[SatNews] Newtec, a designer, developer and manufacturer of equipment and technologies for satellite communications, received the ‘Factory of the Future’ award as part of the Belgian campaign ‘Made Different’.

The ‘Factory of the Future’ is just one part of the campaign which was created to recognize the market challenges faced by Belgian companies and the need for them to be innovative and future-proof. Launched by the Belgian government, the ‘Made Different’ project is driven by Agoria, the Belgian federation for the technology industry, and Sirris, the collective center for and by the Belgian technological industry.

Newtec is one of the first of four companies that received the ‘Factory of the Future’ award yesterday. It today announced it will carry out an important investment program to upgrade and extend its state-of-the-art production capacity and capabilities at its Manufacturing Competence Center (MCC) in Belgium.

Newtec receiving ‘Factory of the Future’ award in Brussels; fltr: Philippe Muyters, Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation & Sport; Serge Van Herck, CEO Newtec; Guy De Winne, plant manager and director manufacturing operations, Newtec

Serge Van Herck, CEO at Newtec, said, “The way we are organized makes it possible to deliver high-quality production services to the Newtec Group and to other companies, without exception. This is seldom seen in the market and it is this that has enabled us to be one of the first companies in Belgium to be named ‘Factory of the Future’. This award reaffirms that we are delivering relevant services to the industry and we are delighted to have had that recognized by the ‘Made Different’ judges. The future investment we have planned will ensure we continue to live up to the ‘Factory of the Future’ label.”

Newtec’s production site in Erpe-Mere, Belgium, makes the majority of Newtec’s products and is gaining market share by producing highly reliable assemblies for an increasing number of high-tech companies outside the Satcom business.

With this investment, Newtec wants to further strengthen its manufacturing by expanding the production capacity and capabilities that are needed in order to be future-proof. This builds on Newtec’s historic technology leadership strategy combined with the highest quality and reliability production standards.

“Our increasing number of customers both inside and outside of the Satcom industry confirms that our manufacturing site is already extremely effective,” said Danny De Smet, who is responsible for business development at Newtec’s Manufacturing Competence Center. “This is without a doubt the result of our continuous improvement culture and competence building and this investment will further strengthen that. Often we are challenged from a technological perspective but by being proactive, flexible and reliable we can add significant value for our customers and partners.”