The US ambassador to Belgium, Howard W Gutman, has visited the headquarters of TVH as part of a tour to better acquaint himself with the country.

TVH has partnered with Waregem-based ProMove to introduce "durable driving" courses for its forklift engineers and company car users.

Bram Lannoo, the course organiser, explains that "durable driving" has a positive influence on fuel consumption.

"Research figures indicate an average decrease of 10 to 22%. We are convinced that the participation in the course by our external engineers will definitely pay off," he says.

TVH's 50-plus external engineers in their Mercedes Sprinters account for 40% of the company's total fuel consumption. The engineers will receive a three-hour course during working hours. The vans used for the course will be provided by Ghistelinck group. The course will then be followed by a six-month evaluation period. As an incentive, the mechanic who achieves the biggest decrease in fuel consumption will win a prize.

TVH employees who have a company car are invited to sign up for the course. If there is enough interest from other employees, TVH says it will organise an extra course for them.

Lannoo says the course fits perfectly within the framework of the Province of West Flanders' "Durable Enterprising" charter, which TVH would like to commit to this year.

Separately, the US ambassador to Belgium, Howard W Gutman, has visited the headquarters of TVH as part of a tour to better acquaint himself with the country.

Gutman was appointed ambassador on 24 July 2009 and since then has been determined to visit all of Belgium's 596 cities and municipalities to familiarise himself with the nation and its people.

The ambassador was received by the Thermote and Vanhalst families and guided through the global enterprise's different departments.