The South African company GRW will restart the production of industrial vehicles at the Van Hool site in Koningshooikt (Lier) next week. By the summer, a maximum of 350 people will be employed. In the meantime, everything indicates that the Dutch company VDL also wants to create hundreds of jobs in Koningshooikt.
The South African GRW, a partner company of the German Schmitz Cargobull, has entered into a definitive agreement with the liquidators of the bankrupt Van Hool to take over the ‘industrial vehicles’ department. In concrete terms, this concerns the production of tankers, semi-trailers and tank containers. “We will officially restart production in Koningshooikt on Monday, April 29,” says Gerhard van der Merwe, CEO of GRW. “In the first phase, all vehicles that are in a final phase of production will be completely finished by a limited number of employees. And in a second phase we will purchase parts with which we will produce industrial vehicles ourselves.”
“We want to be fully operational again by the beginning of June 2024. This is expected to result in employment of up to 350 people.”
Gerhard van der Merwe
CEO of GRW
READ ALSO. Who are the South Africans who want to build a new factory at the Van Hool site in Lier?
“In a third phase, the production of industrial vehicles will be fully restarted,” Van der Merwe explains. “Our goal is to be fully operational again by early June 2024. This is expected to result in employment of up to 350 people.” Flemish Minister of Economy Jo Brouns (CD&V) previously announced that GRW wants to build a brand new factory for industrial vehicles on the Van Hool site within two years. Even more jobs may be created in the new factory. For the time being, GRW is renting a building on the Van Hool site.
Gerhard van der Merwe is CEO of the South African company GRW, which will produce industrial vehicles at the Van Hool site from next week. — © RR
“Constructive” conversations
We are still waiting for concrete news about a restart of VDL on the Van Hool site. The Dutch company intends to take over Van Hool’s bus and coach division. “The discussions with the VDL Groep are still ongoing,” says curator Jeroen Pinoy. “They are proceeding constructively and will be concluded within the shortest possible time.” VDL has to hurry, because many people who have been fired from Van Hool have already been contacted by other companies. And VDL needs many of those people to make a new start. It seems that VDL wants to keep hundreds of jobs in Koningshooikt.
“The discussions with the VDL Groep are still ongoing; “They are proceeding constructively and will be concluded within the shortest possible time”
Jeroen Pinoy
Curator
READ ALSO. Restart at Van Hool is not immediate: acquirer VDL wants to understand the company first for “a few weeks”
When appointing VDL and GRW as candidate acquirers, the trustees made it clear that 650 to 950 jobs would be retained in Koningshooikt. Now that it is known that GRW wants to employ 350 people, there are still 300 to 600 jobs left, and these can only come from VDL. It now remains to be seen what exactly VDL wants to do in Koningshooikt. The Dutch company has just built a brand new bus factory in Roeselare, where 650 people are employed. It is clear that the Dutch want to expand their second strong branch in Flanders with Koningshooikt. Whether VDL will also produce buses there, or will limit itself to coaches, should become clear in the coming weeks.
Tags: South Africans restart production Van Hool site week Employment people Lier
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