The Belgium sheet-metal machinery company LVD (www.lvdgroup.com) is opening a new experience centre — referred to as the XP Center — at its corporate headquarters in Gullegem.

The new 2,500m₂ facility has been designed to help advance customers’ knowledge of advanced sheet-metal-working technology and solutions in an environment designed to “promote learning and collaboration”.

The XP Center is a complete renovation — and expansion — of LVD’s previous demonstration facility. Visitors are invited to bring along their sheet-metal-working “challenges” and see how these can be produced on the latest machines and equipment in an Industry 4.0-ready facility designed to show what is possible in an integrated ‘smart factory’.

Carl Dewulf, LVD’s president and managing director, said: “The XP Center is more than a product showroom and training facility. We have created an inviting space in which visitors can experience sheet metal-working technology and the LVD brand in new ways.

“It is about discovering solutions and making connections, while providing the space to nurture partnerships and ideas that will advance the industry.”

The new facility, which was designed by the Belgium architectural firm Naert in partnership with the interior architect Justine Van Strydonck, features “an abundance” of windows and glass doors, to make the most of natural light.

The grand opening of the XP Center is planned for mid-April.