Belgian manufacturer unveils first US location in Spartanburg County

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Belgium-based Hammer-IMS unveiled its offices in Duncan in Spartanburg County during a grand-opening event.

The event marked a significant milestone in the company's journey toward providing cutting-edge solutions to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, according to a news release. Hammer-IMS, originally a Belgian tech-start-up company, founded in 2016, has now officially crossed the Atlantic Ocean and is currently in search for people to start-up its American team, the release stated.

As Hammer-IMS cuts the ribbon and opens its doors to the American market, Michel Gerebtzoff as the consul general of Belgium in Atlanta, Ethan Burroughs, vice president of economic advancement at Spartanburg Community College, John Lummus, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance, Jean Louis Vanderstraeten, honorary consul of Belgium, and Kyle Sox, vice president of industrial development, One Spartanburg Inc., took part in the welcoming event, the release stated.

The decision to establish operations in Spartanburg County reflects Hammer-IMS' strategic vision and commitment to growth on a global scale, the release stated. A recent capital increase by its Belgian investors has injected an unprecedented momentum into the company, enabling it to explore international business opportunities for which the U.S. market is on the top of the list, the release stated.

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The choice of Spartanburg County as a hub for expansion was no coincidence, as the selected office center is strategically situated at the crossroads of major interstates, with a sprawling 363,000 square feet of flexible industrial warehousing and office space for newcomers, the release stated. Furthermore, Spartanburg County houses a plethora of potential new customers.

The grand opening event not only celebrated the establishment of Hammer-IMS in Spartanburg but also acted as a chance to showcase live demonstrations of the machinery that will permanently be based on U.S. soil, according to the release. With plans to scale-up operations in the U.S., Hammer-IMS aims to become a global leader in the measuring and machine-vision solutions industry.

“We will accelerate the recruitment of new colleagues and develop targeted products to operate on a larger scale,” Noël Deferm, co-founder and general manager of Hammer-IMS, said in the release. “Together with our shareholders, we strongly believe that opening-up this office here in Spartanburg is a logical step to make Hammer-IMS a global player.”

Hammer-IMS’s best-selling product makes use of proprietary “M-Ray” technology, the release stated. The technology is based on a combination of millimeter waves with computational algorithms to provide a sustainable alternative to radioactive measuring equipment for the measurement of material thickness and material density. Over the last years, Hammer-IMS has introduced more ‘one-letter-named’ technologies such as “L-Ray” using laser technology, “U-Ray” using ultrasound sensors, “C-Ray” using capacitive sensing, “M2-Ray” using radar-technology, and “Edge-Vision-4.0” using camera arrays.