Gent –
The Japanese multinational Daikin is investing 140 million euros in a new research center in Ghent. Energy-efficient heating appliances will be developed there in the future. The factory in Ostend, which employs about 1,800 people, is not moving.
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The Belgian branch of the EMEA Development Center, which has employed 150 employees in Ostend since 2012, is bursting at the seams and a new location is required. The investment is part of the European Green Deal and is intended to make Daikin a leader in energy-efficient alternatives to traditional heating solutions, new heat pump technologies and solutions for cold chains (food and pharmaceuticals).
“New workplace”
“Daikin intends to guide the employees concerned to the new workplace in the best conditions,” says the management on Wednesday. Today, a total of some 220 people work for the research center, which in the future will have a hypermodern office building of some 13,000 square meters. “If we want to stay ahead of the market needs and the clear environmentally friendly direction of Europe, then further expansion is necessary,” says Kazuhide Mizutani of the EDC.
“This is a nice sign of confidence in our city”, says Mayor Mathias De Clercq (Open Vld) about the announcement, “good news for local employment, the further development of Tech Lane and the development of Ghent as an innovative Ghent city. ” The investment also entails additional employment: by 2025 Daikin Europe expects to employ some 380 employees at the EMEA Development Center.
A total of 500 people will be housed in the new office complex.
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