King Filip and Queen Mathilde visit Veldeman’s largest structure in Chile

Last week marked a historic occasion: the royal couple travelled to Chile, the first Belgian state visit to Latin America in 60 years. The aim of the mission was to strengthen ties between Belgium and Chile, with a particular focus on economic cooperation and space research.

The royal visit concluded with a tour of SQM in Antofagasta, the world’s largest lithium producer. Flemish Minister of Ports Annick De Ridder, Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot also joined the visit.

During the tour, the delegation visited the massive storage hall built by Veldeman: an impressive structure 60 metres wide and 236 metres long – the largest Veldeman structure ever constructed.

The hall is used to store soda ash, a key raw material in the production of lithium batteries, which are used in electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy storage systems. Andy Moors, CEO of Veldeman Group, provided an in-depth explanation of the project on site.

The visit to SQM highlighted the strong presence of Flemish technology and logistics in Chile. The control room of the SQM plant was equipped with advanced visualisation solutions by Barco. SQM’s European distribution centres are located in the port of Antwerp. And Veldeman provides sustainable and secure storage infrastructure with one of the largest modular storage halls in the world.

A crowning achievement – and a truly proud moment for Veldeman!