© BELGIUM
“The disappointment and impact of the bankruptcy remain great,” the Christian trade union ACV responded after an agreement with VDL-Schmitz Cargobull. Yet there are prospects for the manufacturing industry.
The epilogue at bus builder Van Hool was thus settled by time pressure. A “quick restart” promised by the curators sealed the fate of the bus builder. The bidding war between the various clans did not materialize afterwards.
According to Kim Samison (ACV), the blow will take some time to process. “First and foremost for the employees and their families, but also for the region and the manufacturing industry,” she says. “This company failed with a fantastic product and employees.”
By postponing the takeover – delaying distribution – Van Hool would both lose income and cause a brain drain. Hundreds of employees have already reported to VDAB since Monday. VDL-Schmitz Cargobull would have had better cards in that respect through the ‘flash bankruptcy’. It is interesting for prospective acquirers to only invest if the debts are forgiven.
Because every hour counted in Lier, the Christian union wants to learn lessons and look for perspective. “The board of trustees has done the necessary homework,” said Samison. “After all the plot twists and uncertainty, there is now only the way forward.”
Other options
The Belgian bidders for Van Hool lost out in extremis on Wednesday evening. The complementary offer at the beginning of this week, by Guido Dumarey, his American partner ABC and the Belgian investment company CIM Capital, was rejected. Both the Dutch VDL and Dumarey came with ultimatums. Both ABC and CIM Capital have a connection with Van Hool.
The final agreement in principle for the parts at Van Hool was concluded by the curators on Wednesday evening with bus manufacturer VDL and the German trailer builder Schmitz Cargobull. One will be responsible for the bus and coach division, the other for trailers.
Crisis manager Marc Zwaaneveld, who has now left Van Hool, had personally prepared an agreement with the Dutch-German tandem. The tandem would provide work for a maximum of 950 people within the proposed restart. The trustees and the unions had expressed doubts whether the competing bid would actually create substantially more jobs.
The exact numbers of employees who can stay in Lier will be announced in the coming weeks by the two acquirers. In North Macedonia, production should in principle normalize.