Arcadis, Fresh in Food

We are a guest at Arcadis in Zwolle. In a modern office building which, accidentally or not, also houses the NVWA, we visit a relatively new part of the country’s largest consultancy and engineering organisation: Arcadis Food.

Most people know Arcadis from large infrastructure works, or the global fight against water. Not surprising, because the company, originally from Arnhem, is one of the largest consultancy and engineering companies in the world. What is less known is that they are also active as advisors and specialists for the food industry. “But that is about to change”, says architect Gert de Vries. Together with project leaders Bram van Gurp and Ronald de Keijzer, he represents Arcadis’ northern knowledge centre with regard to construction in the food industry.

Food-specific 

Arcadis has been a main supplier in sectors like high tech and pharma for companies like ASML and MSD for years, but universities such as RUG and WUR are also among their repeat customers. Just as in the food sector, these clients set high demands for hygiene, logistics, quality, safety, integrity and sustainability. Arcadis now also combines this knowledge and experience with knowledge of the food industry. For several years now, there has been a strong focus on attracting experts from various knowledge areas in food. As such, a growing team of 25 experts, on the side Business Unit Manager Leen de Kluiver, forms the Process Design & Engineering department in Den Bosch. With Zwolle and Den Bosch, Arcadis has a strategic alliance.

A different Arcadis

“What is unique about this team is that we can unburden our clients from different angles”, says Bram van Gurp. “From both process technology and the construction sector, we combine all specific knowledge under one roof. It is fantastic to be able to immediately discuss a client question with colleagues from the food and process technology sectors. We then immediately coordinate with the client, as well as with our other advisors if necessary. Moreover, more than 28,000 other colleagues worldwide together form a huge source of information for everything that is not directly food-specific. The synergy this creates is overwhelming to me”. 

Large enough to work small

“Multinationals seek each other out, that is a fact, and it is no different in the food industry”, says Gert de Vries. “Thanks to our global presence, we can apply our knowledge locally. We are large enough to work small. Arcadis is a listed company. That offers certainty. Shareholders follow us closely and internal procedures are under constant external scrutiny. Reliable knowledge is what we provide. And we learn a lot from the experiences with these companies in the process. Arcadis wants to make this knowledge further accessible to the Dutch SME sector. With small teams and short lines, we can respond to client demands quickly and expertly. This can range from abstract; ‘I want new construction or expansion, where do I begin’, to specific, ‘my freon installation is outdated, what are my options?’, and it can be large ‘I want to improve sustainability in steps and reduce CO2 emissions’ or practical ‘an additional loading dock, is that possible?’. The entire range of knowledge for realising a food company is available and we do not shy away from working with external partners. 

Quality

What about the integration of technologies such as virtual and augmented realities, and a technique like parametric design? “It’s all we do!”, says Ronald de Keijzer, whose field touches on this. “We are truly at the forefront of this. For instance, we have been working with different disciplines and 3D packages in one drawing model (BIM) from our international position for years. But all the developments surrounding this are happening very rapidly. Think of blockchain, a technology that has already reached both construction and the food industry. We are fully engaged in this. We see these new technologies and developments as our toolbox; they are the tools we use to improve the quality of our services, and thus, the product for our clients.” 

“Consultancy firms sell knowledge. If you want to improve the quality, you have to keep that knowledge up to date. And expand it, of course”, Bram concludes, “whereby competitive hourly rates must be kept into account”. Gert adds: “Just like in food: it is the packaging that sells it, but the contents determine the quality”. 

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Images: ©FOTO HISSINK