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“Ateliers de
Construction d’Appareils de Chauffage et de
Ventilation"
(ACV) was founded in Brussels on July 8, 1922
by a group of engineers motivated by the
prospect of a good financial investment. Amongst
the founders was an inventor, Mr Rupert Castiaux,
who in lieu of capital gave his patents in
return for a share in the company.
March 1928 saw the merging of ACV with a company
which had ceased to operate “S.A. des Fonderies
et Emailleries Sainte Marguerite". The
headquarters of this company were in Ruisbroek
and ACV is still there today.
A lean period followed, which is remembered
for the constant financial problems. The
confidence of the directors was severely shaken
and many of the directors left one after the
other. Mr Albert Buchet was appointed Director
of ACV in March 1929 remaining until December
1968.
The 30’s saw the founding of several boiler
manufacturing companies, some of whom achieved
very rapid growth. This was the case for Ideal
Standard at Vilvorde, which employed 1500
people.
Under the guidance of Mr Albert Buchet, ACV
made spectacular progress. The new manager knew
exactly what the company needed: ideas and more
ideas. Thanks to its innovative products, the
company survived the crisis of the 30’s, the
Second World War and the period of
reconstruction that followed. ACV adapted to the
changes in the market by diversifying and
introducing new products. His sons Pierre and
Louis joined Albert Buchet in 1948 and 1959
respectively. Pierre Buchet still heads up the
Company today.
In response to the emergence of fuel oil for
domestic heating at the dawn of the 1960’s, ACV
revised its entire strategy. Since then, the
company has focused on boilers for heating,
water heaters and domestic tanks. ACV was one of
the first companies to introduce stainless steel
cylinders, which led to the development of their
unique Tank-in-Tank concept.
Toward the middle of the 1970’s, ACV began to
export and successfully challenge its
international competitors. In the 80’s and 90’s,
new product ranges were introduced such as the
autonomous water heater “HeatMaster®" designed
for commercial and industrial applications and
the combined boiler and water heater “Delta"
intended for residential applications.
Today, with our comprehensive range of
innovative products ACV can satisfy the modern
demand for heating and hot water in a way that
is reliable, effective, economical and
environmentally considerate.
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