The first truck cabin rolled up May 5, 1966 from the band in Westerlo. Since then DAF Trucks Flanders has grown into an ultra-modern factory for cabins and axles that plays an important role within the international production network of DAF Trucks. And such a birthday should be celebrated!
DAF chose the Belgian Kempen because there was a large labor potential available. A 400,000 m2 site is being acquired along the A13 (E313) near Oevel. The purchase contract was signed the day before Christmas 1964. Almost immediately afterwards, construction of a 12,000 m2 factory began, which was operational in the first half of 1966. The first four cabins came off the production line on May 5 of that year. Two months later, the 1,000th cabin was transported from Oevel to Eindhoven. A few months later, DAF decided to expand the cab factory. The reason was the introduction of a new generation of trucks with a tilting cab in 1968.
Three years later, DAF decided to move the axle factory from Eindhoven to Westerlo. A new 13,000 m2 factory was added, increasing the facade along the highway to 380 meters. The number of employees slowly increased towards 1000. In 1985 a completely new factory was built for painting cabins and in 1988 a major renovation also followed in the axle factory.
Over the past decade, DAF invested more than 650 million euros in Westerlo, mainly for the new generation of trucks. For example, a new cabin paint shop was opened, capable of spraying 3,000 different colors and producing 50% fewer emissions. In addition, a completely new cabin factory has also been built. Fully automatic production lines were installed in the axle factory over the past 10 years. As the icing on the cake, DAF Flanders was named ‘Factory of the Future’ by the Belgian technology federation Agoria in 2024. This year, DAF Flanders will produce the 1.5 millionth cabin.
“Sixty years of production in Belgium is a tribute to the generations of employees who have built DAF in Westerlo into what it is today: an ultra-modern, future-oriented production location. And of course it is also a great recognition of our 2,000 employees and 1,000 suppliers, of which around 400 in Belgium,” says Jos Habets, member of the DAF Board of Management and responsible for Production. “Thanks in part to their efforts and dedication, we are able to build trucks that lead the way in terms of reliability, comfort and quality. With our continued investments in DAF Trucks Vlaanderen NV, our factory in Belgium has a bright future.”
