Heavy structural steel with very low MKI and low CO2 label

"There is progress," says Gerben van Beek happily. As Commercial Director Van Ee Staalspecialisten from Barneveld, he is closely involved in projects where the extremely durable structural steel Eeculair is used. "In September last year, after a four-year preparation process, we entered the market with Eeculair and six projects are now underway or completed. The best-known is on the Buitenhof in The Hague: the watchtower where the public can view the enormous renovation of the Binnenhof." 

With Eeculair, Van Ee Steel Specialists is ahead of the troops. "It's no secret that clients and large builders are becoming increasingly focused on CO2 emissions. We set to work in 2019 with a team of experts to find an answer to that," Van Beek says. "The result is a product with one of the lowest MKIs in the Netherlands. An external agency calculated in an EPD that the MKI per kilogram of heavy structural steel for Eeculair comes out to 0.02. That's a great starting point if you want to design a sustainable building." The CO2 label shows that Eecular steel emits significantly less CO2 than normal steel. "Our sustainable steel has a score of A+++ with a particularly low emission of only 0.13 kg CO2 eq. With this steel you obtain your permits and subsidies, allowing your construction or infrastructure project to go ahead."

Engineering

Van Ee Staalspecialisten's own engineering department has used the preparation time, among other things, to fully master circular thinking. Van Beek: "Circular construction has its own challenges. You aim for one hundred percent demountable, but that means that on average the construction is a bit heavier. We want to avoid that heavier and more expensive at Eecular. Our engineers seek an optimum between dismantlable and not too heavy, and they do that with smart, project-specific solutions. And yes, that may occasionally include a welded piece of steel. We discuss this in the preliminary stage with the client."

Take-back guarantee

Environmental savings are achieved through the use of donor steel and - where this is not possible - new steel produced as sustainably as possible. "We also offer a take-back guarantee with every steel structure with Eecular," Van Beek adds. "By doing so, we encourage reuse in the future and take another step toward a fully circular construction economy." To reduce its own CO2 emissions, Eeculair's energy-neutral production hall is equipped with more than 2,800 solar panels and employees use electric forklifts and low-energy tools. 

Zoetermeer Station

The 28-meter-high temporary observation tower next to the Hofvijver is fully circular, demountable and emission-free assembled. "This public project we check bi-monthly," Van Beek states. "Other projects get an annual MOT check. The building owners receive a report that lists everything. These days, it's all about current data. By collecting new data every year, we guarantee the safety of the structure." Those other projects include De Nieuwe Post in Arnhem, a distribution hall in Duiven, which was initially denied a permit but was approved within three weeks after calculating with Eeculair, and Station Centrum West in Zoetermeer. Van Beek: "That station was facing all kinds of problems. In collaboration with Spie Building Solutions, we dismantled the steel structure, renewed and modified only twenty percent of it, coated it sustainably and reassembled it with partly welded and partly bolted connections. We were able to think along from the design phase here, which makes our input extra sustainable."