Ford Genk’s history written in concrete in 60-m-long memorial

On Saturday evening, a 60-meter-long memorial stone was unveiled on the former site of Ford Genk. It is a tribute to all generations of Ford employees. The work, designed by Design studio Brussels LOF in collaboration with illustrator Pieter Van Eenoge, tells Ford’s history in a concrete cartoon.

The construction is an imposing bas-relief consisting of 120 panels that together span 60 meters. Each panel has its own QR code, so visitors can scan it and find more information about the image. The story almost reads like a 3D comic strip and will give passers-by an overview of Ford Genk’s history.

For all those who have ever worked at the plant, it is a beautiful place to remember and a place to which they can return to tell the almost 50-year-old Ford story to their children and grandchildren.

The first stone in 1962

Ford Genk was a car assembly and parts factory near Genk (Belgium) of the Ford Motor Company. The factory’s foundation stone was laid in 1962, and two years later, production of the Taunus 12M began. In the first year, almost 600 cars were built daily, for a total of 62,076.

The factory consisted of a pressing plant, wheel factory, bodywork factory, paint shop, assembly factory, final inspection department, and logistics department. Over the years, the factory became the largest employer in Limburg. In the company’s heyday in the mid-nineties, it employed 14,000 people.

Bad news

However, at the start of the new millennium, things were going badly for the parent company, Ford. Many factories closed, killing tens of thousands of jobs to reduce costs.

On October 24, 2012, Ford management announced that the factory would close at the end of 2014. The closure was due to overcapacity in Europe and resulted in almost 6,000 layoffs, of which 4,210 at Ford Genk and 1,736 at suppliers.

The curtain falls

In December 2014, the factory was closed, and production was transferred to Valencia, Spain. The last models to roll off the production line in Genk were the Ford Galaxy, Mondeo, and S-MAX. 

With the demolition of the buildings, all references to the era of the car factory in Genk also disappeared. Therefore, the city of Genk decided to preserve the 50-year history of the factory with a monument. Today, several new companies are located on the site.