It was Roger Van de Weghe who took the initiative in December 1984 to contact the then leading crane rental companies. Working regularly with Dutch colleagues, he had seen how our northern neighbors had grouped themselves professionally.

His intention, following the example of the Dutch and French crane federations, was to form a Belgian association that would defend the industry’s interests and provide a platform where trade-related issues would be discussed.

So it was: on February 5, 1985, the Association of Belgian Crane Owners asbl was officially raised above the font. The board consisted of Roger Van de Weghe as founding president, Arthur Severin as vice president, Hugo De Bie as secretary and Hendrik Sarens as treasurer.

Initially, the federation counted only a handful of large companies as members. But soon the first concrete results were achieved and it also became apparent that the collegial contact was bearing fruit: the path had been set for further growth of the association.