Concrete pickup: easy and fast

Collecting cementitious products such as concrete, floor mortar or stabilization sand in small quantities has been very common in Germany for decades. The Betonstations franchise concept has also been steadily gaining ground in the Netherlands since 2015. Seventeen branches are already operational. However, initiator Herwie Cornelissen has many more ambitions in the Netherlands with the unique concept.

Text | Roel van Gils  Image | Concrete Stations

"A Concrete Station contains the raw materials sand, gravel, water and cement," begins Cornelissen. "At the customer's request, the machine mixes the desired product in the right quantity, with a minimum of 150 liters and a capacity of 30 m³ per hour. Within minutes, the customer has a ready-to-use, top-quality cementitious product on his trailer or truck. An ideal solution for professional processors such as contractors, landscapers, pavers and tilers, but also for private individuals. In short, for anyone who needs a cementitious product."

Hoogeboom Raalte is one of the first franchisees to also mix and deliver on location with a mobile delivery station on a truck.

Ready-made concept

After positive experiences with the first machine installed in Oss in 2012, Cornelissen developed the Betonstations franchise concept. "A Betonstations franchisee buys a machine from us for collecting small quantities of cementitious products. So we provide the complete concept and are responsible for quality control, staff training and national marketing. For the franchisee, often a sand and gravel dealer or concrete recycling company, it's a nice addition to the program. A win-win for both the franchisee, who gets added value from just supplying sand and gravel, and the customer, who no longer has to work with a concrete mixer himself. Each franchisee is also guaranteed its own territory."

A mobile delivery station can mix and deliver up to 10 m³ on site.

Mobile delivery station

Hoogeboom Raalte is one of the first franchisees of Concrete Stations. The family business is taking its first steps toward a circular economy thanks to the Concrete Station. "We are active in demolition, recycling and GWW," says Jurgen Hoogeboom. "The Concrete Station offers plenty of opportunities to reuse concrete. We demolish a building, break the concrete and screen it by grades to then reuse it in the plant." The family business is also one of the first franchisees to also mix and deliver on site with a mobile delivery station on a truck. Says Cornelissen, "The delivery station is basically a similar machine, only one stroke larger and placed on a truck. That way, a franchisee can mix and deliver up to 10 m³ on location."

Currently, Cornelissen's network consists of seventeen Concrete Stations in the Netherlands. "There is still plenty of room for expansion. In the coming years, we want to grow to forty pickup stations and around twenty delivery stations in the Netherlands. If required, in cooperation with partners, we will also help to finance the Betonstations franchise concept."