2023-07-11 17:10:00
Do you remember the fable of the hare and the tortoise? The moral is very simple: there is no point in running, you have to start on time. It might inspire a comparison of the reconversions of the sites of Caterpillar, in Charleroi, and Ford, in Genk, both deserted by their owner-operators.
The factories have had very similar stories: the announcement of a closure in 2012 for the car manufacturer from Limburg, implemented in December 2014; and in 2016 for the American construction machinery manufacturer, which materialized a year later.
In June 2017, the Catch plan was activated on the initiative of Paul Magnette. And the first results are not long in coming: the hare Cat passes in front of Genk the tortoise. But the joys of having outstripped the Flemish site will be followed by resounding failures for Caterpillar Gosselies: first Thunder Power, then Legoland at the beginning of this year, give up.
By questioning the Walloon Minister of the Economy, Willy Borsus, on the strategy put in place in Limburg, the Ecolo deputy Christophe Clersy stirred the knife in the wound. Willy Borsus, however, refuses to draw parallels: “The two sites are not comparable”, he insists, even if appearances tend to suggest the opposite. “In Genk, the reconversion plan implemented in 2013 by the Flemish Region provided for the creation of a business park. In partnership with the Province of Limburg, it was decided to destroy the Ford buildings and clean up the land to create the Logistic Valley Flanders. Following substantial investments, the site was divided into three areas to be revitalized via public-private partnerships. The Flemish government sold the last plot of land of the former Ford plant to the City of Genk and the provincial development company (POM-Limburg) at the beginning of this year.It was in this context that the agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere decided to have vehicles assembled there of its brand by Rhenus Automotive. In Charleroi, the option was taken to maintain the Caterpillar buildings.”
The minister is formal: “Neither the Walloon Export Agency nor Wallonie Entreprendre have been approached by John Deere to establish themselves there”, so we have not missed any opportunity. “The search for an investor for the site is continuing and all the players concerned are fully mobilized.”
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