Geonius Geotechnics: "APB's repair and maintenance facilities are very valuable."

Since the eighties Geonius Geotechnics has been user of A.P. van den Berg equipment. The company, with offices in Schinnen, Utrecht, Breda (The Netherlands) and Herentals (Belgium), started with a CPT Truck. Later on a CPT Crawler and a first Track-Truck were put into service. In October 2015 Geonius purchased a second-hand Track-Truck, originally built by A.P. van den Berg. Many reasons to dedicate our Newsletter column “Partners in Geotechnical Services” to Geonius Geotechnics.

Geonius Geotechnics

Geonius originates from two companies, Geoconsult active in geotechnical and environmental research and advise and Survey Partners International active in land surveying and design work. The frequent request for the combined services of both companies led to a take-over of Geoconsult by Survey Partners International in 2003. The first two years both companies continued to operate as separate entities, managed by mr Frank Bemelmans and mr Eric Bessems. In 2007 it was decided to integrate into one company: Geonius. The company now has six divisions and has grown rapidly into an all-round engineering company with 160 employees. One of the divisions is Geonius Geotechnics. This division’s expertise lies in (geo)hydrological and geotechnical investigation and advise and the monitoring and repair of foundations. Its customers are contracting companies, renowned engineering firms, housing associations, project developers and municipalities in the Netherlands and abroad. Geonius has the drive to make each project a success from a stable and healthy base. Therefore they make every effort to provide their employees a pleasant working environment. This allows them to fully focus on a respectful interaction with the customer and to deliver a solid service.

Mr. Jos Verbeek at Geonius Geotechnics

Since 2006 mr Jos Verbeek has been manager of the Geotechnics Division. What he enjoys most in his work, is the variety in projects and working with such an enthusiastic and motivated team. Together with his team, he is committed to service the complete market, from infrastructural to residential construction projects.

Cooperation with A.P. van den Berg

In the 25 years relationship between Geonius and us we have ensured that the CPT capacity of Geonius Geotechnics was sufficient to keep up with their market demands. Our know-how of CPT equipment has always been a key driver for Geonius to select A.P. van den Berg as their preferred supplier. For the CPT operators it provides the advantage that they are always familiar with the technology, regardless of the CPT unit they get assigned to. The recent second-hand Track-Truck was even built in the same year as the one Geonius already owned, so nearly a twin brother. With respect to the procurement process of this second-hand unit we purely acted as intermediary, so introducing buyer to seller and no further commercial role. This clear structure was much appreciated by mr Jos Verbeek. The repair and maintenance facilities of our company are also considered to be valuable. Geonius prefers to plan maintenance on its CPT vehicles during quiet operational periods, generally in the holiday seasons. Mr. Jos Verbeek appreciates that we ensure sufficient capacity to carry out service jobs in these holiday seasons. As a result of his positive experiences, he started a Service plan for his CPT systems. Now preventative maintenance jobs are planned already years ahead, so Geonius can expect a longer lifespan of its equipment and a reduction of repair costs. Besides, as Service Plan customer they profit from the additional discount on repair parts.

Future

The interview ends with the question whether he wants to mention particularities. Mr. Jos Verbeek replies that one day a year all employees are doing voluntary work for a charity of his or her own choice. The primary purpose is the social contribution, but at the same time it has a positive influence on the team and it breaks the daily routine. We think this initiative should be set as an example for every company. We wish Geonius lots of success in the future.