Next generation in charge at Van der Ende Groep

As of July 1, Lex van der Ende will officially take over the role of Managing Director from his father, who is co-owner and founder of Van der Ende Groep. As a major shareholder of the company, Piet will remain closely involved and contribute his knowledge and experience, and will still be part of the executive board.

For more than 40 years, Piet van der Ende has headed Van der Ende Groep as Managing Director. "I have complete confidence in the future with Lex as Managing Director, he has proven himself in recent years, he is ready and fully supported," Piet says proudly.

The history of the company goes back to 1985, when Piet started out in his father's barn. While still employed at an electrical company, he noticed many leaking and poorly functioning pumps being used by horticulturists. He saw an opportunity there. By introducing a special seal, the pumps could be overhauled. Soon it was no longer possible to overhaul everything in the evenings only, so he started his own company. Van der Ende Pumps was born. In addition to repair and overhaul, orders for new pumps and other related products soon followed. For more complex issues, new solutions were invented, such as the Enbar LVM.

The company moved from the barn to its own premises and a second branch in Oss was soon established. With a stronger focus than ever, knowledge was linked to the products. They entered new markets such as construction and industry, so the company became less dependent on horticulture.

Lex has been in the company since his youth, but he officially joined the company in 2008. Besides the traditional work, Lex soon saw that departments had to be reorganized to yield even better results. Various agencies were contracted and the range was further expanded to be able to supply a total concept, all under one roof. Through the acquisitions of Moor Filtertechniek and Artemis, the company also gained knowledge in water treatment.

"After years of being closely involved with management and making strategic choices, I am really looking forward to growing the company together with my colleagues. I have learned a lot from my father and I am looking forward to the future!", Lex states.

Lex is about to start his function at a new location. Van der Ende Groep, currently located at Maasambacht in Maasdijk, will soon be relocated to Aartsdijkweg at the Coldenhove business park (Maasdijk). Owing to the company’s strong growth, its premises at Maasambacht had become too small and a new location had to be found.

This location, in the building along the A20 motorway, was selected two years ago with a view to future expansion: one third of the building (comprising a total surface area of 16,000 m2) is currently leased. As a result, space will not be a limiting factor to growth in the next few years to come. The outstanding accessibility of this top-class location, as well as the logistics possibilities this offers, were determining factors in Van der Ende Groep’s decision to invest in this building. ‘We frequently receive international visitors and our new building has the right image for this. We are very pleased with this. An additional bonus for our staff – most of whom come from the Westland area – is that we will not be moving more than one kilometre away,’ says Lex van der Ende.

Van der Ende Groep moved into its current premises at Maasambacht in 1985. Purchasing more land made it possible to scale up and, by doing so, grow along with the demand for its products. However, after the last expansion (2014) it became clear that the limit had been reached: the continuously growing production no longer satisfied the requirements and further expansion was no longer possible. Relocation was inevitable.

The executive board and the project team have invested – and still are investing – a great deal of time in the furnishing of the building. ‘Together with our project team we examine the various options for every decision we make, all with a view to further streamlining our processes. We took a closer look to our entire organisation, which resulted in a partial restructuring. Every division is now future-proof,’ explains Lex van der Ende. He continues: ‘We can now work on further achieving our ambitions and living up to our responsibility in the field of sustainability.’

Considering the diversity and size of the company, the various divisions will be relocating in phases. The first division, the Metal department, has already moved into the new building and by the end of June the relocation will be completed.

The new address will be: Aartsdijkweg 23, 2676 LE Maasdijk, the Netherlands.

For more information:
Van der Ende Groep
Maasambacht 4
2676 CW Maasdijk
+31 (0)174 51 50 50
sales@vanderendegroep.nl
www.vanderendegroep.nl