Van den Berg has offices in Wijnegem and Oelegem in Belgium and is particularly active in Brussels and the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium. Since a recent acquisition, the company is also active in the French-speaking area of Belgium. Van den Berg’s clients are government bodies, utility companies and telecommunication companies. The national government is a major client with regard to construction and maintenance of communication networks and data cables. Regional governments are clients in the area of traffic control networks, emergency telephones and public transport. Utility companies are clients in the area of gas, electricity and TV distribution. Work for telecommunication clients includes laying glass fibre cables. Approximately 40% of the turnover comes from glass fibre activities. Van den Berg has more than 480 employees and an annual turnover of around NLG 100 million (€ 44.6 million). The return is above the Heijmans average.
The proposed take-over is in line with the strategy of Heijmans International to strengthen its position in the Belgian market and fits in well with the existing activities of V.A.G. and Heijmans Aannemingen (Heijmans Contracting). Van den Berg will continue to be active in the Belgian market with its own identity and management. The European works councils of Heijmans has been informed about the proposed cooperation.
The proposed take-over provides Heijmans with know-how and experience in the glass fibre technology area which will be put to use in the entire Benelux market. In the coming years, at least 15-20 billion Dutch guilders (€ 6.8 to 9 billion) will be invested in the Netherlands alone for the construction of glass fibre networks and related equipment for replacing the existing fixed telephone network. Heijmans very much wants to be a player in this market as well.