A Belgian break in the structure

Every year, we embark on our study trip, and every year we see amazing sights. This time was no different, with the majority of us in both our London and Manchester offices cycling and Eurostar-ing to Antwerp in Belgium.

Antwerp, a global port city in northern Belgium, boasts being the diamond capital of the world, as well as a cultural and fashion hub, famous for its architecture, art and history alike. We decided it was the perfect destination to visit.

From factory tours to city sightseeing, beer and chocolate tasting to pottery making, this trip had something for everyone at the company.

We spoke to two of our team who enjoyed their first experience of the company trip – Dylan, a structural engineer who works in our Manchester office, and Katie, who spent an extended summer and now autumn as an intern in our London home.

The journey

Dylan: ‘The trip for me began with a journey down from Manchester to the impressive Chart Street office. First on the agenda was delicious pasta, prepared by the in-house chef. As we were briefed on the strong Belgian beers waiting on the horizon, the large bowls of pasta felt like a sensible choice. The office was buzzing, with everyone catching up, filling plates and getting excited for the trip ahead.’

While the majority travelled by train, 14 ventured through the Essex countryside to catch a ferry over to Antwerp overnight, cycling hundreds of miles through the afternoon and evening.

With an exciting first night of travel and drinks to settle into the city, it was an early start at the YUST Hostel for everyone.

Katie: ‘You’d think it would be intimidating as a new joiner to be in dorms, but it was actually super nice and meant that I got to get to know other people in different teams.

YUST was the ritz of the hostel world, where you could squeeze your own orange juice to enjoy with some baba ghanoush and houmous. They even had a pancake maker!’

We loaded onto coaches and headed to Cordeel’s factory.

The factory tour

Cordeel have been in operation since 1934. They’re a construction group that work together to create sustainable solutions throughout a project’s construction – from planning to delivery of structures, which made it a perfect first stop on the trip for us.

Everyone was split up and went to see different parts of the huge site on the outskirts of Antwerp – from the CLT and timber production, to the steel making and concrete warehouses too.

Dylan: ‘After a fantastic night of exploring the city, we headed to Cordeel’s factory for a tour of C-Concrete, C-Metal and C-Wood. The tour itself was genuinely fascinating. A behind-the-scenes look at the scale, skill and precision behind the work. Some members of the group were so committed to quality assurance that they lay down to test the factory floor’s response factor.’

Katie: ‘For our group, I felt it got more exciting as the tour went on – seeing timber, steel and then the concrete. Witnessing the whole production chain was really cool, allowed us all to nerd out a little bit.’

The activities

A quick lunch on the road and we split off into eight groups, each group doing something different in the city – from pottery to cycle tours, Kintsugi workshops to Chocolate making and Belgian beer tasting to moped experiences – there was something for everyone on the trip.

Katie: ‘My group headed to the chocolate factory to learn about chocolate production and how Belgium came to be known for its speciality sweet treat. While all the learning was great, we all had our fingers crossed for a taste test. When almost all hope was lost, we glided down the spiral staircase to see 10 different melted chocolate vats calling our names, from white, ruby and (very) dark chocolate.

After eating more spoonfuls of Belgian chocolate then we would like to admit, it was time to see Antwerp in the light of day! Our tour focused on the beautiful architecture of Zurenborg district with an amazing tour guide who told us everything there is to know about these ornate houses.’

The dinner

With a jam-packed day of tours, activities and wandering around the city, HTS got together to celebrate another year, dining on delicious cheese croquettes, traditional Belgian stew, parmesan fries and mouth-watering waffles with strawberries and whipped cream to finish.

Dylan: The final night ended, naturally, with founder Mark Tillett commandeering the microphone – part speech, part karaoke coup. One of the team, engineer Seb Thompson, took on Louis Armstrong. If you closed your eyes, Louis was in the room. Sitting there with colleagues who now felt more like friends, I couldn’t help but think to myself: what a wonderful world.’

The annual trip is needed for our whole team across the country to gather, meet new colleagues, experience new culture and appreciate all we’ve worked on over our 19^th year.

Here’s to the 20^th– stay tuned for the next one!