buying a car. There's the basic model, and then you can choose the different options you want,” explains François Descamps. He also offers a high-quality after-sales service.

Export to Europe

Given the success of his amplifiers in Belgium, François Descamps decided to export his creations outside Wallonia. “Belgium is a small country, so I started by going to France, where I received a very warm welcome. Craftsmen are often well received. Then I exported to neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Germany. Since this year, I've had a European distributor, enabling me to gain a new point of sale every month in Europe”, explains our contact.

His goal? To export to the UK and the USA. “These are the cradles of music. So it's a very important objective for me. The UK should be quicker thanks to the European distributor. Plus, there's less water to cross than in the US”, he smiles.

Several artists are ambassadors for his brand. “One of my proudest achievements is to have the French group Skip The Use and the Belgian group Black Mirrors. They're two references in their field. What's more, they're the ones who approached me in the first place. It's a great story."

To purchase one of Invaders Amplification's amplifiers, you'll need to budget between 1,000 and 2,200 euros, depending on the specific features required.