The week in business: 23 October
Deme wins Enterprise of the Year, Brussels Airlines launches family frequent flier plan and an overview of the rest of the week's business news
Air – Brussels Airlines
Banking – Saxo
The Danish online banking group is closing its local affiliate Saxo Bank and transferring the customer portfolios to its Dutch and French subsidiaries.
Dredging – Deme
The Antwerp-based dredging group, which won Belgium’s Dutch-speaking Enterprise of the Year award this week, is bidding for the €600 million project to double capacity of the Coo hydraulic power station in the Ardennes to some 1,200 megawatts. Deme would need to build additional retaining lakes upstream from the power station to stock water.
Engineering – TPF
The Brussels-based engineering and infrastructure consulting group has acquired 85% of the Portuguese Cenor research consultancy and will merge it with its own local TPF Planege affiliate.
Packaging – Datwyler
The Swiss-based packaging group is investing a further €25 million to increase capacity of its production unit in Alken, Limburg, specialised in sealed packages for the automobile and pharmaceutical sectors.
Supermarkets – Colruyt
The Halle-based supermarket chain has plans to open a second Cru outlet in Ghent early next year, following the successful launch of the concept in Overijse last year. The Cru stores sell artisanal products in a marketplace atmosphere. The group hopes to open a further 20 such outlets throughout the country over the next five years.
Technology – SoftKinetic
The Brussels-based motion control and video software developer has been acquired by Sony. The Japanese company wants to incorporate SoftKinetic’s technology into its PlayStation products and into its 3D self-drive features for vehicles.
