'A well-prepared scope of work is the basis for any successful project'

Van de Beeten BV is a multidisciplinary contracting company with a focus on infrastructure projects. Peter Verbakel, infra manager at Van de Beeten, was responsible for preparing the site in Duiven for the construction of distribution center DUI01. "We have been working well with the client Wouters Schijndel for three years, this project is no exception."

Site preparation for distribution centers is familiar territory for Van de Beeten. "We have a lot of experience with this. We provide a strong foundation so that Wouters Schijndel can get to work smoothly. It also worked out well that we had nice weather at the start of the project. This allowed us to prepare the building site in a very short time. Bad weather causes months of delay. Water and sand make for mud and you can't build on that. Now we were nicely on time and you benefit from that for the rest of the project."

Whimsical terrain

"After working together for several years, you understand each other well and half a word is enough," Verbakel says. "That is an important condition in large, complicated projects. In Duiven, too, that worked out well. We were dealing with a very erratic terrain, so close to the river IJssel. We were even within the protection zone of the dikes, which was new
posed problems."

Watching out for work

That's why the contractor company sat down with the water board. "Our earthworks have to be done carefully. Logical, because a dike just has to be safe with high water. That results in a different set of requirements than you normally have on an industrial estate. For example, within 50 meters of the river you may not have hollows, because they fill up. And the water must not run back into the pipes. You really have to take that into account. Fortunately, everything went well on this project!"