Ever since 1991, edibo and the Dutch Huijbregts Groep have been working together structurally for the expansion of their industrial site in Helmond. Working together, as in: literally. We have realised more than 10 projects as a construction team, together. This is a true partnership and one we are very proud of. An opinion still shared in 2024 by this traditional, international market leader in the world of powder mixtures, which is also family-owned.
“edibo’s speed is what convinced us”
It has been over thirty years since edibo first appeared on the Huijbregts Groep’s radar. It was Frans Huijbregts, then owner and second generation at the wheel of the family-owned business, who granted us our very first assignment. Back then, at the head was the late Theo Custers, edibo founder.
“They were in charge of the construction of four industrial halls and they didn’t have any time to spare. Nonetheless, they succeeded in proving their worth immediately. The speed at which they performed their tasks was a strong signal for us to consider a long-term partnership.”
Both parties found each other on other fronts as well. “In the Netherlands, there was a very closed procurement system at that time, with lots of individual responsibilities. You could hardly call it a collaboration. We have always had a hard time relating to that. We handled things differently from day one with edibo, as a construction team: open communication, the guts to call it like it is and primarily, looking for solutions together.”
“Luckily, the edibo culture as a family business was retained”
“It proved to be the start of a wonderful understanding that has been going on for more than 30 years and 10 large projects”, Jos van Roij continues. For all these years, together with his colleague Erik van den Nieuwelaar, he has been in charge of the technical monitoring of the performed works. “This is only feasible when there’s two parties who commit to the plan. There’s something that goes haywire on every construction site and there are difficult moments in every collaboration but those problems, you solve together. Whether you’re in a business relationship or a marriage.”
“Of course things change over 30 years”, Frans Huijbregts proceeds. “But even then, it’s important to never stop talking. The fact that the new generation of managers maintained Theo’s culture, has sparked a lot of respect in us. The openness and creativity, but also the realism and mainly searching for solutions instead of thinking in problems is something we still see in edibo today.”
“Challenges with regard to jobs and sustainability”
At edibo, we have the motto Challenging Buildings, but what are the current challenges for Huijbregts Groep? “We opened up a subsidiary in Spain three years ago. We won’t exclude the idea of another Huijbregts site somewhere else in Europe in the future”, Frans Huijbregts carefully prophesises.
“Today, we are mainly focusing on the job market, in finding the right people in a very tight labour market. Secondly, the geopolitical situation and climate change got us thinking. How can we find a sustainable balance in order to continue our successes? Those will be the biggest challenges for the near future.”
Beautiful partnerships know no bounds, right?
If you agree and you are toying with extraordinary ideas for the construction of your next industrial project, then we are convinced that we are the ones who can offer you excellent services.
How we will achieve that? That, we would like to tell you in a non-binding meeting. Be sure to contact us and we are happy to arrange a meeting with you. In the meantime, take the time to browse through a selection of our realisations.