As a purebred family-run company, Ivens nv is the odd man out in the Antwerp port complex. Certainly we may have grown in step with the industrial development of the port. But our aim has always been the same: to operate a stable, family SME.

It's as though the spirit of pioneer Leon Ivens is still floating round our business premises. His son Eduard, granddaughter Greet and great-grandson Peter now watch carefully over the individual character of the company. It's something that is much appreciated by countless customers in Belgium and abroad.

Our staff also feels at home in this family atmosphere. Which can be seen from the fact that some of our employees have been with us for 30 and even 40 years.

But our sense of tradition in no way stands in between of being dynamic - as can be seen from the opening of the new production plant in 2005. We very much hope to be writing many more pages of this successful family chronicle from behind these high walls. From traditional boilermaker to modern tank-builders: the story is far from over ...