STRAATWERK Nederland, SKG-IKOB, and the KBR Straatwerk Foundation sign a letter of intent for a single national quality assurance system for paving work

The KBR Paving Certificate will eventually replace the current certificates issued under the SEB Accreditation Scheme and BRL 9334 Paving

STRAATWERK Nederland, SKG-IKOB Certification, and the KBR Straatwerk Foundation signed a letter of intent on July 9, 2026, in which they set forth their shared ambition to establish a single, uniform quality assurance scheme for the Dutch paving industry. This step marks progress toward the implementation of the Paving Quality Assurance Scheme (KBR), which will eventually replace the current quality assurance schemes for paving.

STRAATWERK Nederland, the trade association for paving companies that was formed through the merger of OBN and VMS, is committed to further professionalization and quality improvement within the paving sector. Based on this ambition, the trade association has expressed its desire to:

• To further increase quality awareness within the paving industry;
• Encourage paving companies to demonstrate their quality to clients;
• To work toward a single, widely supported quality assurance system for paving;
• To consolidate existing quality standards into a single, uniform set of standards for the industry.

New Role for the KBR Streetwork Foundation

All parties involved endorse the proposed approach. Consequently, a letter of intent was signed on July 9, 2026, by STRAATWERK Nederland, SKG-IKOB, and the former Stichting Erkenning voor het Bestratingsbedrijf.

The former Foundation for the Recognition of Paving Companies (SEB) will continue under the name KBR Paving Foundation and will be responsible for the management and maintenance of the KBR Paving certification program. Together with SKG-IKOB, the foundation will prepare the further organization and implementation of the certification activities. To this end, a joint work program will be drawn up in the coming months, including the associated organizational and financial arrangements.

2026 as a transition year

The year 2026 will be focused on the implementation of the new quality regulation. During this transition period, existing audits and certification activities will continue under the current regulations.

However, companies that meet the requirements of the new regulation can already be assessed and certified under the KBR Paving Standard. This facilitates a gradual transition to the new quality assurance structure.

Starting from January 1, 2027 SKG-IKOB and the KBR Paving Foundation will jointly oversee the conduct of the audits under the new regulations.

Greater clarity for clients

The KBR Paving Program offers clients the opportunity to give greater and more objective weight to quality in bidding and selection processes. The program includes clear and verifiable quality criteria, which provide greater insight into craftsmanship, reliability, and sustainable execution.

This allows clients to better ensure the quality of the paving work delivered, and provides certified companies with a recognizable quality seal within the market.

Signatories to the Letter of Intent

The letter of intent was signed by:

• Johan de Krom, president of STRAATWERK Nederland;
• Bastiaan Benz, on behalf of SKG-IKOB Certification;
• John Steevens, chairperson of the KBR Straatwerk Foundation.

Shared Ambition

By signing the memorandum of understanding, the three organizations reaffirm their shared ambition to systematically improve the quality of paving work in the Netherlands. The introduction of the KBR Paving Standard marks an important step toward a single, future-proof, uniform, and widely supported quality assurance system for the entire paving industry.