5 questions to Dennis van der Weerden, account manager at Boels Rental, and Jos Biemans, contractor at Stam + De Koning Bouw bv Eindhoven (Netherlands)
What can you tell us about the project?
Dennis: “We are here close to Eindhoven Airport and the highway A2/N2, in the Brainport Park on the Brainport Industries Campus. In this so-called ‘Factory of the Future’, companies from the manufacturing industry, especially technical suppliers, can do business, innovate and produce together at a high-tech level. This is now happening on 100,000 m2 and in the future there will be four more campuses that will be at least as large. For the city of Eindhoven this really is a prestige project and for Boels it’s great to be involved.”
Why is this project unique?
Dennis: “Companies can collaborate with each other and with so-called knowledge institutions. Because they are literally under one roof, the lines are short and beautiful things can arise here. This is a great benefit for the international position and competitiveness of the Dutch manufacturing industry. Companies can share production areas and machines as well as other facilities such as a reception area, canteen, warehouse and office space.”
What is special about the construction method?
Jos: “The building is a modular construction system and will be delivered as a closed box. Tenants are flexible in the number of square meters they want to rent and the layout. So we build the inside afterwards. The windows are also placed afterwards because we then know exactly which rooms are going to be where.”
What did Boels deliver?
Dennis: “We have about 15 scissor lifts here as standard. We also have construction hoists, scaffolding, storage containers and smaller material. A while ago Jos called me because he needed fans. They were going to pour a concrete floor and that was going to take about 24 hours. I then had a number of mega fans from Boels Power & HVAC come from Belgium.”
Why did you choose Boels?
Jos: “We like working with Boels because they offer a good price and service. What’s more, Boels can supply just about anything and that is very pleasant. Boels, or Dennis, is really a good partner. If I need something, I just have to call him and then I know it is going to be all right. Usually he can even deliver within 24 hours; that’s great!”
