ABC welcomes King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Mathilde, along with Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

The heads of state, accompanied by numerous Belgian and Luxembourg dignitaries, were received by CEO Tim Berckmoes, along with Mrs. and Mr. Froidbise, the founder and president of the Ogepar Group.

During the state visit, four production halls were visited and stops were made along various sites for explanations. Emphasis was placed on the innovation and technology ABC is focussing on to materialise the energy transition.

A stop was made at a BeHydro containerized hydrogen engine. This engine type is fully operational and available today. The BeHydro 100% hydrogen engines can deliver up to 2.7 MW of power and is "zero emission". In other words, only water vapour is emitted!
The next stop was at a test cabin with an ABC engine running on (green) methanol. This new fuel, CO₂ neutral when made from renewable energy, is a good alternative for shipping and helps in the energy transition towards 2050.

In an adjacent hall, a large milling machine with a large engine block was on display. ABC not only develops, assembles and tests engines, not less than 85% of all engine components are produced internally. For this purpose, ABC has its own four foundries. Even the turbochargers are developed and produced within the group itself. This ensures a secure supply chain which offers an additional competitive advantage in an ever-changing geopolitical trade market.

ABC attaches extreme importance to quality. Every critical engine component is dimensionally checked in detail before being assembled. In the same hall, a stop was made at a high precision 3D measuring cabin. As part of a thorough quality control process, this 3D measuring cabin makes it possible to measure both large and small parts with accuracies of up to 1 µm (micrometer).

In the 3rd production hall, a large 12-cylinder DV36 type engine was shown on a test bench. This engine type can be used for both marine applications and land-based power generation. To make the link to the horsepower of this 12DV36, a statue of a horse was exhibited next to this engine. Here, the horse symbolises 1 horsepower where the 12DV36 engine develops more than 10,000 hp...
And to get a better idea of the power of this heavy-duty engine, the heads of state could start it with the push on a single button!

In addition to more than 3,000 solar panels on the roofs of the 9 production halls and office buildings, ABC can reuse the generated energy from this test bench, allowing the company to operate completely "off grid" (without external power supply). It is also possible to re-inject the generated energy from this test bench into the local electricity grid whereby, in case of emergency, 1/3 of the city of Ghent could be powered.

In the 4th and last hall, a stop was made at a 4-cylinder engine from the innovative Evolve engine platform. This engine is future-proof and fuel flexible and offers a safe investment for our customers. The engine was developed to run on different types of fuel, avoiding potential risks such as the availability of (new) fuels, geopolitical decisions and tensions, price volatility of (new) fuels, etc.

With a wink to ABC's rich Ghent past, a historic type “2G” 2-cylinder 50hp engine from 1931 was displayed alongside this Evolve four-cylinder engine.
Old and new came together nicely. A little further on followed a photo opportunity where the heads of state posed by the 7,200 kW flagship from the Evolve engine range: the 20EV23.

At the final stop of the tour, the Vynckier site was explained. ABC will clean up and renovate this 5-hectare site in order to create an active industrial destination with the possibility of training for energy transition, lifelong learning and workplace learning.

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