This year, Vroom will have been in existence for 60 years. We will reveal our rich history here regularly, using images from back then illustrated with, not least, facts, figures and anecdotes from our past.
From 1990, Vroom’s new generation joined the family business, making five family members in total. Klaas Vroom showed the next Vroom generation the tricks of the foundation trade in an unconventional manner. In the mud, with the shovel, under the rig or at the construction meeting. The members of the new generation had to earn their spurs themselves: nothing was handed to them on a plate.
Following the successful introduction of the cast in-situ vibrated pile, it was now the turn of the DPA pile, a cast in-situ soil-displacement concrete screw pile. Offering solutions with pre-cast foundation beams was a logical step in the process. And, naturally, Vroom aims to maintain a competitive advantage on other foundation companies.
The people at Vroom still formed a close-knit team. Klaas Vroom held firm that all innovations of the past few years could not have taken place without the unbelievable efforts of the piling operators in the conventional systems. Expansion of the range remained his watchword after 1991. Reality as he saw it would continue to mean installing foundations from the sandy strata to ground level for the foreseeable future. Environment-related issues demanded (and were also given) increased attention. Vroom was dedicated to developing more environmentally-friendly piling systems. The foreign market appeared to be far away, but was coming closer and seemed worth exploring. Despite the construction market shrinking, Klaas Vroom still had plenty of confidence for the future.
Continuing in the spirit of the founder
Not long after the summer construction-industry break in 1994, Klaas Vroom was admitted to hospital. He passed away at the age of 56. This was a sledgehammer blow for the family, and the loss was also felt by all the employees, particularly those in the generation of machinery operators and pile drivers who had been with the company from the start. Everyone knew the founder of the company to be a man who knew no fear. What’s more, Klaas was always ready to lend anyone a hand, and helped the company get through thick and thin. He put his heart and soul into the continued existence of the family business and, no less importantly, into keeping the group together.
Going on in the spirit of Klaas Vroom is something we don’t need to think twice about, something we still do right up to the present day. Vroom is more than just a name; it’s all of us together.
