Blog
Unica Industry Solutions is a client and supplier—but above all, a true collaboration partner
Unica Industry Solutions (UIS) is part of one of the nine business clusters of Unica, one of the largest technical service providers in the Netherlands. Joop van der Sterren, branch director at UIS Venlo, regularly works with Bos Nieuwerkerk as a client. Meanwhile, Jaap van der Velde, branch manager of UIS Bodegraven, increasingly supports Bos Nieuwerkerk as a supplier. Two forms of collaboration, one shared goal: delivering turnkey solutions.
In Venlo, Unica Industry Solutions is a client of Bos Nieuwerkerk. How did you meet?
Joop van der Sterren: “In 2014, we were paired by a mutual client who had selected both our companies for a large project in South Limburg. So it wasn’t a partnership we chose ourselves, but it turned out to be a very successful one. After that project, we lost touch for a while—until Martine Goedegebuure called me again in 2021. She was receiving more and more requests to also handle controls and electrical engineering, and she asked whether we could team up on that. I suggested bringing along my colleague Jaap from Bodegraven, as his branch is located close to Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. During our conversation with Martine, Peter, and Cor, we quickly discovered how well our areas of expertise complement each other. And that was proven right—Jaap was immediately brought in on several new projects.”
“After we secured the contract, our supplier started to have doubts. He felt the project was too large, too complex, and too risky.”
You’re based in Venlo. Did you also end up working with Bos Nieuwerkerk from your branch?
“Yes—and there’s a story behind that. Even before our meeting with Bos Nieuwerkerk, we had submitted a bid for a major project with a plastics manufacturer in Limburg. We’d partnered with a supplier who would provide ducting, fans, compensators, valves, acoustic enclosures, insulation—you name it. We won the bid, but then our supplier got cold feet. He decided the project was too big, too complex, and too risky. I was just one day into my holiday when I got the call that he was pulling out. But we had already committed to the project. So I asked my colleagues to contact Martine. In no time, we received a complete and detailed offer—including the engineering work, which was a big relief, since we didn’t have the internal capacity at the time. On top of that, their price matched the budget we had submitted to the client. That was an enormous weight off our shoulders.”
So the project was saved on paper—but it still had to be executed?
“Exactly. And our client’s ‘license to operate’ depended on it. It was about treating flue gases from an industrial process, in line with new environmental regulations. That meant collecting exhaust gases from various rooftops, transporting them to a central treatment unit, and discharging them through a high chimney. If we didn’t complete the job by a specific date, the client risked losing their permit. We had made that commitment. Bos Nieuwerkerk got to work quickly on the engineering. The client’s structural engineer, for instance, needed to know how much weight would be added to the roof to check whether it was structurally feasible. We’re talking about hundreds of metres of stainless-steel ducting, with diameters ranging from 350 to 900 mm, carrying air at 250°C. That causes a lot of expansion. The ducts also had to be thermally insulated. The engineering phase took four months. Prefabrication took six. Installation took another five. It was a massive job—for both us and Bos Nieuwerkerk—but we pulled it off together in perfect cooperation.”
Heat Matrix has the expertise to analyse industrial processes and uses a QuickScan to rapidly assess where energy savings are possible.
Bos Nieuwerkerk recently acquired Heat Matrix, enabling flue gas heat recovery. Does this open up new opportunities for Unica?
“Yes—especially considering rising energy prices. We have clients for whom energy costs account for 30 to 50% of their product’s cost. A few years ago, the payback time for energy-saving investments was 8 to 10 years. Today, it’s often just 1 to 3. That makes investing in energy efficiency very attractive. A lot of energy escapes through chimneys. Together with Heat Matrix, we can change that. Heat Matrix is great at understanding industrial processes, and their QuickScan tool quickly maps out where energy savings are possible. We, on the other hand, have deep domain knowledge of our clients’ businesses, which helps us identify where the real opportunities lie. Clients are usually open to a free QuickScan—because there’s everything to gain and nothing to lose. If a solid business case emerges, we’ll then propose a paid concept study. In that study, we detail how we intend to intervene in the process and what that would mean in terms of energy savings and financial return. We currently have several of these concept studies in progress.”
About Joop van der Sterren
Joop joined Unica Venlo twelve years ago, not long after the branch was formed from the merger of two acquired companies—one specialised in mechanical engineering (W), the other in electrical engineering (E). He was asked to expand the industry segment, which he agreed to—on the condition that he could integrate W and E with process engineering and industrial automation. That way, they could offer total solutions. That strategy paid off. And the branch’s versatility has proven to be the key to its success.
Links
Blog van Jaap van der Velde, vestigingsmanager Unica Industry Solutions in Bodegraven.
