Van Aalsburg: third generation family business with sustainable willow products

Van Aalsburg is a modern family business where the baton is literally passed from generation to generation. "My five brothers and I learned the craft of brushmaking from our father," says Dick van Aalsburg. "Those years of knowledge and experience stay in the family, more and more family members are actively involved in the business: cousins, second cousins, brothers-in-law. We combine the knowledge of the craft with modern innovative techniques and specific materials so that we continue to develop within our field."

Van Aalsburg's strategy toward the future focuses particularly on sustainability. "This is going to take off in a big way," according to Dick. "With our projects we want to retain more CO2 than we emit, that is -in addition to soil and bank protection- the goal." Not surprisingly, the company is on level 5 of the CO2 performance ladder, the highest level for quality, safety, sustainable wood and environment.

Sustainable in the broadest sense of the word

"In addition to the huge amount of solar panels on our premises and our own transformer house, we run 100% on blue diesel and are exploring the possibility of switching to hydrogen." Plans for a 2.5-hectare expansion of the company site have been submitted to the municipality. "Of course, we use electrically powered boats and equipment as much as possible, because our works mainly take place in natural areas. Because we not only want to work in the most sustainable way possible, but also with sustainable materials. That is why we are also looking to see if our products can be even more sustainable," says Dick. 

Sustainable alternative

"Whereas we previously worked with geotextiles in bank and soil protection, we have developed an innovative alternative. By combining coir and jute mats with the decayed willow branches, a much more durable alternative to current zinc mats, among others, is created." Dick explains that the way it used to be done is now being applied again: "By applying layers of filler wood and row wood, we create more rigidity. We also work, for example, with two layers of cradles with burlap underneath.
In this way we achieve better sand density and tensile strengths at the sinks. Of course, we look carefully at the function so that it is not compromised. Meanwhile, the KIWA in Germany is investigating, but we expect to use this much more often. We have registered a number of models as Van Aalsburg."

Building with nature

At the Lepelaarplassen -a Natura2000 area- Van Aalsburg is now busy restoring the bird islands. "It's really building with nature," says Dick, explaining that specific adjustments have been made to the machinery to realize this nature island in this difficult-to-reach spot. "But we don't shy away from any challenge in our craft," Dick concludes.