Van den Kerchove
Werkhuizen/S.A. Van den Kerchove, of Ghent/Gent/Gand, Belgium.
The following information is drawn from here[1]:-
Established 1825 by Emmanuel Van den Kerchove. In 1859, Prosper Van den Kerchove took over the reins from his father, Emmanuel. In 1934, Van den Kerchove was absorbed into Société d'Electricité et de Mécanique (S.E.M.). Alfred Vanderstegen — who had by then succeeded Prosper Van den Kerchove — became its managing director. In 1961, SEM merged with Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi (ACEC).
From another source [2]: In 1835, E. Van den Kerchove had a mechanical workshop in Twaalfkameren, but by 1839 he had moved his business to Coupure. From the third quarter of the 19th century, the company became one of the leading companies steam engine constructors, thanks in part to its Corliss licence. In 1875-76, Van den Kerchove built the most powerful Corliss steam engine in the world (2000 hp) for the Ghent-based NV La Lys. In 1934, the company merged with Carels-SEM. The former factory is now divided into several properties and has been partially demolished. This source includes a map and several photos of the works.
Photograph of the foundry here[3]. The overhead cranes appears to be Craven Brothers rope-driven cranes.
One recent source refers to a Van den Kerchove cross-compound steam pumping engine in the old Aiguës de Barcelona pumping station, now preserved by the water company as the Museu Agbar de les Aigües. It is a 750 hp engine, with cylinders 0.783 m and 1.360 m in diameter). Dating from c.1905-1910, it was the first engine in the new pumping station, which was completed in 1909.[4]. Photographs on this website show that positive displacement pumps are driven by the tail rods of the HP and LP cylinders.
Note: There is scope for confusion here, as most photographs of the museum show an array of cross-compound engines driving generators. Some sources state that these were manufactured by the Société Lyonnaise de Méchanique et d’Electricité, while another source [5] states that 'Each set consists of a 450-Hp Compound horizontal steam engine, patented by Van den Kerchove (Ghent, Belgium) and manufactured by the Société Lyonnaise de Méchanique et d’Electricité in 1907.'.
1908 Brief description and a drawing of a 4000 IHP tandem compound steam engine driving a 3.1MW alternator. Constructed for the Central generating station in Brussels. HP cylinder bore 870mm, LP 1600mm.[6]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ [1] ENTREPRENEUR – Van den Kerchove: steam at the Coupure
- ↑ [2] Inventory of Immovable Heritage 2025: Atelier Van den Kerchove [online], accessed 3 November 2025
- ↑ [3] Wikimedia Commons: Metaalgieterij-van-machinebouwer-Van-den-Kerchove-in-Gent 2023 INDUS F10048-063.jpg
- ↑ [4] Vlaamse Vereniging voor Industriële Archeologie vzw: Google translation of 'cross-compound stoommachine Van den Kerchove', accessed 3 Nov 2025
- ↑ [5] INDUSTRIAL & TECHNICAL HERITAGE MUSEUMS IN EUROPE by Patrick M.-J. E. Viaene, TICCIH-Belgium
- ↑ Engineering 1908/05/01