Vyncke

In 1912 Louis Vyncke settled as a blacksmith in Gullegem. He invested in a workshop, but in 1914 he had to serve the army during World War I. In his absence, his wife Flavie was left with 2 children. In 1915, Vyncke's workshop burned down. After the war, Louis Vyncke acquired more skills and earnings as an employee in France. By the 1920s, the flax industry in Flanders was flourishing. There was a rising demand for steam boilers to extract flax fibres with hot water. Louis Vyncke used his blacksmith skills to build riveted boilers in a new workshop at the Moorseelse Kassei in Gullegem. Flax was readily available at the time and could easily be transported. The fibres were used in the textile industry and the leftover straw waste was burned in the boilers.[2]

After World War II, flax waste became the raw material for fiberboard production, which attracted new customers and industries. The company expanded rapidly and in 1956, sons Michel and René moved to a new office and factory in Harelbeke (current headquarters).

Michel Vyncke expanded the boiler manufacturing business across West Flanders and the North of France. When Michel died in 1972, the youngest son Dirk Vyncke continued to lead the family company.[2]

The 1973 oil crisis was an opportunity for Dirk Vyncke to convert the company into a global player, to turn biomass and waste into green and clean energy. In 1992 the enterprise became an NV.[3]

5 micron boiler at Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville

Peter Vyncke and his brother Dieter became co-CEO in 2002. The board of directors consists of Peter De Keyzer, Alexander Dewulf, Els Verbraecken, Johan Van Den Driessche, and Farhad Forbes.

Vyncke’s activities range across three market segments: food and agriculture, wood, and recovered fuels. Its international business is distributed amongst Belgium (3%), Europe (45%), and outside EU (52%) with a strong presence in South-America and Asia.[2]

Vyncke participates in several international joint ventures: PetroBio, Forbes Vyncke,[4][5] Callens Vyncke, Trasmec, and Panel Alliance; all serving in the energy and the processing industry. In 2016 Vyncke was awarded the Enterprise of the year title by the consultancy firm EY in collaboration with the business newspaper De Tijd and the bank BNP Paribas Fortis.[6][7]