In recent years, along with commerce, operations has become increasingly important, says Operations Director Marco Broeren. ‘With increased automation, we ensure that customers will be able to continue to rely on the excellent order fulfilment.’
Marco Broeren is responsible for operations at the Dutch Van Leeuwen branches in Zwijndrecht, Beesd, and Deventer. ‘I divide my work across a number of focus areas,’ says Marco. ‘Safety is a very important part of that. In Zwijndrecht, we work with about a hundred employees in Operations. They must be able to return home safe and sound after work each day. In addition to safety, my key focus areas are: Logistics, Supply Chain Planning, Quality Control and Facilities.’
Three business processes
In the Netherlands, Van Leeuwen focuses on three key business processes within our six market segments (see Markets on pages 12-13), Marco explains. ‘They are the day-to-day operations, MRO & Export and larger projects. Demand in day trading comes mainly from manufacturers, machine builders, wholesalers and our sister companies. MRO takes place within the oil and gas sector and chemical companies. Deliveries for this purpose are often commissioned by customers or contractors. The larger projects focus on large quantities of material for complex new construction. These orders usually come from the larger EPC engineering firms commissioned by the end-customer itself. This involves large quantities and a wide variety of types, lengths, materials and sizes with customer-specific requirements.’
Variety is our strength
‘That variety is truly Van Leeuwen’s strength,’ Marco believes, ‘because we have spread out our activities and, thanks to our international network, we always have a wide and deep product range in stock. We really can always serve all our customers optimally and on time with the materials they need. This spread is also beneficial for ourselves: we are currently seeing that day trade volumes are under pressure, but the projects make up for that. They follow a different economic cycle, and so you always have sufficient revenue. For example, we are currently supplying large quantities of material to a project for a new ethane cracker being built in the Port of Antwerp.’
More discerning customers
In the past ten years, Marco has seen some changes within the markets as well as within Van Leeuwen. ‘Back then, we were truly a wholesale business. It was all about volumes and delivery of full bundles. Over the past decade, the average order weight has declined. Customers are becoming more discerning, buying only what they need at a given time. Often there now are smaller and more frequent deliveries. In addition, the demand for delivery reliability and service is increasing. You used to get ‘sometime next week’ as a delivery date. Now, that’s ‘Tuesday afternoon at 14:00, because that’s when the welding crew will be lined up.’ Moreover, a lot of documentation – for example, certificates – must also be digitized, and that is something in which we have made major investments in recent years.’
Warehousing 4.0
Over the past year, Van Leeuwen Zwijndrecht (Netherlands) has worked hard to future-proof its operations, says Marco. ‘We are in transition, and that’s a good thing. We just have to keep up with the digitization and automation trends. We are embracing the changes in the logistics operation. An important role here is the automation of part of our warehouse. With the recently commissioned Monorail (see side bar), we are automating a considerable part of the logistical movements in our warehouse. Picked goods are positioned into the Monorail, after which the tubes are automatically transported to the truck’s planned loading location, enabling the truck to be loaded with exactly the right material all at once. That way, we improve both the working conditions for our employees and the service to our customers. We are a reliable partner with ‘on-time delivery.’ Customers can rely on excellent order fulfilment.’
In 2024, developments in automation will be rapidly advancing. Marco: ‘I see the Monorail as the first step toward ‘Warehousing 4.0’. ‘In the Monorail, we have automated as many actions as possible. That improves efficiency and you free up people who can pick up other work. That’s important in a tight labor market.’
Van Leeuwen in the Netherlands
Piet van Leeuwen started trading in steel pipes and iron in 1924 in Zwijndrecht. One hundred years later, Van Leeuwen has grown into a globally operating trading company. In the Netherlands, the international head office and warehouse with indoor and outdoor storage and office, are located in Zwijndrecht. In 1987, Van Leeuwen acquired two companies to diversify its portfolio: Bergstaal in Deventer, and Ertsimport in Culemborg, the Netherlands. The Deventer-based company was renamed Van Leeuwen Precision many years ago. The company specializes in precision steel tubes and other precision products, including cylinder tubes, hydraulic lines, shafts in peeled, ground, and hard chrome-plated versions, and various components. And Beesd (the Netherlands) is home to Van Leeuwen Stainless, the stainless steel specialist within the Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group. This is the former Ertsimport. Both companies were an excellent and successful addition to Van Leeuwen’s product range and services.
Construction of Monorail completed
In 2022, Van Leeuwen started up a large-scale investment in Zwijndrecht: a Monorail system. Its construction was completed in 2023, and will be followed by extensive tests in the first half of 2024. The Monorail system will gradually be put into operation during the commissioning phase. As soon as the Monorail is operational in 2024, this will allow us to count on improved efficiency, increased delivery reliability and a safer working environment. The Monorail makes it possible to automate a large part of the logistics movements within the warehouse, which results in a significant drop in transport movements involving cranes and internal transport vehicles. At 315 meters in length across the entire warehouse, it is the largest pipe sorting center in the world.
The foundation piles consist of a combination of steel pipes. The Combulex team flanged all of these pipes in our own warehouse so that one section could be inserted into another to create foundation piles with an average length of 23 meters. The foundation for the new 6,000 m2 floor consists of 520 piles for a total length of 12 kilometers. Thanks to this investment, the Zwijndrecht location will be transformed into a true super hub.
