E.D.&A. has been awarded Factory of the Future for the third time

Smart production means smart investment

E.D.&A. was awarded the Factory of the Future Award for the third time. Operations Manager Andy Vanhooreweghe is very proud: "We have made even more smart investments in further automation of our production equipment and in our employees. As a result, we are now in a pole position to be so flexible, efficient and cost-effective in the world of tomorrow that we can innovate in a competitive manner and thus further anchor our production activities in our own country".

This is once again a reward for the entire team, because as a thoroughly Belgian company with development and production, we must rely on committed employees with smart ideas. Compared to three years ago, E.D.&A. has grown considerably in all areas: the building has doubled in size, production has increased significantly, many new colleagues, new machines and robots (including a cobot).

Reshoring production pays off

Since 2012, we have been demonstrating every day that production in Belgium is possible, provided you make smart investments in people and automation. The jury was very impressed that we can produce both small and very large series (200.000 pieces) cost effectively at an exceptionally high quality. The extensive automation and digitalization within E.D.&A. in combination with our highly motivated and committed employees also caught the eye. The intense partnership with social enterprises for customised work completes this picture.

In 2016, E.D.&A. received the Factory of the Future award for the first time and was allowed to carry this title for three years. After a re-assessment in 2019, we were again awarded the title for three consecutive years. Now in 2022, we again showed that we are far advanced on all criteria to be named Factory of the Future for the third time.

More about Factory of the Future

Factories of the Future are companies that invest in digitization, in their personnel, in smart processes and products and in world-class production. They deal thoughtfully with energy and materials and encourage employee involvement, creativity and autonomy. To earn the coveted title, companies must score at least four out of five on a maturity scale in each of seven transformation domains (including Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Eco-factory, End-to-end integrated Engineering) during a critical audit by independent experts.