The Haco Group and Jiangsu Yawei Machine Tool Co Ltd officially presented their strategic industrial partnership at the EuroBLECH exhibition in Hanover last month, following a letter of intent signed earlier this year.
The agreement will see Yawei become the majority shareholder, bringing together Haco’s European engineering expertise, established brands and local market presence with Yawei’s global manufacturing scale, technology and resources.
Haco Sheet Metal and BlissBret Presses will retain their identities, market positioning and customer relationships. European engineering, automation, local service and technical expertise will remain central to the strategy, alongside continued investment in European manufacturing.
Kurt Havegeer, CEO of Haco Group, says: “This partnership gives Haco the scale and resources to accelerate what we’ve been building for decades, without losing what makes us strong.”
A key development will be the transformation of Haco’s site in Mouscron, Belgium, into the European headquarters and centre of excellence for the new Yawei-Haco industrial platform. Several activities currently spread across Belgium will be consolidated there, including R&D, engineering, management, international service, robotics and automation.
The site will also house a new international Experience Centre featuring showroom, demonstration and training facilities. The initial development phase is expected to create approximately 50 jobs, with the potential to reach 120 to 150 employees by 2029.
Notably, the partnership will serve to strengthen Haco’s existing European manufacturing base, including its major production facility in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, where production, assembly, quality control and commissioning will continue locally. The company’s plan is to expand European capabilities, not relocate production to China.
The partnership combines complementary expertise in engineering, product development, manufacturing, automation and international service, giving customers access to a broader portfolio of sheet metal processing solutions.
More information www.haco.com
