Ham Concrete Factory | New concrete plant for specialist in concrete vaults

Fingo, specialist in the production of concrete floor slabs with headquarters in Malle, inaugurated a new concrete plant along the Albert Canal in Ham/Tessenderlo. AP/ART Architects drew a concept with offices and a production hall 200 m long and 54 m wide, divided into two equal parts for custom and stock production respectively. Fingo's red color is reflected in the building's large canopies, which illuminate the whole area at night. The site also includes a new concrete plant and a windmill, which, along with solar panels, provides energy for the factory. 

'Not getting bigger, but getting better'; that has been Fingo's motto for more than 70 years. Marcel and Gerard Van Cauwenbergh started in 1946 with the production of various concrete products, but from 1972 the company specialized in the production of concrete vaults. In 1980, Marc Van Cauwenbergh, Gerard's son, took over the general management of the company and ensured its expansion, including the start of the production of smooth floor slabs in 1993 and the expansion into prestressed floor slabs in 2009. "Today we have four sites and about eighty employees," says current manager Gert Van Cauwenbergh. "We can supply reinforced and prestressed floor slabs of 60 cm wide with a rough or smooth underside immediately from stock. Furthermore, we manufacture high-quality prestressed concrete with a 100% smooth underside and sides with a perfect V-joint. Small corner cutouts, protruding reinforcement, cutouts for pipes and ducts, electrical boxes, openings for stairs, angled ends, elements with increased load-bearing capacity, ..., everything is possible with both variants."

The new hall includes sixteen 150-m production jobs, nicely divided between stock element and custom production.

New concrete plant with sixteen production jobs

Fingo continuously invests in research and development, know-how and new employees, as well as in production facilities and machinery. Since the factory in Malle is running at full capacity and demand continues to grow, the company decided to create additional capacity. To do so, the management bought a piece of land along the Albert Canal in Ham/Tessenderlo, a stone's throw from the Lummen cloverleaf, which ensures that raw materials and goods can be transported quickly and easily by both water and road. "We built a hall 200 meters long, 54 meters wide and 13 meters high, which is divided widthwise into two equal parts. Indeed, the shape of the building is tailored to the different production lines and machines for stock production on the one hand and customization on the other," the business manager explains the project. "For example, there are a total of sixteen production lines of 150 m each, equipped with innovative machines, allowing us to produce 900,000 m² of veneers. Work atmosphere and energy efficiency were also considered. The light tones of the interior panels and the incidence of natural light thanks to the many roof domes create a pleasant working environment. Solar panels and a new wind turbine create the necessary energy for the plant."

Fingo realized a new concrete plant 200 m long, 54 m wide and 13 m high.

National distribution

In addition to the production hall, the project also includes an office building and a concrete plant. Large red canopies, which light up at night, add an extra dimension to the facades. "The plant in Ham is our fourth facility. After all, we already had two production facilities in Malle and one in Messelbroek/Scherpenheuvel," Van Cauwenbergh concludes. "The strategic location on the Albert Canal and the Lummen cloverleaf allows us to further expand our activities towards Limburg, Flemish Brabant and Liege. Moreover, we want to underpin our growing exports to the Netherlands and Germany."