Top sport in civil engineering

Gebr. Griekspoor's roots are in mowing and ditch maintenance. "In order to keep working in the off-season, my father decided at the time to broaden the scope," says Frank. "That started with constructing shoring, installing sheet piling and drilling under roads. Over the years we have grown into a multi-purpose contractor in the infrastructure sector, not losing sight of our roots. We are also engaged in the installation of road markings, the design, layout and maintenance of children's playgrounds, the construction, renovation and maintenance of (movable) bridges in steel, wood or composite and all common work on pumping stations, swimming pools and water works."

World market leader in flame spraying

Due to the maintenance of bridges, Gebr. Griekspoor at some point came into contact with the technique of flame spraying. Frank: "During maintenance and repair work on bridges, we were asked to recondition the handrail work. Initially, we did that through the process of metallization in which a zinc-aluminum layer is sprayed on. Not much later, we mastered the technique of flame spraying." In this, too, Gebr. Griekspoor proves its top-notch sportsmanship. The company has become the world market leader in flame spraying and specializes, among other things, in the spraying of hydraulic cylinder rods in lengths of up to 23 meters. This division also serves the market independently under the name Griekspoor Thermal Coatings.

The Gebr. Griekspoor Group has over one hundred employees across all divisions. "They are all specialists in their field," Frank emphasizes. "We are a company that likes to think along with clients and really try to deliver a piece of added value. We always want to be progressive by raising our bar a little higher each time. In that respect, there are so many similarities between running our company and top sports. Some of our children have also been infected with that virus; they play tennis and motocross at a professional level. What is also unique is that we are a contractor who does a lot ourselves. We have our own 'industrial park', where we do welding, drilling, grinding, blasting, metallizing, woodworking, et cetera. You don't see that much in a contractor these days."

Needless to say, Gebr. Griekspoor has an eye for the environment and the future. Frank believes that the term sustainability is generally misused. "Everyone says they are working sustainably, but we can actually back it up. Performing life-extending maintenance, which we specialize in, that's what I call sustainable. We are also working on ISO14000 certification, occupying level 5 on the CO₂-Performance Ladder and we actively engage in CSR where we train and employ people who are disadvantaged."