70 Years Kooyman - From carpenter’s workshop to a Mega Store
‘Let’s go to Kooyman’ is a 70-year old understanding within our society. What started as a carpenter’s workshop in the 1930s, has transformed throughout the years into a company that concentrates on the sale of building material, hardware and home improvement products. Herbert van der Woude: “This is the basis of our company vision; we focus on the construction branch as well as on the consumer who wants his home to
become a nicer place. This starting point forms the basis for opening the first Mega Store with a drive thru in Zeelandia in 2002. Our Mega Store has a spacious setup with a clear routing, where the client quickly and easily finds what he is looking for. But moreover it is also an attractive store which the construction worker as well as the do-it-yourselfer, housewives and career women love to visit and usually find what they came for”.
Innovation and accommodating
Kooyman’s current position as reliable market leader in building material, hardware and home improvement products did not come out of nowhere. Herbert van der Woude: “It is the result of 70 years of hard work and perseverance, always based on a clear vision. The success of our company is the combination of innovation and accommodating. Since 2002, we offer our clients of building material the convenience of the drive-thru. In addition, our core clients, who are attended to by an elaborate network of account managers, can now check their credit balance online via I-Net”.
Judith Timber about the Personnel Management: “Our personnel is our main asset, in which we gladly and consciously invest. We care about the future of our staff, also after their retirement. Therefore, we have since the 1990s a collective pension policy for our entire staff. A broad range of trainings in the areas of product knowledge and service allows our staff to develop themselves into professional and service-minded co-workers. Since two years we have the Kooyman Business Academy for further development of our personnel, with a broad range of course material and management development programs.
Herbert van der Woude adds: “We in Kooyman recognize our corporate responsibility in the society in which we operate. We gladly give back to the community in which we had the opportunity to grow into such a large company. We annually set a substantial budget aside for sponsorships and donations with the focus on youth-, education- and environment projects”.
Kooyman enforced its 70-year anniversary with a donation to an orphanage in Barber for less fortunate children. “And of course, around the anniversary date of November 20th, there will be all sorts of special offers for our clients”, says Herbert van der Woude.
With pride Kooyman looks back at the development of the company in the past 70 years. But above all, the company also sets its sight to the future of the growing markets of our islands. Herbert van der Woude: “By now we have 7 branches located in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire and St. Maarten. Since 2007, there is a second Mega Store, in St. Maarten and at the moment a third one is being built, in Aruba. We believe that the Mega Store is the concept to further expand our innovative approach and our reliable service for each of our target groups”.
Interview with Herbert van der Woude (Chief Executive Officer) and Judith Timber (Senior Manager Human Resources) for the occasion of Kooyman N.V.’s 70-year anniversary.