Half of the market has known for a long time, but with the establishment of the new company KZ Kasherstel, no one can ignore it anymore: these guys know about demolition, but certainly also about repair and maintenance.
Demolition and repair are an extension of each other, explain founders/owners Bas Knijnenburg and Steef Zwirs. KZ Kasherstel is often called in case of hail and calamities because they almost always have glass and also greenhouse parts in stock. Moreover, they have people who know how to dismantle and assemble a greenhouse, and they are often more flexible than the (large) greenhouse builders. After all, they are stuck with (foreign) projects and deadlines and would rather not have a large part of the workforce spending days or even weeks or months doing repair work elsewhere.
From left to right. Bas Knijnenburg and Steef Zwirs, with Steef's son Jack Zwirs in the middle
Damage repair naturally involves glass damage, but the work is broader than that. Often, profiles are warped and require welding and sawing, but work also comes their way due to new requirements imposed by insurers in particular. If growers put in extra screens, for example, the pressure on the end walls increases. If there is damage in a storm and the facade is not weighted, claims may be rejected because the entrepreneur in question did not weigh the structure.
Greenhouse construction is the core business, but partly because of developments like this, repair and maintenance is taking an increasing share. This is also because greenhouses last longer these days, the men know. For a long time, greenhouses were built with the idea that new ones would have to be built after 15 or 20 years anyway. The greenhouses got a bit higher every year, so to speak, and developments in glass, screens, and greenhouse technology, in general, have also moved fast. If damage occurs or crops are changed, the necessary repairs and adjustments are made. This has also made maintenance more important, with KZ Kasherstel regularly coming to 'tighten the bolts' or adjust uprights in case of subsidence, for example.
Knijnenburg-Zwirs/KZ Kasherstel has about 40 employees, making it a major player in the field. Customers are served daily from the premises at Maasdijk 86 in 's Gravenzande. They have extensive machinery and does their maintenance in-house, and glass and other materials are also stored there.
For more information:
Knijnenburg-Zwirs Kassensloop & KZ Kasherstel
Maasdijk 86 
, 2691 NV
’s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)174 516022
[email protected]
www.kzkasherstel.nl
www.knijnenburgzwirs.nl