High-quality, sustainable solutions made of willow

Sustainable work is also receiving increasing attention within the GWW sector. At Van Aalsburg BV from Hellouw, they anticipate this development in a focused way. With machinery geared towards sustainability, but also in the form of a wide range of high-quality, environmentally friendly willow products. That is what DGA Dick van Aalsburg, responsible for work preparation within the company, says. 

Van Aalsburg is a special family business. Founded in 1964, the company has grown into an all-rounder in soil and bank protection, dredging and sodging, among other things. Specialties that are filled with a diverse range of products. Central to this is a wide range of cradles (sausages of bundled willow, wrapped with sisal or PP rope), which can be used to make zinc and collar pieces, shoring and fences made from willow. A basic material grown partly under strict supervision on 150 acres of our own land in Hellouw. "In addition, we source our willow wood from the Biesbosch in close cooperation with the Forestry Commission," said Van Aalsburg, who, together with five brothers, heads the approximately eighty-specialist willow timber business. "The other materials needed, such as sisal rope, corn cloth and the like, we buy directly from several reputable suppliers."

Eye for the environment 

Van Aalsburg's products find their application in a variety of large (GWW) projects. In the Netherlands and abroad. Even in Suriname. This is always done with a keen eye for sustainability. The ISO 14001 certified company compensates no less than 3,300 tons of CO₂ per year and is on the highest rung (level 5) of the CO₂-performance ladder. At the same time, Van Aalsburg is making a difference through a sustainably-tinted product program that has recently been expanded with a number of novelties. For example, with regard to zinc and corbels. "Previously, we performed these protectors of soils and banks mainly with geotextiles, combined with willow weeds," Van Aalsburg explains. "In order to provide a solution to the increasing amount of microplastics in the environment, we are increasingly using the combo of jute cloth and sisal rope with willow weeds in 2022. A very sustainable solution that can be used in both deep and shallow water under sinks. We are also increasingly providing our shoring with coir and jute instead of plastic geotextiles. Protecting and strengthening nature with nature really works!"

Zinc piece harbor Volendam 

Van Aalsburg's environmentally friendly solutions are perfectly suited for a wide variety of water works. For example, the company recently installed an extremely durable bank protection in the port of Volendam. "By means of cradles knotted on jute cloth, we provided a custom solution here that is at least equal to PP40L geotextile in terms of tensile strength," says Van Aalsburg not without pride.