De Haan Westerhoff Zonwering, 'Received exactly zero complaints in my mailbox'

They thought along with the process, fitters were busy day and night, and nothing was installed incorrectly or crookedly throughout the building. Gerrit Pama, head of facility services at Aletta Jacobs College in Hoogezand, is extremely satisfied, to say the least, with the cooperation with De Haan Westerhoff Zonwering: "Not only did they make promises, but they kept them." 

De Haan Westerhoff Zonwering is one of the largest players in the Netherlands when it comes to sun protection. Director and owner Paul Olijve. "We deal with sun protection; small and large projects, we provide service and we do maintenance throughout the country. With six branches, we also serve the private market, where we work together in a team of 250 colleagues." 

Hendrik Dijkstra, project consultant at De Haan Westerhoff: "We have in-house solutions for heat on the facade, both on the inside and outside. In the project market, we supply all the sunshades that are requested, also privately. We also repair, even the products not supplied by us." 

At the Aletta Jacobs College in Hoogezand, the sun blinds on the inside were no longer hufterproof and the comprehensive school was looking for an alternative. Pama: "Although we initially had insufficient funds, a financial injection from the government at the beginning of the year enabled us to put the project out to tender. Our building has a total of 13,000 square meters of gross floor area and has a lot of windows and glass. Three parties applied, but soon one withdrew when it realized the size of the project. The other also threw in the towel because they did not have the right people available. In the end, De Haan Westerhoff was left, and I have to say that they were scratching their heads for a while too, but they did it." 

Says Dijkstra, "The total project involved just over 250 sections of screens, taking the energy level of their building to the next level; part of a sustainability effort that also addressed all lighting and air circulation." 

Gerrit Pama: "In the building we placed new walls to create extra classrooms. This led to several classrooms also sharing a window. De Haan Westerhoff thought along in the placement of the partition walls and advised to install outdoor awning cassettes of 160 cm wide instead of 360 centimeters wide. It was a smart solution." The color of the cassettes also proved a challenge. Gerrit: "We wanted anthracite, but that proved difficult and in the end we chose a very nice neutral color. The end result on the outside and inside is beautiful." 

According to Pama, it is the added value of De Haan Westerhoff: "The fitters have been working day and night to get everything done. For example, I wanted two rather than one single cassette at a window on the first floor. That was no problem. They didn't install anything wrong or crooked." 

Gerrit Pama's experiences endorse De Haan Westerhoff's philosophy. Olijve: "By now I have been involved with the company for over 36 years; started as a salesman and took over the organization. We are a family business and all colleagues go to work full of energy and dedication. I am proud of the companies that are there, but even more so of my colleagues. They do the work." 

Dijkstra: "We are a no-nonsense company; what we say, we do. We notice in this that the market likes doing business with us. Our prices are in line with the market and we have the confidence. All you have to do then is get it right; sounds very simple."

Olijve: "We started investing in service twelve years ago. Something others usually did a bit on the side. We set up special teams to relieve schools, hospitals, old people's homes and total utility construction of service and maintenance. It generates fixed contracts and substantial turnover. Every day more than a hundred technicians scour the country to solve problems within 3 x 24 hours. This investment pays for itself twice over." 

De Haan Westerhoff works only with top products available on the market. Dijkstra: "It is our strength to provide service and organize the work well. We hear that architects and contractors are also appreciative of this; we advise them in the design process or help in the calculation of the work." 

Olijve: "We employ electricians, as well as seven project managers who come on site and professional estimators and architectural draftsmen. If we need to help parties with a drawing or architectural advice, we do it. In doing so, we maintain short lines of communication, switch quickly, and if circumstances call for it, we send several project leaders to the construction site." 

Says Dijkstra, "We don't want any hassle, and to avoid that, we like to provide service throughout the life of our products. This turnkey approach fits exactly into our overall plan of advising, delivering, assembling, installing and providing service. Then for us it comes full circle." 

Pama concludes, "De Haan Westerhoff realized everything in a relatively short time. Colleagues declared me crazy as to whether this could be done in a short period of time, but the fitters did some good preliminary work during the vacations, so that upon delivery everything could be installed and adjusted. It was fixed in no time and everything is functioning properly. I have received exactly zero complaints in my mailbox."