Kempish company Heylen Warehouses buys former Audi site in Brussels, plans 3,000 jobs

The former Audi factory in Forest, Brussels, has a new owner and a plan to replace its empty industrial site with a business park expected to create 3,000 jobs.

Heylen Warehouses, an industrial group from the Kempen region, bought the roughly 55-hectare site. The last car left the Audi production line a year and a half ago, and the future of Brussels’ largest industrial area had remained uncertain. A weapons factory had been among the possibilities considered, but that plan will not go ahead.

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One of the most dynamic economic centres in Brussels

Heylen named its project Rings Park 21. The site is expected to host dozens of companies, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to international industrial players. The exact tenants have not yet been announced. Part of the area could also open to the public, while the nearby Forest-South railway station will be integrated into the development.

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Bringing together SMEs and established industrial activities is precisely the model of urban economy that we want to develop in Brussels.

Brussels Employment and Economy Minister Laurent Hublet said the project matched the city’s aim of combining small and medium-sized businesses with established industrial activity. Heylen CEO Ralph Caspanni said the company would begin work immediately because each day mattered for employment.

The planned 3,000 jobs would roughly match the number lost when the Audi plant closed. Heylen did not disclose the purchase price. The group also bought most of the former Caterpillar factory in Gosselies near Charleroi in March, where it plans to redevelop 37.5 hectares into an SME zone.

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We are getting to work immediately, without wasting time, because every day counts for employment.