Smart concrete floors

Market leader in logistics concrete floors opts for new positioning and corporate identity

The world knows Van Berlo as a market leader in large-scale logistics concrete floors. For years, the company has been highly committed to innovation, sustainability and the environment, with, among other things, the award-winning Greymatter technology as an impressive result. Meanwhile, the market leader is sailing a new, data-driven course with a leading role for research and development and a strong focus on the customer's business process, for which floor properties, environmental impact and costs are harmoniously matched. To bring the market along with it, Van Berlo recently adjusted its positioning and completely revamped its corporate identity.

"The market for large-scale logistics floors is changing considerably. This is also changing our role," says Daniel Toonen, Senior Sales Engineer at Van Berlo. "Whereas initially we were mainly an extension of the contractor, we are now sitting at the table with the logistics fitters (material handling suppliers & integrators) and developers. A good development, because for high-end logistics processes, the floor is one of the most important elements. A realization that we now also see trickling through in the market. In the past, the wishes and requirements regarding, for example, logistics layout, floor, environment and costs were often fragmented in the market, so that the final solution was often a compromise rather than the most optimal solution. We are now changing this by sharing our knowledge and expertise right from the initiation phase. As a result, processes can be better streamlined and we walk the right path from the start."

Up to 20 years warranty

Currently, Van Berlo is in talks with various material handling suppliers & integrators and developers, to interpret its added value in logistics projects. "We are also organizing knowledge sessions with these parties, to gain more insight into where their needs lie and how we can connect to them," Toonen said. "One of the fruits of this is that our name is mentioned at a different position in the chain; namely, where the initiative for a development arises." From the responses, Toonen notes that this is appreciated. "We have knowledge and expertise that is hugely important to stakeholders. And that is not surprising, because the output of a project depends on what you put in at the front end in terms of user requirements, site information, concrete and reinforcement possibilities, real flatness requirements, available budget, et cetera. What makes Van Berlo unique is that we can then also give substance to these wishes and requirements. After all, we also have the production in-house. We not only develop and engineer, but also guarantee the promised results and performance. That's why we dare to give up to a 20-year warranty."

National Environmental Database

Following the above parties, Van Berlo also wants to share its knowledge and expertise with other relevant parties, for which, for example, sustainability and CO2 reduction are relevant topics. "We are also anticipating this, with a category-1 product map for our foundation piles in the National Environmental Database (NMD)," said Toonen. "Moreover, we have started an LCA (life cycle analysis) process with our concrete floor, based on which parties will soon be able to make unambiguous environmental performance calculations. The NMD entries make the environmental performance of our products independently transparent and help parties achieve their sustainability goals (e.g. BREEAM)."

50% less CO2

In the construction of large distribution centers, the concrete floor represents half of the total CO2 emissions during building development. Van Berlo's Greymatter technology provides significant sustainability without compromising on quality and performance. Currently, Greymatter realizes commercial floors that emit up to 50% less CO2 and remain crack-free. With this groundbreaking technology, Van Berlo has won the Cobouw Innovation Award 2023.

Crossing the border

Van Berlo is also actively targeting the international market. "Many developers and material handling suppliers & integrators are internationally oriented," Toonen said. "We like to cross borders with them, to harmonize knowledge, quality and efficient processes on these projects as well."

Sharply engineered and expertly produced 

With the new strategy, the various brand names for products and business units disappear. From now on, everything will be under one familiar name: Van Berlo. "We no longer think from our own product. What matters is what a floor can deliver for a client," said Toonen. "We develop and devise custom floors that are well thought out, sharply engineered and expertly produced. Our new slogan 'smart concrete floors' tells in an international and innovative way what we have been good at for almost 45 years, and that is innovation. Our new website vanberlo.com fits this perfectly."