Platform for the food and beverage industry
International performance from an authentic, Dutch family business is the best way to describe Dertec. Currently still tucked away in a relatively small building next to the Milieustraat in Voorhout, but from January 2022 Dertec will move into a beautiful new building at Einsteinpark 1 just inside the Sassenheim border. An excellent time to take a closer look at this world-class company.
Frans Noest - managing director - says of Dertec: "In 2002 we started as a trading company from the Nobels/Siberu group. After years of hard work, growth and development, we continued as an independent company in 2014. After the takeover, my sons Mark and Martijn and daughter Mandy joined the company and we have since formed the management of Dertec together. A fantastic challenge to do business together'.
Dertec started as a trading company whose primary product is aluminum and cast iron drives. This product is well suited for many industries, such as agriculture and bulb cultivation. However, the food industry could not do well with it. 'In the food industry, production is hygienic.' says Frans. 'They don't want rust and bacterial formation on drives, because of the risk of contamination this poses. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable with aluminum and cast iron drives. These drives are often treated with a coating that temporarily prevents rusting, but this is not a sustainable solution. That's why we started developing our drives in-house, especially for the food industry.' Mark Noest adds, 'From our Engineering department, we have developed a very complete line of drives, with which we can meet the market's need for food-safe drives.'
But what makes Dertec drives so unique? Why are they a good solution for the food industry? According to Mark, the choice of material in particular is crucial. 'Our drives are made of stainless steel, which means that the component remains unaffected even in the most aggressive environments, think of acids in cheese rennet, or salt water in the fish industry. This makes the drive a durable alternative to aluminum and cast iron. With some maintenance, the drive will last a lifetime'. In addition, Dertec has looked very critically at the design of the gearboxes. For the food industry, easy cleaning is extremely important, preferably without aggressive cleaning agents and with as little effort as possible. Because yes, time is money! 'The drives have rounded corners everywhere so that dirt cannot accumulate and the housing is very easy to rinse and clean. In addition, we only work with food-safe seals to eliminate dirt accumulation there as well. It really is a unique product and because of our broad package and options, we are the global market leader in our field.'
That Dertec is a world player becomes clear from the conversation with Frans 'Dertec currently exports to 21 countries, from America to Australia, from Japan to Mexico. Sales in the Netherlands are already huge, but exports have also taken off in recent years'. Dertec is growing so fast that the building it moved into six years ago has already become too small. This is confirmed by Martijn Noest - '6 years ago we moved into this building with the expectation of never growing out of it, but in the meantime our turnover and staff have tripled. The current premises are really bursting at the seams'. But in addition to more space, Dertec was also in need of more modern facilities, and that's what the new building under construction is all about. 'We spent months at the drawing board to design the premises. For example, we have multiple machining areas for our mechanics, to be able to do all machining in-house. The Engineering department will soon have three test rooms to extensively develop and test all innovations, ideas and customer-specific requirements. In our oil room we have several oil drums with various types of oil, including Halal and Nut Free, so that the customer can choose which oil is suitable according to the application. This is also what makes our company so unique. Because we do everything in-house, we can be very customer-oriented and fast.'
Construction of the new building is currently underway. The exterior facade is in a state of completion and gives a good impression of the building. From the management, Mandy says that they actually can't wait: "The new building gives us so many advantages. Not only for daily operations but also for working conditions and job satisfaction. That is sometimes forgotten, but it is so important in an organization. And certainly for a company like Dertec, where we have the family feeling and team atmosphere high on our list of priorities.' Dertec is a family business at heart. An inspired team of employees is ready to serve the customer every day. 'As a team, together. That's our strength.
