Brabant company builds on 'last lot' Fokker Logistics Park

Next to Schiphol's runways, Van der Heijden bouwbedrijf b.v. provided the expansion of a cross-dockwarehouse. "It was special to build the last available lot of the Fokker Park full under the smoke of Schiphol."

Right next to one of Schiphol's runways is Fokker Logistics Park. Logistics property owner Prologis owns this logistics business park and noticed that one of its tenants, logistics service provider DB Schenker, needed to expand its current distribution center. "Prologis approached us with the request to take care of this expansion," says commercial director Ferry Verstappen of Van der Heijden bouwbedrijf b.v. "We have this demand partly due to our work in the vicinity of the Fokker Park, such as Datacenter AMS8, AMS Cargo I and AMS Cargo II."

The Fokker Logistics Park is former Fokker land, on which old factories have stood, Verstappen points out. "So it is a real redevelopment. In the process, the site was extremely contaminated and work was done according to a complex remediation plan. The Environmental and Transport Inspectorate therefore sets higher requirements, for example for working in the air and in the ground. In addition, the park is not freely accessible, during the construction work we ourselves had to register all incoming transport movements well in advance."

Sustainability Score 

Prologis' requirement to ensure a BREEAM-NL 'Very Good' sustainability score when building the so-called Fokkerpark DC 3D was not a problem for the construction company either. "We came into contact with this sustainability score at an early stage," explains Verstappen. "We already renovated our own building in Schaijk to a sustainability score of 'Very Good' in 2012. Back then, we were already the first company to be awarded this score for a renovation project." In addition, in the context of sustainability, Van der Heijden switched to all-electric during the construction process of Fokkerpark DC 3D, partly due to rising gas prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Construction work

In March 2022, Van der Heijden was able to begin construction. Soon, however, the construction company ran into a challenge: Due to the war in Ukraine, delivery times for materials and raw materials were a challenge. "We had agreed with Prologis that the tenant should be able to gain access to the distribution center by the end of the year. Instead of stressing the challenges, we decided, for example, to manufacture the concrete T-pieces ourselves on site. This way, no problems arose in the project planning. Thanks to the ingenuity of the construction team and thinking in terms of opportunities and possibilities, our colleagues provided this appropriate solution. Through open and transparent cooperation between client, builder and subcontractors, we were able to make smart choices and properly weigh risks. Everything to make a timely delivery possible."

As agreed, Van der Heijden managed to give DB Schenker early access to the new cross-dock warehouse, before setting up the necessary operation. That did not mean, however, that construction work was complete. "In early February, we completed the building
officially delivered." 

Thanks to the expansion of some 10,000 square meters, DB Schenker now has a distribution center at Fokker Logistics Park with a total area of 16,000 square meters. In doing so, the construction work meant that the park is fully built out on this plot, Verstappen points out. "We are proud that with our construction work we have completed the last piece of the Fokker Logistics Park
be able to fill in."