Transparent partnership

Building for the future is what precast concrete specialist Van Dijk Beton wants to do. That ambition was revived after its acquisition by De Lek Beton in 2017. But the company has been in business since the late 1950s. "We specialize in series production, such as retaining walls, and project-specific production, such as noise barriers. We also have the necessary facilities for production of larger precast elements," says director Marc Pijpers. "This year the current gantry cranes will be replaced, making it possible to produce elements up to 60 tons."

"The Netherlands is truly a prefab country. Within this sector, work is becoming more and more sustainable. Van Dijk Beton encourages circular design, which makes it possible to apply products in a different way after use." According to Pijpers, this is a logical development. "Concrete has a technical lifespan of up to 100 years, while the functional lifespan of a project is much shorter. Therefore, in our opinion, re-using (reusing) is preferable to recycling concrete products."

Naturally more sustainable

Project manager Paul de Vries is concerned with strategic development at Van Dijk Beton, including sustainability. "We find it very important to make concrete products more circular and sustainable. Van Dijk Beton is therefore also a signatory of the Concrete Agreement. With this we want to strengthen the cooperation with the other signatories, such as Rijkswaterstaat, ProRail and numerous large and smaller contractors. A cooperation agreement has now been concluded with ProRail for the development of a sustainable retaining wall, the so-called Innovation Partnership."

De Vries: "Making the concrete supply chain more sustainable is a great goal to work on and absolutely necessary. Our clients are increasingly including sustainability requirements in their specifications and Program of Requirements." Van Dijk Beton is also working on sustainability at the organizational level: "We try to design our own energy supply and our machinery as energy efficient as possible. We also work as sustainably as possible at the product level. We use various secondary aggregates, such as certified concrete granulate as a substitute for gravel. We also develop mixtures based on alternative binding agents. This allows you to distinguish yourself positively."

Large GWW projects

Van Dijk Beton is called in for many different projects. Pijpers: "For example, we supply concrete products for the new national highway near Rotterdam, the A16, to contractor combination De Groene Boog." Van Dijk Beton works on many GWW projects, both local and national. "Among other things, we are known for our sound walls, which we make on a regular basis." For that reason, the company is contributing to the Project BAAK (Blankenburg connection A15/A20). It is also supplying products for the Groningen Ring Road (A7). Van Dijk Beton is also often preferred over other suppliers for projects where extremely high demands are placed on dimensional stability and finishing. "For example, precast elements were recently supplied to the Ministry of Defense for the aircraft deceleration units (VAI) at Volkel Air Base, and we will soon be supplying precast concrete shrapnel walls for Tennet."

According to Pijpers, Van Dijk Beton stands out in specialization, flexibility and transparency. "Van Dijk is not a large company, we have a small overhead and the lines of communication are short. We are flexible and decisive. In the end, a project is all about trust. We are open, honest and clear about costs at a detailed level. For us, these are self-evident conditions for a good cooperation."