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HotLine about you AND USvolume 2 | no. 4 | june 2010

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“After one year in works planning,

I made the transition to fitter/

welder. Back then, you really had

to be skilled. There was no such

thing as computers. You were

given a scale drawing that you had

to lay on a pipe and then you set

to work. That involved fitting and

measuring, cutting and so on.

Now, the plans are worked out in

the finest detail and the pieces are

all computer cut. But there are still

plenty of challenges as an archi-

tect’s concept is not always easy

to carry out. We always have to

make it anyway, often under great

pressure. And if there’s something

that worries me, it’s the scarcity

of skilled guys. It seems that the

metal worker is a dying breed.”

Making beautiful things“But it is a fine trade. You know,

we worked on the advertising mast

at Schiphol Airport. That’s really

amazing. As soon as you arrive

in the Netherlands, you see some-

thing that ‘our boys’ made. And

when I sit in the theatre of the

Heuvel Gallery in Eindhoven and

see the roof construction, I feel

proud. Anyhow, I’m really proud

that I work here. Seeing how the

company is growing gives me a

good feeling. When I spoke with

Tom van Rijn during more turbu-

lent times, he said: ‘Tinie, it’s like

an old tree. You have to prune it in

order for it to thrive again.’ He was

right, we’re in full bloom.”

ProUd oF ‘oUr boys’

Working together on great

projects

In the last annual report, the Andus Group presented once

again, alongside some excellent figures, a number of pictures of

completed projects. There were also plenty of photographs of

Andus employees. We wanted to emphasise that projects can

only be realised through the continued efforts of our personnel.

Naturally, this also applies to the need for close cooperation

with clients. For this reason, we’d like to hand the floor over to

employees and clients for this HotLine edition. As the running title

in ‘the newspaper’ says: HotLine, about you AND US.

We wish everyone an enjoyable holiday period.

Thanks for all your efforts!

Andus Group Executive Board

Tinie Tijsen set out to ‘do something with wood’. This isn’t exactly

what happened. He attended vocational school and was trained as a

fitter/welder. In 1974, Tijsen joined BNG Steel Construction, which later

became RijnDijk Steel Contracting. He is now the foreman at Mebra

Metaalbewerking.

“In order to understand the situ-

ation, you need to have an idea

of what our plant looks like. We

have three incineration lines that

are each closed down once a year

for major maintenance work. This

takes three to four weeks each

time and costs about € 2 million

per line. That is € 6 million per

year, so a lot of money. Of this

amount, about € 400,000 goes

into the brickwork. Then you

need to know that each day the

furnace is shut down costs

€ 50,000 and that it’s the duration

of Gouda Services’ maintenance

work that determines the length

of the shut down. So there are

enormous interests at stake. The

less often we shut down and the

shorter the production stoppage,

the better it is for us.”

Pick apart contracts or look for solutions“Two years ago, we suddenly had

a problem. We had to shut down

a line for a week and a half when

it had been renovated only 6

months previously. You are then,

as client and supplier, on opposite

sides of the camp. You can choose

to go through the contracts,

look at performance indicators

and start a legal battle. Shall

we, shan’t we? Well, that didn’t

happen. Together with the execu-

tive board of Gouda we came to

the conclusion that the interests

at stake were too great, on both

sides. We combined efforts to

deal with the issue. But it was

one forward thinking action that

proved to be the most significant:

we decided henceforth to work

with a SSG.”

Extending boundaries“A SSG is a Small Smart Group.

We brought together our speci-

alists and those of Gouda to

investigate in an almost scientific

manner what precisely happened

in the furnaces and where neces-

sary to bring in counter-expertise.

Our objective: get to grips with

the combustion process and put

this knowledge into product

innovation or changes to work

methods. Perhaps a different

brick, different mortar, do the

jointing differently. Extend the

boundaries together and together

invest in the future. Look, the

point is cooperation and creating

win-win situations. Having

faith in each other and a single

mindedness about achieving

things. And you can be sure that

great things will grow from that

and have already. We have already

increased our annual revenue

because we no longer have unex-

pected shut downs and less main-

tenance work is required. And

naturally, that ref lects well on

Gouda too.”

things grow when they get attentionAVR in Duiven is a subsidiary of the Van Gansewinkel Group. The company converts waste into energy. For this purpose, it has three incineration

lines that use a large amount of refractory brickwork. Robert Hageman is Maintenance Head of Waste Treatment at AVR. He is happy to talk about

his years of experience with Gouda Services. Some years ago, this relationship came under pressure. But one of Robert Hageman’s mottos is the

title of this article as it is an attitude of open and frank discussion that allows a relationship to survive and even to grow closer.

P&K and asselbergs are relocating

From 1 October 2010, P&K Rail and Asselbergs

Ventilatoren will conduct their activities from a new

location in Nieuwegein. The spacious production faci-

lities will offer greater flexibility to adapt to variations

in activity: from major welding orders to projects that

involve extensive assembly work. The generous and

attractive office space is directly linked to the factory.

And another advantage: the new location is very

accessible from the A2 and A27, as well as by public

transport.

“Our work is getting more diverse

every day. There is, for example, a

clear shift in clients. We used to

work primarily for RijnDijk Steel

Contracting. Today, there are

more and more Andus companies

making use of our expertise. So

we are working on many different

projects at the moment. Our

services are also changing.

We are offering a much more

complete package. From engi-

neering drawings to works

planning, you can bring us into

every stage of the process or for

the process as a whole. Actually,

it’s about providing a service

within a project - we go the whole

distance. Serving the industry is,

in fact, an appropriate term.”

Doing puzzles as a job“Then you have the variety

that comes with my job. It is

commonly believed that our work

has become easier over the years.

Since automation has progressed

so far, there is the false impres-

sion that you only need to look at

a screen to spot a problem. Push

a button a couple of times and

the construction is altered. Well,

that’s not how it works. There

are three factors to consider for

any structure. Firstly, it has to

be well designed. But that’s not

the only factor. It also has to be

really practical to construct. You

have to be constantly aware of

what is going on at the site, and

what might go wrong. A hundred

girders that vary only a fraction

from each other is a serious

problem. And then there is the

third factor: the financial aspect.

One tries, of course, to make a

construction as cheap as possible.

But that’s not always about using

the least weight of steel. You also

have to account for efficiency

in production and assembly. All

these factors add up to a process

that remains similar to doing a

giant puzzle, in spite of all the

wonderful computer programmes.

You remain dependent on your

ingenuity and creativity. And that’s

what makes the job so great.”

aUtomation cannot rePlace hUmansSjaak van Egmond began his career with the Andus Group with a drawing internship at Lengkeek Staalbouw.

He went on to finish his studies for the Eurocodes at RijnDijk Engineering, where he has now been employed as

a structural engineer for two and a half years. He has a good dynamic going for him, in other words.

new name For Fib

FIB Industriële Bedrijven

has evolved into a truly

international enterprise.

Around two thirds of

production is shipped

to foreign clients with

orders coming in from, for

example, the U.S., Canada,

Venezuela, China, Japan

and Australia. FIB has

changed its name to FIB

Industries to emphasise

this international profile

and simplify communi-

cations. Now it can move

forward with even greater

confidence.

FUlly aUtomated PacKing system at goUda

Gouda Refractories produces refractory concrete in

Geldermalsen. The process involved the manual

filling of bags that were then stacked on pallets.

This work method was very f lexible but in some

respects completely outdated. In September, two fully

automated bagging machines and a robot palletiser

were put into service. This investment allows for a

more consistent and cleanly packed product, higher

productivity and considerably improved working

conditions.

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In the Netherlands, we decided to contract out larger orders in order to protect market parties. The difficulties

inherent in this have become apparent to everybody, particularly when it involves projects that take years. Jasper

Tils has been project manager for the ‘Prince Bernhard’s Locks’ for the Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General for

Public Works and Water Management) since 2008, and here looks back at working with HSM Steel Structures.

UnbUrdening the client

Major maintenance on a vital waterway completed

The Prince Bernhard’s Locks in Tiel are the gates

from the Amsterdam-Rijn Canal to the river Waal.

In 2007, HSM Steel Structures was commissioned

as general contractor to substantially overhaul the

locks and to ensure that the lock gates meet the

latest requirements to withstand high water. Both

the ‘wide’ and the ‘narrow’ locks received new gates.

Further, the gates were converted from electromag-

netic power to hydraulic. The locks are operated from

a completely remodelled control room. The celebra-

tory reopening took place in June.

“Let’s be honest, the start was not

easy. There were a few reasons for

this. Besides the usual issues that

you expect, such as additional

design requirements, regulations

that change in the meantime or

setbacks that you encounter at

the offset, there was the change

to the purchasing philosophy

at Rijkswaterstaat (RWS). RWS

was actually always a ‘participa-

tive client’ before. We felt like

we were, and in fact we were

actually right at the heart of the

project. But we all know the story

of ‘more efficient government’.

This affected RWS too. So we are

taking more of a back seat with

projects and expect our clients to

take care of things. If we take a

step back, the other party needs

to take a step forwards.”

Doing what you promise to do “This resulted in some confusion

in the beginning, especially since

the contract was non comprehen-

sive. What is whose responsibi-

lity now? What are the financial

implications? There was debate

and relations were strained.

But this can also show you how

strong a relationship really is.

Trust survived as HSM always

delivers quality and substantive

commitment. We sat down toge-

ther and made agreements about

all the issues. This was good. You

saw the drive to pull it off, the

no nonsense, can do mentality

of HSM. The positive attitude.

If we have to work eight hours,

twelve or sixteen, we handle it:

we deliver on what we promise.

And this is almost always

achieved. It does mean that we

can’t always have an overview of

progress. Can you see that this

can be really odd? Especially seen

in the light of ‘unburdening’ us

as client and the difficulties that

this entails for tendering work.

Process management and process

skills will play an increasingly

important role. This is where the

diverse skills will be found in

the future. I am pleased with the

outcome achieved and see HSM

as an expert and strong partner.”

Fantastic order For goUda reFractories

The Hindalco concern,

located in India, is one of

Asia’s largest aluminium

producers. Hindalco placed

an order with Gouda

Refractories BV to deliver

all the refractory bricks for

the construction of new

anode baking furnaces at

the Mahan and Aditya smel-

ters. Over a period of over 1.5

years – until March 2012 –

no less than 30,000 tons of

material will be shipped to

India. Gouda can, in part,

thank winning this order

on their leading position

(technologically) in the

anode furnace sector.