'A logical step for us in a changing market'

When you have been working closely together for sixteen years and complement each other well in terms of knowledge and expertise, an actual merger into one company is a logical next step. And so Pilkes Lighting BV and Ko Hartog Elektrotechniek continue as one company under the name Hartog-Pilkes. According to director Bjorn Dielemans an important step towards the future.

''The market is changing and there are many opportunities and challenges for us including some serious tasks and investments,'' Dielemans said. This immediately arouses curiosity as to which challenges and tasks he is referring to. Before we zoom in on those, first a brief introduction to the new Hartog-Pilkes. Both companies are traditionally family businesses. Pilkes was founded in 1907, Hartog in 1928. In recent decades, they have developed into highly experienced installers in the market for traffic control installations and public lighting. Now that the merger of the two companies is a fact, it presents itself as an all-round installer in the field of infrastructural electrical engineering. This includes the construction of public lighting, traffic installations and charging solutions. Clients are mostly provinces and municipalities, supplemented by civil contractors. Every day 114 employees literally build the road from the head office in Alkmaar and branch offices in Drachten, Wierden, Utrecht and Vijfhuizen. "We are a company full of technicians. At each location, we have people with the necessary professional knowledge and expertise to pick up and carry out all common work and issues. You see knowledge disappearing at many of our clients due to a shortage of people with the right knowledge. The result is that installers are increasingly expected to come up with solutions to infrastructure issues. And that's where our strength lies. We have the expertise in-house, so also the computing power to work on strong engineering tasks." The projects Hartog-Pilkes is called in for range from the installation of a single light pole at a sports field to large-scale projects of more than 3 million euros. "Our motto is: he who does not honor the small does not deserve the big. We stay close to ourselves and customers can call us for any issue, large or small. Thanks to our roots as a family business, we still have short lines of communication but now with the professionalism and clout of a large company."

Increasing demand for charging systems

In the market, Dielemans sees a lot of movement and change. All the more reason for the two sister companies to continue as one company. "There are some serious challenges for our industry around investments in sustainable resources, increasing staff shortages and certifications. We now have even more opportunities to respond to these and further professionalize. Just look at the increasing demand for electric charging. We supply charging systems for both public and private use. We provide supply, installation and maintenance for parking garages, commercial buildings, shopping centers and homes, among others."

Next Step

Physically merging two companies is step one, but according to Dielemans, only then does collaboration really start. "The upcoming period is all about further bonding between them. This applies to all our branches. Ongoing processes will be further optimized and we will further roll out the new name Hartog-Pilkes and the accompanying logo. This step allows us to take our ambitions to grow in professionalization and service into a new phase. Our eyes are fixed on the future!"