Machine builders since 1933

The founder opens his workshop in Hooglede in 1933. He is a blacksmith and welds all his machines himself: mainly chicory dryers and conveyor belts for the coal industry, which is running at full speed in Belgium at the time. After the war material is scarce: he builds on with gearboxes and wheels from old army vehicles and cars, with anything he can find.

The son learns the trade from his father and starts on his own in 1968, also in Hooglede: Constructiewerkhuis EDA. He too builds extensively for the coal industry: conveyor belts, grain and coal silos, coal sifters, bag lifters, screening installations, heating oil tanks and goods lifts, hydraulic or with steel cable. He works the machines himself.

The telephone number on his first leaflet: 051 250 56. When Belgium ran out of numbers a 0 was added, and so 051 20 50 56 is still ours today.

When coal disappears from Belgian households, the workshop switches to the potato and vegetable sector and the concrete industry. It builds potato installations, mobile conveyor belts, chicory machines and stainless steel bagging installations.

In 1992 the third generation founds NV Dewagtere Engineering and takes over the sole proprietorship. With the rise of drawing software, technology and project size go up a level, and larger and more complex machines and installations become possible. Drawings, calculations, electrics and administration stay in the family. Since then the construction of belt trailers has evolved, been automated and robotised.

In 1998 the company expands to Industrieweg 19 in Roeselare. Here series production for vegetable processing is developed further, with belt trailers, telescopic store fillers and big-bag fillers. At the same time we keep delivering large, complex projects for the aggregates industry.

Initially customers supply their own aluminium or steel chassis, such as a container chassis with twistlocks or a platform chassis, on which we mount the body. From 2010 we design our own chassis, fully matched to our body. With finite element software we optimise them for the lowest possible tare weight, without compromising on strength or service life.

Over the years we analyse every repair in our workshop. That is how we refine the Dewagtere belt trailer down to the smallest detail. The result is one of the lightest and strongest belt trailers in its class: built from steel, aluminium and composite, with a long service life and practical in use and maintenance.

Since 2021 the fourth generation has been working alongside. We automate production step by step: CNC machines and welding robots today, fully automated production as the goal. That lets us deliver belt trailers to all customers across Europe and beyond. At the same time we keep analysing and refining every machine. We listen to what customers experience and raise the quality another step each time.