Daikin Ostend wins Factory of the Future award

Brussels, 12 February 2026 – Daikin Ostend received the Factory of the Future award for the fourth consecutive time on 10 February, marking 12 years in a row of meeting all award criteria. The jury specially acknowledged that Daikin Ostend, since its previous award in 2023, has continued their path of implementing high end digital solutions and innovative forward-looking technology in their production processes. Daikin Ostend combines this with an unparalleled continuous improvement spirit at the factory floor.

Sustainable and innovative world-class production

The most advanced and future-oriented manufacturing sites in Belgium are honoured with this title by technology federation Agoria, technological knowledge centre Sirris and various sector federations. Factories of the Future are fully committed to digitalisation, talent development, smart processes, sustainable products and world-class production. These companies and factories think carefully about how they use energy and materials, and encourage their staff to be involved, creative and autonomous. Winners need to receive a score of at least 8 out of 10 from the competition expert jury in each of these areas.

Winners are allowed to officially call themselves a ‘Factory of the Future’ for three years. After this three-year period, they have to prove themselves again: a new audit and jury assessment determine whether their title will be renewed.  After Daikin Ostend’s first Factory of the Future award in 2017 and subsequent three-year renewals in 2020 and 2023, Daikin receives this prestigious title in 2026 for the fourth time in a row, meaning that over the course of 12 consecutive years since 2017, Daikin Ostend remains a ‘Factory of the Future’.

Continuous improvement actions

In the previous three years, Daikin has been investing and implementing further digitalisation, automation and new continuous improvement actions at the Ostend factory. The newest heat pump production lines,at Daikin’s manufacturing site in Ostend are equipped with advanced camera and running test systems to  perform rigorous quality checks, while the parts supply at these lines is performed by AMR’s (Autonomous Mobile Robots).

Another highlight is the new hybrid painting line since 2023, which has a furnace that can switch from 100% gas to 100% electricity. In Daikin Ostend’s ongoing transition to become a net-zero factory in the future, it provides great flexibility and makes the line future-proof. In Belgium, electricity is generally more expensive than gas, so the factory needs to balance energy sources it uses. Yet, already today, on certain windy or sunny days, electricity is cheaper than gas, enabling the factory to operate its painting line for free, while importantly, remaining CO2 neutral. Yet on days when electricity is expensive, it is able to fall back on the use of gas. In the future, if electricity prices were to drop considerably, Daikin Ostend has the ambition to switch to 100% electricity use.

“The Factory of the Future award recognises that we’re continuously improving our factory operations in a sustainable and future-oriented way,” says Andy De Wilde, Department Manager Production. “We are exploring and introducing unique, flexible and forward-looking concepts, supporting  Daikin’s ambition to achieve net-zero factories.”

Recognition for all employees

For over 50 years, Daikin has been developing and producing a wide range of climate systems at its Ostend factory for the residential, commercial and industrial markets in Europe.

“This award is a well-deserved recognition for all our employees at our Ostend site. Making future-proof decisions is a key element of being a Factory of the Future. With our continuous improvement processes, we are able to respond flexibly to change and remain at the top in an international competitive production landscape,” says Stefaan Simpelaere, General Manager Manufacturing Ostend at Daikin Europe.