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History
Packo Inox NV
The start came in 1918, after the First World War, when the Packo family opened a smithy on the Torhoutsesteenweg in Zedelgem, Belgium. Serving the farmers over a large area, the business was continued by sons and grandsons.
After the Second World War, the business was extended to take in agricultural machinery. In the 1960s the company began to develop and manufacture milk cooling equipment, recognising with commendable foresight the future need for cooling equipment for the farm, resulting from conversion to bulk collection by the dairies. Yet, even then it could not be foreseen that just in a few years Packo would become a stainless steel construction company of international repute.
From around 1970, encouraged by the rapid success of its milk cooling tanks, Packo began to extend its manufacturing range to other products and fields, although the basic material was and remains stainless steel. Cryogenic freezing equipment, storage and process vessels and many other components, equipment and turnkey installations for the food and pharmaceutical industries originate from these days.
This resulted in a gradual extension and modernisation of the production floor and a new office block in 1980.
Today 180 people are active in Packo in Zedelgem, the total floor space is 15000 m². Most recent investments are state-of-the-art laser operated cutting and welding machinery.
Packo Inox NV, Branch Diksmuide
In 1974 a second factory was build in Diksmuide, Belgium. Joint production of milking machine components and centrifugal pumps was started with leading English milking machine manufacturer Fullwood Ltd. Besides also installations for electrolytical polishing of stainless steel parts till 7 m.
With the ever growing activity level and the underlying evolution from subcontracting to a customer-driven production organisation, in 1995, the production floor doubled in capacity and new offices, meeting rooms, an entrance hall with show room and façade were raised.
Given the booming growth today and the expected growth the coming years a third extension came about including Europe's largest electrolytical polishing installation for stainless steel. Packo has 105 staff members in Diksmuide, the total surface is 8000 m².
Internationalization
An essential part of Packo's global expansion was the establishment of more own companies:
- 1973: Packo France, Forges-Les-Eaux (France): sales for milking and milk cooling equipment
- 1991: Packo France, Forges-Les-Eaux (Frankrijk): extended with new premises with assembly and storage facilities
- 1976: Packo Ireland, Kanturk (Cork) (EI: production + sales)
- 2004: Packo Inox Shanghai, Ting Lin (Jinshan) (China): production and sales
Equally important factor of the rapid international expansion has been the successful and ever growing cooperation with numerous agents, distributors and licence partners, all over the world. Whether it's a Packo pump installed in North America, a pharmaceutical process vessel in South America, a milking machine component in Europe, an ice-building system in the Middle East, a mini-dairy in Africa, a CIP-installation in the C.I.S., a cryogenic freezing tunnel in Asia, a milk cooling tank in Australia or one of our many other components, equipment or turnkey installations, wherever: Packo products continually prove their reliability, every day, in the most diverse applications, worldwide.
Legal and ownership structure
The company has been family owned until, in 1989, the Packo family, for personal reasons, decided to sell the company. An ideal opportunity for the management at that time, strongly believing in a prosperous future for Packo, to organise a MBO (Management Buy Out), together with Fullwood and the Belgian investment bank V.I.V. The Packo International group was born.
In 1994 the V.I.V. withdrew, followed by the managers later. Fullwood took over the shares and created FP Holdings. In 2000 Packo International was integrated in this holding which, today, is grouping all Packo and Fullwood companies. That same year both Belgian Packo companies (Zedelgem and Diksmuide) decided to operate under the same legal name, Packo Inox NV.
