Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
Are you looking for a staircase or banister that really stands out? For forty years Wolter Tijdink has been the specialist in the design, production and assembly of stairs, landings, railings, balustrades and fencing in steel and stainless steel. “With our extremely modern machinery, we have been making magnificent products for very special applications for four decades,” says Bastiaan te Poele, general manager of Wolter Tijdink. “Knowledge, quality and a personal and efficient working method are paramount here.”
Wolter Tijdink's success story starts back in 1982, when blacksmith Wolter Tijdink starts a stair factory. Both the organization and the product range keep expanding and in 2000 Marcel te Poele takes over the factory. Under his watch, Wolter Tijdink has grown to where it is today: a modern and dynamic family business with about thirty professional employees, who passionately make the most beautiful products. Bastiaan and Leonoor te Poele joined the family business eight years ago. “Our custom products can be admired in various museums and stadiums,” says Bastiaan te Poele, citing as examples the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Arena in Amsterdam and Stadion Galgenwaard in Utrecht. “We also made the (emergency) stairs for the gatehouses at Schiphol Airport, which make the connection between the gates and planes. Every traveler who flies through Schiphol Airport walks over at least one of our stairs.” Impressive references, moreover, include Little C in Rotterdam, Q Residences in Amsterdam and the Jakoba Mulderhuis in Amsterdam.
The Jakoba Mulderhuis is the final piece of the Amstel Campus, the bustling city campus of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA), where nearly 30,000 students learn, research and meet. The new educational building of approximately 25,000 m2 was designed by the architectural combination Powerhouse Company, Marc Koehler Architects and Architekten Cie and consists of a high-rise section on Wibautstraat and low-rise buildings along Mauritskade. The low-rise is connected to the adjacent Theo Thijssen House and the high-rise via an imposing glass roof. The result is an impressive atrium or building heart, in which open educational floors with large terraces fan out.
Subcontracted by Visser & Smit Bouw, Wolter Tijdink produced and assembled all the stairs and balustrades in the atrium. “Working closely with the main contractor, we calculated the stairs and balustrades in accordance with the requirements,” says Te Poele. “Is the architectural combination's aesthetic design sufficiently stable, safe and reliable? Even if panic breaks out in the building unexpectedly and large numbers of students press against the railings? Based on this, some further optimizations were made, such as larger balusters (uprights). The result is a very stylish and safe slat fence with flat strip bars, which flows smoothly into the stair railings.” All the slats are coated black, he says. “For the stairs, steel baking treads were chosen in a sophisticated height, with a concrete fill preventing deflection. The baking treads are finished with a wooden top plate. The combination of black steel, wooden stair treads and wooden floors is really beautiful.”
Following on from the stairs and balustrades in the Jakoba Mulder House, Wolter Tijdink also realized a special escape staircase on the outside of the building, with the stair stringers assembled as a lattice beam for aesthetic reasons. The exterior stairs were hot-dip galvanized. Stainless steel cable nets were chosen for the balustrade filling.
Steel is the basis of all Wolter Tijdink's designs and is combined as desired with other sustainable materials such as stainless steel, glass and wood. “Sustainability is firmly embedded in our organization,” Te Poele emphasizes. “Thanks to 823 solar panels on our building roof, we produce completely self-sufficient electricity. In addition, we have now replaced all fluorescent lights in our production areas with energy-efficient LED lighting. But the most important example of sustainability is our people. We have a close-knit team of employees who have been working passionately for us for many years. As a result, we have an incredibly stable and sustainable base of knowledge, initiative and development, which enables us to take on even the most challenging projects.”
2022 is a special year for Wolter Tijdink. Not only is the company celebrating forty years of knowledge, quality, (after)care and craftsmanship, but with managing director Bastiaan te Poele and financial director Leonoor Prinsen-Te Poele, a new generation is now at the helm of the family business. “A great moment to give our corporate identity a new and modern look and feel,” said Te Poele. “With a new logo and a new corporate identity, we are going into the future full of energy, with respect for our past. Core qualities such as a personal and efficient working method, clear communication, short lines of communication and the typical Achterhoek sobriety will also remain at the forefront in the years to come.”
