Hotline - Andus Group - December - 2009

systems too, such as ISO 14001,

the latest ISO and VCA standards.

PED, ASME, HP-0, WHG, CML,

So we can safely say that the

SPC, KNS and BTR. To give an

Andus companies are operating

idea of the controls in force: in

at such high levels that retaining

2009, 19 audits were conducted in

the certificates is no longer an

the area of ISO and VCA alone.

issue. The challenge is now to

Several changes occurred to the VCA checklist (2008/05 version) in late 2008. Besides the VCA* and VCA** certification, a new certification level has been introduced, namely the ‘VCA Petrochemical’ (VCA-P). This is primarily intended for companies that carry out complex activities for (petro-) chemical installations. The difference between VCA** and VCA-P is mainly in the scoring system. Both checklists comprise 47 questions. A positive score for 39 items is needed for the VCA** and 45 for the VCA-P.

raise the quality and safety levels

Benefitting from the system

even higher to benefit as much as

We made it through each test

possible from the system. Thus,

†

A solid agreement As mentioned previously in this Hotline, AEB Amsterdam has concluded a 5 year framework agreement with Gouda Refractory Services to maintain their waste incineration lines.

im memoriam

This concerns the maintenance of the refractory linings for the four incineration lines of the WEP (Waste Energy Plant) and the two incineration lines of the HEPP (High Efficiency Power Plant) that have been operational for two years now.

The contract includes the supply and installation of refractory materials and related services.

A tragic event occurred in Nigeria on Sunday, November 8, 2009.

Early in the evening of that day, our highly experienced Nigeria manager, Ton van Loon, was involved in an armed attack on the public highway. The company van in which he and other passengers were travelling was fired upon. Everyone, including

A Happy New Year

Full of good spirits • 1600 B4 overhead wire arms

Our group’s orders amounted

Here are a few of our recent orders:

A year of hard work is behind

to over 60 million euros for the

• A framework agreement with

us, now it’s time to enjoy a

months of September 2009

AEB to maintain all refractory

the Hanze line, on the Lelystad-

relaxing holiday in the circle of

through November 2009.

linings, both in the four existing

Zwolle route.

our family and friends. It’s the

Considering that these are mainly

ovens and in the two High

time of year to remember what

for projects that will be fulfilled

Efficiency Power Plant ovens

we really value in life. And to

in 2010 and the year thereafter, a

that we delivered two years ago.

think about how fortunate we

good foundation has already been

You can read more about this

should consider ourselves after

laid for next year. This - plus other

commission below.

a successful year.

signals from the market - confirms

with attachments on behalf of

• Eight charcoal burners for China.

And that is just the beginning...

• Bicycle bridge over the Hartel

our faith in the future.

canal.

We can then return full of the energy necessary to meet the daily challenges. A brand new

The contract, signed by both directors on November 27, is for a period of three years followed by an automatic renewal of a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years.

This agreement marks the start of a challenging partnership between AEB and Gouda Refractory Services. The contract provides for a number of interesting performance indicators that will constantly steer us towards optimization of maintenance.

Ton, managed to escape but Ton was hit by a bullet in his thigh.

Ton was quickly taken to hospital but he died some hours later of internal bleeding caused by the bullet wound.

Our shock and dismay is great. We would like to offer his wife and three children our sincerest sympathy and support in coping with this terrible loss.

year is just ahead of us: once again, it is up to us to seize opportunities and make it a great one!

Happy holidays!

Andus Group Managing Board

Major changes at Gouda Feuerfest The Gouda subsidiary in Germany has undergone a total

maximum profit from the expertise

transformation over the past year. It is now, in fact, an entirely new

within the group. With a concerted

company headed for a successful future.

effort in the areas of product development and engineering, Gouda

HOTLINE IS A N A NDUS G RO U P P U B L IC AT I O N HotLine appears several times per y e a r. T h e p u b l i c a t i o n i s i n t e n d e d to inform personnel, clients and suppliers about the developments in the Andus Group.

EDITORIAL BOARD K ris R ooi j akkers N iels W ibier

L AY- O U T A N D P R O D U c T I O N BUREAU HOW

EDITORIAL ADDRESS beukenlaan 117 5 61 6 V C E I N D H O V E N

ANDUS GROUP BV EINDHOVEN / TEL . 040 - 211 58 0 0

A SSELBERGS VENTIL ATOREN BV UTRECHT / TEL . 030 - 246 95 01

FIB INDUSTRIËLE BEDRIJVEN BV LEEUWARDEN / TEL . 058 - 294 59 45

GFD SERVICES PARSAU (WOLFSBURG) / TEL. +49(0)5368 97 06 60

GOUDA FEUERFEST WILLICH / TEL . + 49(0)2154 88 87 0 0

GOUDA PROJEC T S BV GOUDA / TEL . 0182 - 59 14 0 0

GOUDA REFR AC TORIES BV GOUDA / TEL . 0182 - 59 14 0 0

GOUDA VUURVA ST BELGIUM SCHOTEN / TEL . +32(0)3 - 326 57 0 0

GOUDA VUURVA ST SERVICES BV GOUDA / TEL . 0182 - 59 14 0 0

HSM OFFSHORE BV SCHIEDAM / TEL . 010 - 427 92 0 0

HSM STEEL STRUC TURES BV SCHIEDAM / TEL . 010 - 427 92 0 0

INTER STEEL NIGERIA LTD L AGOS

INTER STEEL SLOVAKIA SRO KOŠICE / TEL . + 42 155 729 92 27

LENGKEEK IJMOND BV VEL SEN NOORD / TEL . 0251 - 22 35 23

LENGKEEK STA ALBOUW BV HOOGVLIE T RT / TEL . 010 - 416 16 4 4

MEBR A ME TA ALBE WERKING BV BUDEL / TEL . 0495 - 49 93 53

P&K R AIL BV UTRECHT / TEL . 030 - 246 95 92

RIJNDIJK ENGINEERING BV EINDHOVEN / TEL . 040 - 246 72 28

RIJNDIJK STEEL CONTR AC TING BV EINDHOVEN / TEL . 040 - 211 58 0 0

RIJNDIJK TECHNIC AL SERVICES BV BUDEL / TEL . 0495 - 49 92 22

W VL STA ALBOUWER S BV SCHAGEN / TEL . 0224 - 27 31 0 0

Gouda Feuerfest began life in

Quality and flexibility

Feuerfest will be ready to tap its

Klötze, a small town in former East

Since there are strategic reserves

new markets.

Germany, and a drive of some 5

stored at both branches, the

to 6 hours from its most impor-

company’s reaction time and flexi-

tant clients. Now, the company

bility have improved enormously.

has locations in both Parsau, near

Changes to the team include the

Wolfsburg, and Willich: at the heart

appointment of a new director

of the Ruhr region, close to industry

and a new commercial manager.

and with a service area of some 20

Finally, the bonds with the other

million people. This makes main-

Gouda branches in Belgium and

taining a good client relationship a

the Netherlands have been greatly

lot simpler.

strengthened thereby facilitating

W V L S TA A L B O U W E R S •

the re-certifications were based on

RIJNDIJK TECHNICAL SERVICES •

excellent result given that five of

ISO 9001 and VCA, but other

RIJNDIJK STEEL CONTR AC TING •

year. This does not only concern

RIJNDIJK ENGINEERING •

VCA certification extended

P&K RAIL •

lengthy list of checkpoints. An

M E B R A M E TA A L B E W E R K I N G •

an external audit several times per

L E N G K E E K S TA A L B O U W •

only four faults found within a

LENGKEEK IJMOND •

the Andus Group must submit to

I N T E R S T E E L S L O VA K I A •

with flying colours. There were

1 | no. 3 | December 2009

INTERSTEEL NIGERIA •

paper. This also implies that we The operating companies within

ANDUS GROUP SERVING THE INDUSTRY

volume

HSM STEEL STRUCTURES •

its own sake, not for the piece of

HSM OFFSHORE •

as long as certificates are not seen as mere paper tigers.

G O U D A V U U R VA S T S E R V I C E S •

external audits actually add value.

G O U D A V U U R VA S T B E L G I U M •

and accident rates. We do this for

GOUDA REFR AC TORIES •

as safe as possible. The many regulations in existence guarantee this,

about you AND US GOUDA PROJEC TS •

the certification authorities so that

GOUDA FEUERFEST •

retain a critical attitude toward

a drastic reduction in failure costs

GFD SERVICES •

for example, we look to achieving

expectations. An employee should expect that working conditions are

FIB INDUSTRIËLE BEDRIJVEN •

A client should expect that every effort is made to meet his/her

A S S E L B E R G S V E N T I L AT O R E N •

HotLine

Better, safer working environment

Our own transportation from now on!

“I don’t need technology to do my job for me”

Sometimes there can be perfect symmetry in business: an analysis of transport costs for Gouda

Manager Hans Taverne and Jeanet ter Agter from the sales and marketing department were two of the five key users closely involved in both the

Refractories made it clear that it would be more attractive for the company to use its own transport. At

introduction of the IFS software and the deployment of the Baan IV system. Real leaders, who were not too happy at first…

the same time, a minor reorganisation was on the cards. The reappointment of two employees as drivers was thus settled: to their immense satisfaction they received training, which included safety and crane

“Do you find that strange? We had

in making IFS workable and could

While IFS was still running, we

So, it was about improvising. One

operating, and gained their commercial driver’s licenses.

spent years slogging away at that

manage it just fine in the end. For

were entering sales orders into the

thing is certain: I don’t need tech-

system. We had invested heavily

sales and marketing for sure. We

new system by trial and error. The

nology to do my job for me. It was

It takes getting used to

Gouda companies. But if you have

lers and a DAF CF 85 truck with

to customer sites, but will also be

could do a lot with it. Maybe too

sales and purchasing aspect was on

business as usual. We would get

For over forty years ‘the neigh-

major transportation logistics to

Palfinger loading crane. Naturally,

employed for internal transport

much. But the production depart-

track really quickly, production was

the administration part right later.”

bour’ took very satisfactory care

deal with, it can be more econo-

they are provided with navigation

between the Gouda branches at

ment was making remarks and

also going well, but the snag was

of all the transportation for the

mical to undertake it oneself.

equipment, blind spot cameras

home and abroad. The fact that

criticisms, there was still too much

in the planning and dispatch, what

Satisfied

Especially if the drivers come

and will soon have toll hard-

there is already a 100% capacity

that had to be entered manually.

with complex packing lists, combi-

“Finally, we were fully functioning

from one’s own ranks.

ware for Germany and Belgium.

utilization shows what a good

It’s odd how quickly one becomes

nation pallets and so forth. But that

on Baan IV and it was going well.

could be worked on.”

Of course, there were still plenty

Gouda Refractories also took over

decision it was to make this not

accustomed to a system even if it

Only the best

a Mercedes truck from Gouda

inconsiderable investment. Even

doesn’t function, one takes it for

The decision was taken quickly.

Feuerfest.

‘the neighbour’ is helping out

granted. Then it’s time to start the

Clients come first

what was great was that there was

once more.

whole process over again, and with

“Time flew by and we knew that

so much we could do ourselves

The result: beautiful, gleaming

of things we could wish for. But

white trucks on the Gouda

A full house

an impossible deadline: 9 weeks!

we would have to go live at a given

to optimize the package. Staff are

premises. Not any old trucks: a

The trucks will, of course, be used

You would have wondered too. But

moment. Obviously, this caused

just happy with it, right across the

heavy DAF XF 105 with two trai-

to transport all materials and tools

we said immediately that we would

a certain amount of adrenalin.

board. We did the job. Incredible,

make the best of the situation.”

Especially as it was decided not to

really.”

migrate data from the old system.

What a party!

Friday, November 20, was the great day: in the presence of guests, friends, family, some colleagues and

Just begin

So when an order came in, we

“Within two weeks, a blueprint

had to enter all the information

of our organisation had been

manually. Raw materials, finished

produced and we received a day’s

product, customer details, you

basic training. It was decided what

name it. It was stressful, but we

the simplest interpretation for us

were always clear that we would

would be and we got down to work.

not let our clients suffer as a result.

relations, the new Andus Group company headquarters was ceremoniously opened. It was also a great occasion on which to celebrate Tom van Rijn’s 25 years as an entrepreneur.

Directly across from the Evoluon

was apparent during the first tour,

and René Froger ensured a great

guests were invited to make dona-

in Eindhoven, an amazing piece

following on a spectacular light

atmosphere and a lively dance

tions to Mappa Mondo in Waalre:

of architecture has sprung up:

show that marked the official

floor.

a home for children from 0 to

the new home base for RijnDijk

opening of the building. The event

Engineering and the head offices

was characterised by interesting

of the Andus Group. There is still plenty of space left over too! This

Never seen before

18 years old with serious chronic

Senior Director Sijmon van den Berg from Infor still smiles when the implementation of Baan IV by Gouda

To add an extra element to the

illnesses. The generous contribu-

Refractories is mentioned. “A project like that just gives one so much energy”. Naturally, Infor played a crucial

talks and shared memories, a tasty

special occasion of the opening

tions will be very well spent there.

role in this implementation, but Van den Berg credits the drive and motivation he saw at Gouda Refractories

snack and drinks. Karin Bloemen

of the Andus Group’s new home,

A warm thank you!

for its success.

Doing what has to be done

“This project killed all the sacred

model. It functions well. Our

it in 9 weeks for a fixed price?’ I

cows. And I’m happy to admit

product delivers added value fast

have to say, I’ve been in this busi-

that the Andus Group approach

in comparison with other systems

ness a long time but this was the

has made me look at our service

partly because it is based on this

first client to make such explicit

differently. If you don’t think in a

model. Not too complex and no

demands. Odd, really. Because

preconditioned way, dare to step

long introduction pathways. After

that’s what this is all about. So we

out of your comfort zone, break

all, you want to gain your driving

were glad to accept the challenge.

The construction of the Stopera, the Betuwe line, and the North-South line in Amsterdam: these are just a

its hands entering lists manually,

boundaries, think in terms of

licence within the foreseeable

A near impossible task, but we

few examples of past and present projects that have run out of control regarding time and budget. There is a

then there is no choice but to pull

solutions and express complete

future.”

took the attitude that we could do

smaller example to add: the introduction of the Atos Origin IFS system at Gouda Refractories. In May of that

the plug. Infor was approached to

confidence in each other then you

year, after nearly 3 years, the Andus Group decided to put an end to this money and energy wasting project

implement the Baan IV system

can really move mountains.”

How to solve it?

and to start again. Lead time: 9 weeks instead of 3 years. Purchase cost and annual maintenance: 10 % of the

under strict price, time and

“We computer experts have

“And then you come across the

Just do it

IFS solution. Baan IV was introduced.

deployment conditions. In this

learned to be afraid of taking

Andus Group. You make an

“Again, if you express mutual

it. And we did it.”

Hotline, it is with pleasure that we

risks. We put a lot of the respon-

initial implementation plan and

faith and commitment, have

Three years ago, IFS seemed like

so many consultants on the floor

and maintenance/license costs per

let two key users and Infor say a

sibility on the client and have

enter into discussions. ‘What do

a great steering team and key

that now. Yes, it was a good

the best option. Until it became

that temporary housing had to

annum soared. This would all be

word about the successful conver-

good reasons for this. Build your

you mean 34 weeks lead time?

user behind you, manpower is

project. Instructive. I would like

apparent that the ‘standard

be built for them. The total cost

acceptable, but when it turns out

sion.

own system, it is your project, we

What do you mean optimization

not an issue, you are given the

to do it that way more often. Isn’t

package’ had to be supplemented

ran to nearly 3 times the original

that the system is not functioning

will support you intensively and

costs? What do you mean respon-

freedom to push yourself and

it wonderful that one can be so

with a mass of customization

price. Deployment took one and

as required and the production

then gradually pull out, etc. You

sibility on us as the client? This is

bear the responsibility for the

inspired? Andus, thanks!”

work. At one point, there were

a half years longer than planned

department has constant work on

could call it the driving instructor

the situation and can you correct

outcome, then it works. We see