Building across the border

A broader view of building

Contracting company Fraanje has long been the regular contractor for the Zeeland company Kotra. As a result, Fraanje was also part of the composite construction team for the new company building in Krefeld, Germany. "But building in Germany is different," discovered work planner/project leader Marijn Gabriëlse. "We could learn from the German parties and the German parties could learn from us."

Kotra Logistics' new premises in Krefeld, Germany, include a distribution hall (almost 2,500 m2) and an office (800 m2). For the construction, Kotra worked with a German architect, who took on the construction management and put together a construction team. When contracts were signed with several specialized parties - including for the shell, earthwork, site design and installations - the construction team was completed with Fraanje as contractor.

Language barrier

Realizing that building in Germany would have quite an impact, Fraanje prepared as best they could for working in a different language, with different rules and in a different culture. "Before the language barrier, we were in the right part of Germany," Gabriëlse says. "The residents in the border area east of Venlo turned out to understand Dutch better than those in central Germany, for example. In addition, our Dutch client spoke good German and several people were bilingual during the construction meetings." 

Other rules

The regulations took some getting used to. For example, many things turned out to be more carefully regulated in Germany than in the Netherlands. "Here the standard rules are exactly in my head. To learn the German rules, I first had to dive into the theory. Then it turned out that in Germany you have to be able to check off many more things before you can submit them for approval. This led to different decisions several times. Among other things, we purchased the exterior wall frames in Germany for this reason."

Cultural Differences

And then there were the cultural differences. "The German employees punctually followed instructions and left the workplace tidy. That made working together very enjoyable," Gabriëlse looks back. "On the other hand, instructions are based on a dream scenario that you rarely encounter in practice. In that case, you are flexible and help each other. There again, the Germans could learn something from us. During the construction process, we grew closer and closer together."

Expanded view

"It was instructive," Gabriëlse concludes now that the premises have been completed. "The challenges this time were not in the construction, but in the organization. We had to arrange sleeping quarters for our people, hold meetings in another language and empathize with another culture. It broadened my outlook. Since the construction of Kotra, I look at construction projects with a broader perspective."