'We innovate to stay in tune with customer demand'

Klimaatservice Holland B.V., together with Elektroservice Holland B.V., is an established installation company with projects throughout the Netherlands. For 43 years they relieve clients with innovative, sustainable and comfortable total solutions.

What determines that this Hardinxveld-based company has been significant in the installation market for decades? And how does that translate to today's practice and the needs of tomorrow? We discuss it with Jan Nederveen, Director of New Construction at Klimaatservice Holland.

Climate Service primarily serves clients in the industrial market, utility market and hotel ships. Why do they choose you?

"In every project, we strive to create a pleasant living environment with the right level of comfort. Sustainability, innovation, guaranteed quality and the pursuit of continuity are always at the basis of this. Clients see us not only as a technical specialist, but also as a cooperation partner who can be of service in every project phase. Whether it is the development and realization of a new plan or the efficient management of an existing situation. The interests and wishes of the customer are always the starting point. These include, for example, quality, savings and/or sustainability."

The new Hourglass building on Amsterdam's Zuidas.

How do you respond to customer interests and desires in 2019?

"What ultimately matters is that you deliver good work, within schedule and budget. In that respect, it is impossible to imagine our work without BIM. Especially on new construction projects, we can no longer ignore this way of virtual building. The advantage of BIM is that we, but also all other construction partners who design in the building information model, have insight into a project from the beginning. Communication and coordination run more smoothly, and you can resolve any "clashes" between disciplines right from the preliminary stage. Failure costs during execution are therefore a lot lower. Moreover, BIM lends itself ideally to prefabrication. Based on the model, we can produce the installation components completely to size. On site, we then only need to assemble them."

You also renovate and transform many buildings. Is BIM adding value to this value?

"The trend we see in renovations and transformations is that existing buildings are scanned in 3D. That scan is then integrated into a BIM model. With this virtual blueprint of the building, you can very accurately create your architectural and installation designs and overlay them in 3D. One project we are tackling in this way is the renovation of office building De Walvis in Amsterdam. This office from the 1960s is poorly insulated and includes a gigantic cooling system and a thick gas connection. While preserving the existing qualities, we make the building meet today's requirements again. For heating and cooling, for example, we are realizing a WKO storage facility."

De Walvis office building in Amsterdam.

To what extent do you develop new techniques yourselves?

"Our design department is constantly working on new techniques. This mainly involves innovative, customized solutions for a specific customer demand. A good example of this is the control technology for Booking.com's new office in Amsterdam. Together with other Siemens partners, we contribute to a 'smart building' concept, aimed at a better user experience of the building, more well-being, fun, cooperation and operational efficiency. With this concept, we create a smart building, by bringing together a host of technologies and applications. Think of building automation, indoor positioning, space comfort, fire protection, workplace design and optimization, safety and health."

How important is innovation to Klimaatservice Holland?

"We do not innovate to innovate, but to keep responding to customer demand. Sometimes this requires a new technique, other times we recommend a solution outside our scope. What matters to us is that the customer is unburdened and satisfied. On that basis, we work with the customer to build a lasting relationship. For example, we see that a good portion of our renovation and transformation projects come from our own maintenance portfolio. The moment the installations need to be replaced or made more sustainable, we are asked to do so. We also often stay involved for maintenance after a transformation or renovation. We rarely say goodbye to a customer and we, together with our 250 dedicated employees, can be proud of that."   

Industry Street 31,

3371 XE Hardinxveld-Giessendam

T +31 184 61 39 11

E post@klimaatservice.nl

W www.klimaatservice.nl