Reuse of guide rail pays off

From large to small projects: Van Straten Geleiderail BV is a specialist in vehicle barriers, collision protection (building protection) and street furniture. Director Ad van Straten talks more about their wide product range and the company's future developments, including the unique reuse of existing guide rail. 

Van Straten Guide Rail has grown into a reputable player in the market since its founding in 2005. "We are growing fast and have in-house knowledge and expertise," says Ad. And with all this knowledge, Van Straten Geleiderail is active in various industries, including construction and infra. "We work on many projects in the infra sector, both guide rail construction along freeways and verge protection on provincial roads. But we also do a lot in construction and for municipalities, providing collision protection in large distribution centers and parking garages, for example. For example, one of our larger projects was the supply and installation of fencing and collision protection for the new construction of Amsterdam Logistics Center. We also installed durable wooden guide rail along several provincial roads."

Wide product range

So many different industries and projects naturally require a broad product range. "We have guide rail constructions, handrail constructions, crash protection, crash barriers, guard posts, protective brackets, pipe constructions, anti-parking tubes and many other similar products. In addition, we recently introduced a completely new package of plastic crash protection," explains Ad. "We have also broadened our horizons with street furniture. For example, we have drop-off poles, sidewalk poles, benches, waste bins and bicycle lean-to fences in our range. In short: we always have a solution for every project. We are known for our direct and short lines in our company and to our customers and suppliers. The moment we start a project, we are all immediately aware of what needs to be done. This also makes it clear to our customers because they know immediately who they need to go to."

Reuse

Sustainability is also an important theme at Van Straten Geleiderail. "There is increasing demand for the reuse of guide rails," notes Ad. "With every maintenance or renovation project, we assess the quality of the existing guide rails. In many cases, reuse pays off. For example, on the A58 between Goes and Middelburg, together with KWS Roosendaal/Gebr. Van Kessel Wegenbouw, we were able to sustainably reuse approximately 60% of the guide rail over a 17-kilometer section. After disassembly, all parts such as the guard rails, spacers, posts and diagonals were tested in the factory against the prevailing guidelines, de-galvanized and re-galvanized. It is then given a new seal of approval, allowing the guide rail to last another 20 years. This is how we give a used guide rail a new life and the CO2 emissions for the guide rail on the A58 project were reduced by 70%. Reusing guide rail pays off!"