Логотип Van Hool '1947–н.ч.

Van Hool was a family company. Founded in 1947 by patriarch Bernard Van Hool, six of its first 22 employees were relatives: Bernard himself, a brother-in-law, four sons. By 1954 its name was changed to Van Hool en Zonen (and sons). As the wealth and prestige attached to the family company grew, so too did the family: Bernard would go on to have 10 children in total: eight sons, two daughters.

Bernard had a lifelong fascination with machines and already had a few inventions under his belt before World War II. It was perhaps no surprise then that the company had a strong pilot, their first coachworks inspired by large American cars in terms of design and model. When the market dipped in the early 1950s, they found business in the Belgian Congo and shipped to Leopoldville, later leveraging this to expand elsewhere in Africa: Nigeria, Angola, Tunisia and especially Algeria.

Next came a partnership with Fiat, then the start of manufacturing industrial vehicles, then a deal with CIÉ in Ireland, with some exports to the UK. The British were fond enough of the Belgian buses that they awarded them ‘Coach of the Year’ five times in the British Coach Rally’s ‘Concours d'Elegance’. Van Hool won over audiences in the Japanese market in the 1980s with double-decker buses via Meitetsu Group, then expanded back home in the 1990s by purchasing LAG Manufacturing in Bree, Belgium. By the mid-70s, their industrial vehicles were being sold in outlets from Europe to the Middle East, with high ratings in Asia and Africa, to boot.

Bernard himself was behind the figurative wheel at all times, shaping the company’s range of offerings around his own demands and even opening a welding school to ensure he’d have enough skilled workers to meet needs. But as business boomed despite multiple season-finale-worthy recessions, all was far from well within the growing Van Hool family empire.

The family drama centres around the daughters, Ingrid and Simone, who’d been kept out of the shareholding right up until Bernard died unexpectedly while visiting a building fair in Brussels in 1974.

When the sisters saw that three of their eight brothers were being bought out of the company years later, the family feud spilled into the courts. The daughters secured a favourable ruling on their share of the inheritance, but this particular plotline was far from over.

As the company’s ranks swelled and the family dispute only further festered, 4,000 workers (with around 2,500 of those employees in Belgium) became potential collateral damage to infighting and legal battles – their jobs tied to family-run branches where said-family weren’t on speaking terms with one another.

Yet work went on and Van Hool secured a minority stake in ABC Bus Companies, further opening the door to the North American market and dazzling a new continent with luxury coaches. Trade journalists there dubbed Van Hool’s A330 Bus of the Year in 2003, and Americans swooned over their debut of the world’s most advanced hydrogen-powered bus in 2005. The company celebrated anniversaries and milestones, while the family behind it continued to bicker bitterly.

Then, Covid-19. And while still struggling to recover (the pandemic hit them a bit harder, perhaps, given their background in touristic coaches), disaster.

Lost contracts spelling doom are a manufacturing tale as old as time, perfect for a series finale. But even after a bankruptcy proceeding messier than a Rupert Murdoch divorce, there were still some companies interested in extending a hand and a lifeline to renew the show.

Willing to take on the challenge was VDL Groep. The van der Leegtes behind VDL (its name an homage to their own) were no strangers to the Van Hools. Pieter van der Leegte founded his Dutch company across the border around the same time Bernard Van Hool founded his and entered the bus market in the 1990s when the company was under the care of his son, Wim. Wim and Bernard frequented the same trade fairs and industry events. They were competitors, but friendlier with one another than the Van Hools ever seem to be with each other.

In 2014, Willem van der Leegte (Pieter’s grandson) visited a Van Hool factory in Macedonia upon the invitation of Filip Van Hool (Bernard’s son). There was mutual respect, admiration even.

Those parts include all intellectual property, design rights, software, product names, equipment and machines from Van Hool, but none of the warranty obligations for pre-agreement sales, which evaporated in the bankruptcy procedure.

However, VDL Groep did not bring in capital or even ally with the company itself. It effectively invested by buying several separate parts of Van Hool, a strategic move in terms of brand and identity.

The De Lijn contract that Van Hool lost went to BYD Auto, a Chinese multinational manufacturing company whose offer came in 20% cheaper than every European bus maker competing for the order. With China knocking off a fifth of the price, none of the European competitors stood a chance and soon Flemish residents will be shuttled around their cities on Chinese buses.

While the contract with De Lijn was important, it wasn’t profitable. One expert even put the loss at €100,000 per bus delivered. But Van Hool sought a place in the city bus market segment to show it was still a player – so losing the bid to BYD was more a reputational than profit problem.

VDL Van Hool is now selling its coaches in North America, where the market seems promising and the ABC deal offers opportunities.

https://www.brusselstimes.com