Earth-moving company contributes to Dutch infrastructure

As a specialist in ground, road and hydraulic engineering, Van Schaik Grondverzet BV engages in a diversity of earthmoving activities. Not only for dyke reinforcement, construction of locks and highways. Van Schaik also does not shy away from paving the backyards of private individuals. They do a lot themselves, but also supply manpower and equipment to all major contractors in the Netherlands.

The family business in Harmelen has existed for 44 years and is active in ground, road and hydraulic engineering in the broadest sense of the word. To this end, the company possesses extensive expertise in several areas. Earthwork, sewer work, road construction, housing construction, hydraulic engineering, lifting and construction of sports fields are just a few examples.

Projects from small to large
The versatile company works in large and small projects, such as to prepare land for construction, excavate or pave terrain. 85 percent of its work involves supplying labor and machinery from 1 to 40 tons. Director Peter van Schaik: "We call this units. We supply a machine with an operator and increasingly also an excavator. On average we are working with about 50 people and machines in various projects. We mainly work for the large Dutch contractors. But if a private person wants the backyard raised, we do that too. So we are very flexible. Even if a request comes at the last minute, we can switch quickly and make sure that one or more machines are available the next day. Our expert people, good machines and our large network make this possible."

Modern and clean machinery
The company has extensive modern machinery, consisting of mobile and crawler cranes, shovels, trucks, tractors with soil dumpers and now also a drum sieve. All are equipped with the latest technology, from GPS, cameras and swivels to weighing systems. And just like the employees, all machines are VCA certified. Van Schaik: "We want to keep our machinery young and work with energy-efficient equipment. For example, with our hybrid machine that is 20 percent electric. This puts us ahead of the market." 

Recently, the company has been engaged in earthmoving work for the dike reinforcement on Texel. Van Schaik thinks it's wonderful. "Moving a lot of soil, smoothing and finishing the slope. A major project with which we are doing our bit for the Dutch infrastructure. It makes the Netherlands a bit safer again!"