Many hands make light work and a beautiful distribution center

A new distribution center for online supermarket Picnic is currently under construction in Geldermalsen. GDM02 promises to be an impressive feat of modern infrastructure. Peter Verbakel, director of infrastructure at Van de Beeten, talks about the company's role and approach in this extensive project.

Van de Beeten is a leading contracting company, which is highly regarded in the construction of building foundations. Led by Peter Verbakel, Van de Beeten offers a wide range of services; from engineering and sewer planning to performing large earthmoving projects. "We like to look with our customers as early as possible," he says. "That way we bring out the best idea and design and can work cheaper, better and faster."

Knowledge and skills

The new distribution center in Geldermalsen is an ambitious project designed to support Picnic's logistics operations. Van de Beeten is responsible for preparing the site for construction and building the entire infrastructure. This includes earthmoving, sewerage and infiltration crates for rainwater collection. Verbakel explains, "We take care of the execution, as well as the sizing, drawing and design. We have a lot of experience and therefore the knowledge and skills to carry out this kind of project successfully." 

Impressive figures

Construction began just after the construction holiday last year. This early start was crucial because of the heavy rains that followed. "The weather absolutely did not cooperate," says Verbakel. "Thanks to our planning, we were fortunately able to minimize the inconvenience." So far, Van de Beeten has moved 15,000 cubic meters of soil, laid 1,750 meters of sewers and installed 2,600 cubic meters of infiltration crates. She has also begun laying 15,000 square meters of paving for vehicular traffic, and another 10,000 square meters of landscaping will be completed in the fall. Although much work has already been done, there are still important steps to take. The focus now is on completing the street work, which is scheduled until this year's construction period. 

Thinking in solutions

The project had some challenges, including the need to flip the schedule. Verbakel explains, "Because of the high water level, we couldn't build the basement in the fall. Geldermalsen is situated between two rivers, so the battle with the water is not easily won. By mutual agreement, we therefore decided to build the basement in the spring. With a lot of effort and thanks to good communication, that construction was recently completed."

A golden combination

Van de Beeten has shown that it can realize impressive infrastructure projects under difficult circumstances. Verbakel owes the results mainly to the good collaboration: "We have been working with contractor Wouters Schijndel for a long time and also in this project it turned out to be a golden combination. After five years, half a word is enough for us and that works extremely well." The contact with client Intospace also ran like clockwork. "As long as you keep communicating with each other at difficult moments, everything works out. And fortunately we are good at that." With completion in sight, it is clear that the parties were one in the same. GDM02 is not yet finished, but it already stands like a house.