Captain of industry Guido Dumarey says he’s a candidate to take over ailing bus manufacturer Van Hool. He promises to keep bus production and 1,800 jobs in Koningshooikt (Lier – Antwerp), but the company would first have to be declared bankrupt first.
Van Hool faces bankruptcy at the end of this month. The bus maker is looking for additional financing to turn the business around.
Mr Dumarey is an entrepreneur with a lot of experience. He has acquired and rescued several companies in the past.
He built a new industrial group Punch Powerglide with plants in France, Italy and the UK. It currently employs 3,500 people. Just last year, he bought Woodall Nicholson, a UK manufacturer of smaller buses that had also run into problems.
"The companies I acquired all had problems. The experience I gained I would definitely be able to use if I were to take over Van Hool. The craftsmanship at Van Hool should not be lost and I see a future for it."
Retaining full bus production and 1,800 jobs
Dumarey has great ambitions for Van Hool. He wants to keep full bus production in Koningshooikt and it wants to employ 1,800 people. This is a very different approach to the plan of crisis manager Marc Zwaaneveld, who wants to cut 1,100 jobs in Flanders and transfer bus production to northern Macedonia.
According to Dumarey, the main thing is to cut costs. "We need to standardise more. That way we can keep up with European competition. Inflation in recent years has had a big effect on manufacturing companies, as energy costs have also risen sharply."
'Flash bankruptcy'
According to Dumarey, if Van Hool wants a future, it would first have to go bankrupt and then start up again. A so-called 'flash bankruptcy' in which the bankruptcy of the old company is arranged by an appointed receiver. Receivers will then also arrange the restart of the company in a new structure. It’s a system that has existed in the Netherlands for some time.
"It is far too complex to take over a company in this situation. First a receiver has to sell the company, so it can start with a clean slate. The employees then start working for another employer without any difficulties. I am convinced that my plan will work, but of course I am not the only candidate," Dumarey concludes.