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When thinking of maritime activity in the Netherlands, the first region that comes to mind is the Rotterdam area.

However, other Dutch areas also boost a lot of maritime activity, one of them being the northern provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. According to a study conducted by trade organisation Netherlands Maritime Technology by order of TCNN last year, the 112 maritime companies in the north are of economic significance due to a total turnover of 1.3 billion Euros and 4,300 employees.

To strengthen the northern business activities, several initiatives were initiated and Maritime Holland spoke to two of them, Eemsland Service Groep and Eemshaven.info. Eemsland Service Groep, mainly focussing on Delfzijl in the province of Groningen, was founded in January of this year by Anna van Lang, owner of Kraanservice en Montage Leeuwarden BV, a company providing crane services to the maritime and offshore industry as well as engineering, construction and steel fabrication companies.

Van Lang: “We discovered that there is a lot of activity in Delfzijl, and if you want to do business here, you need to be there. Therefore we decided to form a cluster, that currently counts nine companies, and define four pillars to be able to serve all industries in Delfzijl: advice, maritime and offshore, infrastructure and industry.”

The most important components of Eemsland Service Groep are sharing knowledge, being a sound board and attracting other companies to the region. “We want to present ourselves as a knowledge centre regarding our pillars,” says Van Lang, “and our goal is to be one point of contact for companies that want to settle in this area but do not have any knowledge about the area. A win-win situation, as it is also in our interest to get more companies from other parts of the Netherlands to Delfzijl. One of our members, Prince, originates from Zealand and sees a lot of potential in this region, but finds it difficult to get established here by itself. Our group makes the first step for these kind of companies easier.”

Collective tendering

The group also plans to collectively tender for projects, Van Lang reveals: “We can offer a whole package, as our group offers various specialists.” Van der Ploeg Group, active in manufacturing of machinery and equipment for the maritime industry, among others, is a member of Eemsland Service Groep. Sales manager Anne Wiersma comments: “We have defined which parts of a project we want to do ourselves and for which parts we want to hire specialists and therefore grant the work to our colleagues in the group. This enables us to deliver even better work for a better price. When we receive a specific request from a customer, we meet with the relevant parties to share our thoughts without obligations.” Van Lang adds: “We meet bi-monthly to discuss all incoming requests. It is not our intention to be a network organisation; when a company joins, it has to commit to our group, have a dedicated representative here and be active, not only join our meetings to get leads. We want to learn from and strengthen each other, using each other’s network, to thus understand each other better. It is important to be present in the region and to make sure other companies know that. There are no group successes to report yet, as it is too early for that, but individually, we have booked some successes already.”

Additional service

The group has a business location in Delfzijl, where four of the members have an office, and there is a room dedicated to meetings with clients, that can be used by all members. Wiersma: “When the service group proves to be a success, we will also permanently be based here, next to our location in Leeuwarden. We have already been active in the region for some time, but the service group offers us added value because of the knowledge sharing, a base of operations and the cooperation with the other members. The group functions as a sound board, it is possible to discuss bigger issues and because we are a member of the group, we are able to offer our customers additional service, which distinguishes us in the region. One of the areas we operate in is offshore wind, for example the Gemini wind farm. Our clients appreciate that we have a base of operations in Delfzijl, it is more customer friendly. By being part of the group, we are also able to refer clients to other group members, I do not earn any money with that, but it makes my customers happy.”

He continues: “In Rotterdam, we work closely together with several partners. When a problem occurs, it is important to be flexible and react quickly, and with our partners, something can quickly be arranged from Rotterdam instead of all the way from Leeuwarden. I hope that we can establish such a cooperation in Delfzijl as well, having almost immediately someone present who represents us when there is a problem makes the client feeling taken seriously. We want to join forces as the North of the Netherlands. We have two fantastic sea ports in the north, Delfzijl and Harlingen, not everything needs to happen in Rotterdam.”

In June the group presented itself at the trade fair Eemsdelta Expo. Van Lang: “We are still in the start-up phase and get to know each other. The Eemsdelta Expo will be helpful for that for sure.”

Boosting business activities

The Eemsdelta Expo is organised by Eemshaven.info, a network organisation for contact, trade and information for businesses in and around the Eemshaven that aims at boosting business activities between companies within the network and at stimulating the economic development of the Eemsdelta region. The platform focusses on sharing knowledge, information and contacts to enable more successful cooperation. Next to the Eemsdelta Expo and a digital platform, Eemshaven.info offers networking events, business speed dating and company visits.

Karla Wielenga, director of the organisation, explains the history of the platform: “In 2007 the business activities in Eemshaven rocketed and companies started to build. The former owner of Eemshaven.info wanted to know which companies were present and started to collect these data. This is when the networking started and Eemhaven.info was founded. The member companies get to know each other and cooperate out of the Eemshaven. In 2010, my husband and I took over Eemshaven.info.”

Eemshaven.info counts about 250 member companies, of which 25 per cent do business in the maritime industry. The members are not only located in the Eemshaven, but come from the whole Eemsdelta region. Examples of member companies active in the maritime and offshore industry are Imtech Maritime, Marico, Datema, Orange Blue Terminals, Sealane, Geo Plus, Heuvelman Ibis, Royal Niestern Sander and Total Ship Supply.

Wielenga: “We organise network events and during every gathering, a big project in the region is highlighted by a forum conversation. The event in April was dominated by Van Oord and their activities for the Gemini offshore wind farm. After the forum conversation, the companies can engage in the business speed dating, followed by a buffet, again with plenty of networking possibilities. Eemshaven is a growing region, it is great to contribute to this growth. We cooperate with Groningen Seaports and business portal Eemsdelta/EZ, forming a triangle that informs the SMEs about the activities in the region. Being a member of Eemshaven.info offers a company the opportunity to get in contact with other companies in the area. Making contacts and getting the know the region, that is what it is all about.”

Gail van den Hanenberg