BELGIUM
As was expected to happen, (see last week’s issue), Belgian bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer Van Hool, which was declared bankrupt on Monday 8 April, has been taken over by a partnership of Dutch competitor VDL and German trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull. Local media reported that entrepreneur and Mellor saviour Guido Dumarey had shown renewed interest, via a partnership with Van Hool’s US distributor ABC Companies, a bid which it was said would preserve more jobs in Belgium.
Under the terms of the VDL/Schmitz take-over, only between 650 and 950 of the 2,500 employees will keep their jobs. Whilst Schmitz Cargobull is interested in the trailer division of Van Hool, VDL is believed to be focussed mainly on the coach business, given that VDL itself offers a range of city buses. Van Hool had already found itself struggling in that market; its bus production had moved to Macedonia to cut costs, and the company’s initial focus on hydrogen meant a slow start to electric bus production, with resultant correspondingly high prices for batteries.
Van Hool’s trustees said that the bid from VDL and Schmitz Cargobull meant the company could make a new start much faster. A longer restart process could have meant that both production and distribution would have come to a standstill, which would have destroyed the company’s value and had negative consequences for employment. One source told local media outlets: “Specialised employees are needed, especially for the special products that Van Hool manufactures.
These are people in shortage occupations, such as welders. If you leave these people in uncertainty for months, they will look for and find another job.”
