Moving up the chain

Something special is happening in the contracting industry. The traditional relationships between client and contractor are changing. "As a contractor in the field of overhead and underground infrastructure, we are moving further and further up the chain," Johan van Otterdijk of Hurkmans Groep observes. "Cooperation in the chain where more and more tasks are shifting from the client to the contractor is the future." The family business has gone through a huge transition in recent years to prepare for this, for underground infrastructure, new form of cooperation.

Hurkmans Group is a Brabant-based family business with some 400 employees, specializing in the realization of above-ground and underground infrastructure projects. The group consists of three entities: contractor company Hurkmans, Ockhuizen and Mart Geers. "With the contracting company, we focus on the construction, maintenance and renovation of underground gas, water, electricity and data networks. Ockhuizen is the specialist in the field of well drilling, steel pressing and wells for soil energy (WKO/KWO) and water extraction," Johan explains. "With Mart Geers, we are active in the world of underground and above-ground industrial cabling and network construction, focusing mainly on the petrochemical industry."

Playing in the vanguard

"In concrete terms, moving up the chain means that we are increasingly acting as an advisory and designing party in the preliminary phase," Johan continues. "We are also taking on environmental management for the laying of cables and pipelines, including coordination with the competent authorities and local residents. This requires quite a different approach than that of a traditional contractor. We have adjusted our organizational structure in recent years and, together with our clients, are already reaping the benefits. Just looking at the energy market: no one knows where it's definitively going. There is a lot of talk about electrifying neighborhoods, wind and solar energy, geothermal and hydrogen. What flavor it will be in which neighborhood is often still unclear. As a bridge builder, we consult with municipalities and energy companies and use our expertise to help think about the necessary energy transition. With this knowledge, we can retrain our people in a timely manner, which we often do in-house. In addition, we have even more influence in the design phase to ensure the safety of our people and the environment." 

"A lot is being asked of the public power grid," says Johan. "Entire neighborhoods that are electrifying, the construction of solar parks, distribution centers sprouting like mushrooms and so on. That puts enormous pressure on both the grid and the capacity in the market. In addition, we also see issues coming up with the design and construction of heat networks in existing neighborhoods when the subsoil is already full in many places. Challenges in the context of energy transition that we are happy to take on. Perhaps the biggest change here is not the technology but the way we work together. Putting aside self-interest and working unconditionally together to work together."