Every year, BEMAS honours a technical team with the Technical Team of the Year Award. With this award, BEMAS rewards teams that deliver significant added value to their company through their performance and approach to maintenance and management of technical assets. Both technical departments working internally on the maintenance of machines, installations, infrastructure or buildings and service teams are eligible for the award.
Symposium: Best practices in maintenance among the finalists for Technical Team of the Year
Discover how the Technical Team of the Year finalists from various industries tackled their challenges, what results they achieved, and what best practices they applied to take their technical teams to new heights. It’s an opportunity to learn from the experiences of others and benefit from the collective wisdom of the technical community.
During this afternoon symposium, the finalists will present their cases. Each finalist will have half an hour to convince both the jury and the audience that they are the Technical Team of 2026. During the award show in the evening, we will announce the winners of the jury prize and the audience prize.
- 13:00 – Welcome with coffee
- 13:30 – Start of presentations
- 4:30 p.m. – Free visit to the fair
- 6 p.m. – Award show with keynote speech and announcement of the winners (see further in the programme)
These are the three finalists for Technical Team of the Year 2026!
Castrol
Castrol Ghent – From reactive maintenance to strategic maintenance
In 2021, Castrol Ghent’s maintenance organisation was caught in a classic vicious circle: high breakdown rates, predominantly corrective maintenance and exhausted teams. Four years later, that picture has been completely turned around. This case study shows how a clear roadmap, based on maintenance and asset management fundamentals, leads to structural improvements in reliability and workload.
By clearly defining roles and responsibilities, embedding reliability engineering and taking planning and work preparation seriously, the team succeeded in reducing the number of breakdowns by two thirds. Digital tools such as Ultimo and PowerBI support the approach, but are never separate from the organisation and its people. This presentation appeals to engineers and managers who want to know how to put theory into practice — and how to turn an ‘enfant terrible’ into an audit-proof maintenance organisation.
LBC
LBC Tank Terminals Antwerp – Future-proof reliability as a driver for growth and confidence
Five years ago, LBC Antwerp struggled with low reliability and a weak safety culture. Today, it has a maintenance organisation that serves as a benchmark within the group, with greatly improved NPS and safety results — without exceeding its budget. This case study shows how maintenance and reliability can be the driving force behind a broader business transformation.
The key? Back to basics. A fully mapped installation base, a new EAM system, clear processes and, above all, investment in teamwork and trust. Only then did digitisation and predictive maintenance follow. The result is an organisation that has control over assets, costs and risks, and is ready for future growth. This presentation is particularly relevant for maintenance managers who are struggling with legacy installations, Seveso contexts and the combination of technical and human change.
Equans
Equans – Large Rotating Excellence under extreme time pressure
What do you do when a critical compressor — the beating heart of a plant — needs to be completely overhauled within an exceptionally short shutdown period, without compromising on safety or quality? The Equans Maintenance & Services – Large Rotating team demonstrates how thorough work preparation, OEM-compliant execution and multidisciplinary collaboration come together in a flawlessly executed overhaul process.
This case revolves around excellent preparation as the key to reliability. From spare parts management and special tooling to strict compliance with Baker Hughes specifications: everything was documented and validated in advance. The result is not only a successful overhaul, but an approach that structurally minimises downtime and enables asset life extension. A must-see for anyone involved in rotating equipment, shutdown management and high-risk assets.
Programme
Evening show:
5:45 p.m. – Reception in the Blue Room – 1st floor Meeting Centre
6:00 p.m. – Welcome address by Dirk De Nutte, chairperson of BEMAS
6:05 p.m. – Keynote presentation by Peter Van Hees
18:50 – Presentation of finalists and presentation of the BEMAS Innovation Award
19:00 – Presentation of finalists and presentation of the BEMAS Digital Innovation Award
19:10 – Presentation of finalists and presentation of Technical Team of the Year
7:30 p.m. – Networking drinks with chips and snacks at the BEMAS stand on the exhibition floor.
BEMAS
