Marc F.G. Vanden Bussche's grandfather immigrated to Canada from Geluwe, West Flanders, Belgium, where he had supplemented his work on the family farm by cycling professionally. Seeing greater opportunities for himself in Canada, he set sail from Antwerp, 1926, aboard the Melita, an immigrant ship carrying 1,500 passengers to Quebec city. Young Gerard made his way to Chatham, Ontario, where other people of Flemish background had settled as farmers.

Nearly 30 years later, Gerard Vanden Bussche and his family migrated to Delhi, Ontario, where Gerard and son, Roger, a recent graduate, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, established a business specializing in irrigation systems, supplying irrigation equipment as well as design and installation services for local farmers. Nearly 21 years after his father had co-founded the Belgian Club of Delhi , 1948, Roger Vanden Bussche died prematurely, 1979, age 49. His wife initially carried on the business operations.

In this view, Marc Vanden Bussche, left, and the Vice President of Shanxi Province toast each other, Feb 7, 1999, while the Vanden Bussche team from Delhi toured China on a trade mission trip.

At age 18, however, Marc, Roger's son, left school, 1980, to begin working for the family business, eventually taking control of the operations, 1991. As General Manager of the business co-founded by his grandfather and father, Marc, former President, Canadian Irrigation Association, has mandated a millennium goal: to make Vanden Bussche Irrigation & Equipment Limited a North American leader in supplying and installing irrigation systems.