Gebr. De Koning celebrates 125 years

Gebr. De Koning is 125 years old. A history that has always been connected to activities on the border of land and water. For the first sources dating from around 1680 tell of the De Koning ancestors (then called Coninck or Keuning) who earned their living trading in brushwood in the area between Oost-Papendrecht, Sliedrecht and the Dordrecht Biesbosch.

In 1900, Ph. de Koning (great-grandfather of the current owners) started a hoop making & wicker trade. After implementation of the Delta Works, which greatly changed the tidal area, and the emergence of alternative materials in hydraulic engineering projects, a different path had to be taken. This became the wet contracting business, such as the manufacture and installation of sinks and shoring and bridges.

Main contracting projects

In 1962 a first piling rig was purchased: the beginning of a number of investments in large equipment. From the late 1960s, projects were taken on as a general contractor, with more and more often, in addition to pile driving, civil engineering works in wood, concrete and steel, including increasingly steel sheet piling.

Equipment investments

In 1978, Gebr. de Koning was founded. The company has experienced steady growth ever since. It has always invested heavily in equipment, which has resulted in, among other things, a large fleet of machinery and an ample amount of steel sheet piling. In 2011, the company moved to its current location, where the office can be found, the warehouse, a workshop for the manufacture of steel structures, a workshop for maintenance of its own equipment and a carpentry workshop for the manufacture of precast concrete elements and precast formwork. In 2022, the site was expanded following the acquisition of the site from Ph. de Koning c.q. van Hattum en Blankevoort.

More efficient and sustainable

Besides the fact that Gebr. de Koning is a relatively large capacity player that constructs infrastructural concrete structures and deploys a large amount of "standard" equipment, innovation is also in its DNA. "We are constantly investing in new technologies and methods to make our operations more efficient and sustainable," says commercial manager Leo van Dijk. "For example, we have invested in the latest and innovative concrete technologies, precast production and vibration-free and emission-free equipment, which puts us among the top in our industry." 

Challenging environments

All this equipment allows us to work in challenging environments, Leo continues. "That ranges from the historic city center of Amsterdam to the monumental Stenendijk in Hasselt near Zwolle. We also work closely with our own engineering firm to develop innovative solutions to complex problems. Whether designing sustainable quay walls or strengthening dikes with minimal environmental impact, we continue to challenge ourselves to lead the industry. Our focus is on sustainability and safety, always choosing the most appropriate equipment and the most effective methods for each job."

Innovative foundation techniques

Did you know that Gebr. De Koning is also an "early adopter" of various innovative foundation techniques. A selection of the many techniques:

• Silent Piling Technology (1990): Compact, low-noise and vibration-free compression technology for steel sheet piles suitable for urban and sensitive sites.
• High-frequency variable vibration technology (1992): Commonly used low-vibration vibration technology for installing sheet piles and tubular piles.
• Quattro Piling Technology (2008): Low-noise and vibration-free pressing technique where multiple sheet piles are pressed simultaneously.
• Resonance Engineering (2014): Vibration-free vibration technology for installing sheet piles and tubular piles. Suitable for small quantities of sheet piles and hard-to-reach locations.
• Super Crush Piler Technology (2020): Compact vibration-free pressing technology for installing sheet piles in hard subsoils (e.g., boulder clay, sand and gravel).
• Clamp Crane Technique (2021): Space-saving lifting technology, ideal for narrow hard-to-reach locations.
• First emission-free HWBP Dike Reinforcement (2021, Stenendijk Hasselt): First in the Netherlands. 100% electrically powered equipment. Preservation of national monument Stenendijk.
• Gyro Piler Technology (2023): Compact vibration-free technique for installing pipe piles: uses rotary motion instead of piling. Suitable for hard substrates: boulder clay, gravel, sand, rock formations.

"With the mentioned techniques, we answer today's challenges in terms of emissions (emissions), sustainability, environmental awareness, manufacturability and low cost," concludes a proud Leo