His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange today officially opened Van Oord’s new head office in the presence of hundreds of guests and Van Oord employees. The Prince unveiled the name of the building: “De Nieuwe Maas” (The New River Meuse).
Sustainable, maritime character
The new head office at Schaardijk in Rotterdam is owned by Van Oord. The building has a sustainable, maritime character. The maritime aspect is emphasised by the waterside location, the use of a lot of wood, and the architectural design with balconies and terraces. All this is reminiscent of the bridge of a ship. Sustainability was an important element in the design and construction, and is present most clearly in the sedum on the roofs and the heat/cold storage system. Van Oord was closely involved from the very beginning in the design and fitting out of the building, and imposed its own stamp on the new premises.
Important training location
Besides somewhere people work, the new building is also somewhere they are trained. For example, the head office has simulators for the company’s most important working vessels. CEO Pieter van Oord explains: ‘The simulators – part of which we developed in house – show the outside view from the trailing suction hopper dredger, the cutter suction dredger, and the backhoe dredger. We use them to train our fleet crew. This training programme forms part of the Van Oord Academy, which comprises all our development and training programmes.’
Extension
There are some 700 employees working at the new building. Van Oord has also purchased an adjoining plot of land for a future extension.
World leader
Van Oord is a leading international contractor specialising in dredging dredging, marine engineering, and offshore projects (oil, gas and wind energy sectors). It has more than 5,000 employees working all over the world and some 30 branches in various countries. Van Oord is an independent family business based in the Netherlands.
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Dredging Today Staff, June 21, 2012; Image: Van Oord