'We put water to work'

The family business Henk van Tongeren Water & Techniek puts water to work and is not sitting still itself. Director Guido van Tongeren, in fact, has been a member of the executive board (DB) of trade association Bouwend Nederland since this year and has announced the acquisition of a fellow groundwater contractor as of January 1, 2021.

A strong piece of (groundwater) engineering for infra, water and construction projects. "That's what we deliver every day to keep projects moving, throughout the Netherlands and beyond," says Van Tongeren. "We have grown to become one of the largest players in the field of well drainage with five offices in the country. We have a wide range of techniques and expertise in-house. For example, we ensure dry and safe work on construction projects, supply buildings with water, support governments in their water management and develop innovative techniques to deal more sustainably with our earth."

The customer counts

"In all our areas of expertise, we combine our years of experience with the latest techniques," Van Tongeren continues. "No challenge is too crazy for us in this respect. We can relieve customers from A to Z for both small and large projects. A deliberate choice. The client counts, not the size of a project. That explains the strategy with multiple offices. Nevertheless, over the past ten years we have also specialized in groundwater management for larger infrastructure projects. We have proven that we can handle such projects well. For example, we have contributed to the Koning Willem-Alexandertunnel in Maastricht, the A9 Gaasperdammerweg, the N31 Harlingen, De Centrale As (Nijega-Dokkum), the A24 Blankenburg connection and the Aanpak Ring Zuid, the major reconstruction of the southern ring road in Groningen. In addition, we are involved in several data centers in Eemshaven."

Specialist groundwater contractor

The ambitions of Henk van Tongeren Water & Techniek don't lie. "Our goal is to grow into the specialist groundwater contractor in the Netherlands," Van Tongeren emphasizes. He is certainly ambitious. For years he was chairman of Jong Bouwend Nederland region East and a region administrator. He is also involved in the Infrastructure Platform East and the Department of Underground Networks and Groundwater Management. Since 2020, he has been a member of the executive committee of Bouwend Nederland and as of January 1, 2021, the takeover of Theo van Velzen Grondboortechniek en Bronbemaling has been ratified. "With this acquisition we are by far the largest player in the market and we almost double in size to 140 employees (was: 75). It also gives us a very strong position in the western part of the Netherlands as well as broadening our knowledge, employees and equipment. With Tjaden Grondmechanica (part of Theo van Velzen) we also have our own engineering office." Despite the incorporation by Henk van Tongeren Water & Techniek, the companies will continue to operate under their own names.