Kempen concrete specialist manufactures special wall types in modern production hall

To stay on top, subsidiary Kerkstoel 2000+ invested in a new production hall last year. "That way we can produce special wall types without putting pressure on the production level," says co-owner and director Vincent Kerkstoel. 

Church Chair 2000+ is today among the European market leaders in precast concrete. The company has specialized in the production of concrete floor slabs (or predals) and double walls. These appear in numerous applications, from simple homes to complex hospitals. The current success story started back in the year 1900, when Leonard Kerkstoel started a building materials business in Heist-op-den-Berg. Last year, the Kempen company added a new milestone to that history, specifically through the expansion of an automated production hall. In exchange for an investment of more than 10 million euros, Kerkstoel received a 5,000 m2 hall, located on the same street as the current site.

Producing special walls

"The new production hall is very flexible and allows us to produce special custom walls without slowing down other production," Vincent Kerkstoel points out. "We now also make our classic double walls and insulated double walls there in larger sizes, with heights of up to 3.90 meters. This provides efficiency gains on the construction sites. In addition, we can manufacture the walls with a visible structure (for example, with a plank pattern). Thanks to the new production hall, we have also been able to add new products to our range, namely solid walls and sandwich panels."

In that new factory, Kerkstoel opted for a high degree of automation and robotization. For example, the steel profiles are not only shuttered, but also stripped by a robot.

Total Solution

"Thanks to our new products, we can offer the customer a total solution," says Kerkstoel. "Each type of wall has its specific advantage, and it is just through the right combination that you can optimize a construction project in terms of speed, quality and cost, and this at a time when there is a shortage of skilled workers such as iron braiders and form finishers."

"The insulated hollow walls - or 'comfort walls,' as we call them - find their origin in the increasing demand for sustainability. It's a product we very much believe in, because you can build in an energy-efficient way quickly and cleanly. In turn, solid walls contribute to construction speed, since they no longer need to be filled. With the sandwich panels, we are aiming our sights on industrial construction." 

Role of significance

What does the future hold for the company? "We mainly want to continue to grow in terms of efficiency and in the added value we offer our customers," Kerkstoel says. "In the short and medium term, we want to further specialize in concrete walls, complementing the floor slabs we have been making for decades."

"Our customer is the contractors themselves, at home and abroad," Kerkstoel said. "They use our products mainly because of their quality and efficiency. Thanks to the new production hall and the expansion of our product range, we can support our customers more broadly and for more types. The corona crisis is obviously an unforeseen event, but we are convinced that thanks to our flexibility and specialization, combined with the core values of our family business - commitment, accessibility and reliability - we can play a significant role in the Belgian construction sector and beyond."