“Nothing too heavy, nothing too high”: Sarens Nederland joins AYOP

“Nothing too heavy, nothing too high” is the motto of new AYOP member Sarens Nederland. As a specialist in crane rental, heavy transport, and special transport, Sarens is active in various markets: from civil/infrastructure to petrochemicals, and from utilities to offshore. Jaap Zwarthoed, Depot Manager Amsterdam, talks about Sarens’ growth in North Holland, the strength of the family business, and the ambitions within the offshore sector.

A Belgian family business

Sarens Nederland is part of the Sarens Group, a multinational company with its headquarters in Wolvertem, Belgium. The company was founded in 1921 by Frans Sarens and has been active in the Dutch market since 1986. The fourth generation is now in charge. A true family business, indeed. Jaap explains how this is evident: “The Sarens family consists of down-to-earth people with a ‘get things done’ mentality. Yet we are among the world’s largest players. We operate in 65 countries, have 100 branches, with approximately 6,000 employees.”

Depot Amsterdam: closer to the customers

Before joining Sarens, Jaap worked as a crane operator for 15 years. Drawing on his field experience, he started as an account manager in Amsterdam in 2020. “At the end of 2020, Sarens Nederland switched from a central organization in Dordrecht to a depot structure to be closer to customers and have shorter lines of communication. For the past 1.5 years, I have been the manager of the Amsterdam depot: a depot staffed by a planner, account manager, administrative assistant, and depot manager. From here, we serve customers in the Amsterdam and North Holland regions. When I started working at this location, we had 8 mobile cranes at our disposal. Since then, this has grown to 16 mobile cranes, 14 mobile telescopic cranes, and 2 mobile tower cranes.”

Four locations with close collaboration

In addition to the main office in Dordrecht, Sarens Nederland has depots in Vlissingen, Europoort Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. The locations work closely together but also have their own specialties, explains Jaap: “From Amsterdam, we are primarily active in the civil and infrastructure market, while Europoort Rotterdam focuses more on industry, petrochemicals, and offshore projects. On the Maasvlakte, for example, there are two large crawler cranes used for transporting monopiles.” In addition, Sarens provides specialized transport: “With SPMTs (Self Propelled Modular Transporters), we can move very heavy loads. This allows us, for example, to load heavy equipment onto our large seaworthy pontoons.”

Smart solutions, safely executed

Thanks to the various companies within the Sarens Group and its own fully-fledged engineering department, the company can offer a suitable solution for virtually every logistical challenge, both nationally and internationally. Continuous investment is also made in innovation, including electric cranes and the further development of automation. Yet, according to Jaap, people remain indispensable: “We work with enormous pieces of equipment. That requires craftsmanship and experience. Safety always comes first, for both our people and the equipment. So, it remains human work.”

Opportunities within the offshore market and AYOP

Jaap is pleased that Sarens Netherlands has become a member of AYOP. “We already work with a number of AYOP members, but we still see many opportunities to further expand our network and enter into new collaborations. It is important to increase our visibility in North Holland and to further position ourselves within the offshore market. Also, with the growing attention to decommissioning, we expect many opportunities to arise in this region in the coming years. Two colleagues attended the AYOP Business Call regarding the Bridge of Europe: these are interesting initiatives for us to get involved with.” From both the project department in Dordrecht and the depot in Amsterdam, Sarens wants to actively participate in AYOP events and stay in contact with other members. “By working together and sharing knowledge, we can strengthen each other and create new opportunities.”