Case Study: Dutch Marine Ingenuity
Read this chapter to learn about a family-owned dredging and marine engineering business that has managed to survive and prosper over 150 years due to entrepreneurial ingenuity and continued commitment to its people and environmental sustainability. It takes you through the company's evolution and the challenges of being profitable and responsible while aiming to achieve four SDGs.
As a marine dredging and engineering company, what challenges does Van Oord face in attempting to be profitable and protect the environment? How does the company leadership and culture inspire entrepreneurial ingenuity?
Concept
By the mid-1960s Van Oord Utrecht had developed into a company with a turnover of approximately €15 million, 400 employees and a wide range of activities: coastal and river bank protection works, dredging, and earthmoving works. But in the late 1960s the growth of the marine construction market in the Netherlands slowed considerably. The company was faced with a choice: should it stay in the Netherlands and try to expand its domestic activities, or should it seek to conquer new markets abroad? And if the latter, what were the risks, and what investment would be involved? Could the company do it on its own?
Jac. G. had died in 1966 and the company was now run by his sons Goof and Jan. Goof was a strong proponent of expansion abroad, while Jan advocated staying in the Netherlands and growing the company with associated activities such as road building, concrete works, piling, etc. He believed expanding abroad was too risky and the company might be forced to give up its independence, maintaining that independence was a prerequisite for the whole family. During this period several major Dutch construction companies sounded out the brothers about their willingness to sell the company. They rejected all advances. Not so their cousins and rivals at Van Oord Werkendam who sold out to the Hollandsche Beton Groep (HBG) in 1971.