Unica supplies building installations for two residential tower blocks on the Boompjes in Rotterdam
On behalf of Cordeel Nederland, Unica Building Projects has started work on the building installations in two residential tower blocks on the Boompjes in Rotterdam. The tower blocks, measuring 70 and 100 metres high, respectively, offer space for 342 private rental apartments, including apartments for starters and co-habitation. The future residents will have access to an innovative mobility solution and commercial facilities located on the ground floor of each block.
Rotterdam opts for local green power
In the business world, signing up to a new energy contract is not as simple as for home owners. In addition to price, when choosing an energy supplier, organisations must also take account of other conditions and sustainability principles. And if dealing with huge volumes too, the client knows that it will be subject to careful scrutiny. At the end of last year, the ambitious municipality of Rotterdam successfully completed a complex tender procedure, advised by Hellemans Consultancy, an independently operating company within the Unica Groep.
Hybrid operating theatre at Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland officially opened
The Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland hospital officially opened its hybrid operating suite on Tuesday 2 March. This high-tech, hybrid operating theatre was built as a direct extension to the existing operating complex at the Franciscus Gasthuis hospital. One month earlier, the operating theatre had successfully undergone a series of tests and was put into use by the hospital’s specialists. Unica Building Projects was responsible for the design, project management and realisation of the mechanical and control engineering systems.
Nsecure introduces YIM platform at TEAM Terminal.
The identity management platform YIM from Nsecure, part of the Unica Groep, was successfully introduced at TEAM Terminal, one of the largest oil storage and transhipment companies in the Europoort area of Rotterdam. Following the platform’s introduction, the entire access control process for visitors, staff and contractors is fully facilitated via YIM. The platform is a new generation development of Dataclient, a workflow identity management solution offered by Nsecure since 2008, that enables organisations to digitalise their access processes.
Unica expands into the Northern Netherlands with the acquisition of Pranger-Rosier
Technical service provider Unica has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the Friesland-based Pranger-Rosier Group. Pranger-Rosier is the largest independently operating installation company in the Northern Netherlands, with a turnover of around € 55 million and a workforce of 250. Pranger-Rosier was established in 1967, and since that time has developed into an all-round installation company with branches in Dokkum, Leeuwarden and Sneek. The proposed acquisition of Pranger-Rosier is the largest in the history of Unica.
Unica appoints Ron van Laar as CFO
Unica has announced the appointment of Ron van Laar (50) as its new CFO, from 1 July 2021. He will succeed Bert Moser (61) who after 33 years of service will be stepping down as a director of Unica. Bert has been CFO of Unica since 1988, and will continue his involvement with the company as a consultant to the Supervisory Board. Ron van Laar is currently employed as CFO at Dynniq, and has considerable experience in financial management positions at a variety of companies.
Unica to expand its range of fire safety products through the acquisition of Gerco and Applicom
Technical service provider Unica has signed an agreement for the acquisition of Gerco and Applicom. Both companies are leading players in the market for passive fire safety in the Netherlands. Solutions from the two companies are installed in more than 30,000 buildings. With its Fire Safety cluster, Unica already offers an extensive range of products and services in the field of active fire safety. The proposed acquisition will further reinforce the portfolio, allowing the cluster to offer integrated total solutions for fire safe buildings. Earlier this month, Unica already announced the acquisition of the Friesland-based installation company Pranger-Rosier.
Welloop run raises record amount for Unica Foundation: € 65,000
The Welloop, the Unica Foundation’s annual sponsored run, this year raised a record amount for the foundation. Chairman Daan van Vliet was presented on Thursday with a cheque for a total of € 65,713 during the virtual closing ceremony of the sponsored run in Hoevelaken. The sponsored run attracted more than 125 participants, who together collected a record amount that will be used to fund technical aid projects in Nepal.
Technical innovations for Radboudumc in Nijmegen
The new central building for the Radboudumc in Nijmegen, with its eleven storeys packed with innovative technology, will be handed over next year with a ‘BREEAM Excellent’ certificate. The FourCare consortium - a collaborative venture between EQUANS Nederland, Unica, Trebbe and Van Wijnen - has worked as a single team to deliver this hospital of the future. Take a look behind the scenes with these technical specialists!
Erasmus MC uses Building Insight to optimise use of space
The real estate management department of the Erasmus MC is using the Building Insight data platform to gain a better understanding of the use of the various rooms that make up the teaching hospital. While the platform was originally deployed to monitor space for air quality, the Rotterdam-based hospital is now experimenting with other modules of Building Insight. “Understanding the spatial conditions at any given moment is of huge value to us,” explained Gerard de Groot, technical automation consultant at the Erasmus MC.
AQ Group wins Unica Innovation Challenge 2021
The Utrecht-based AQ Group was last week declared winner of the Unica Innovation Challenge for 2021. AQ Group, specialists in the maintenance, disinfection, inspection and cleaning of climate control and drinking water systems, submitted a concept for circular air filters. The Unica jury voted this idea the winner of the competition, an initiative of the Procurement & Supply Chain department of Unica, in collaboration with the Unica Innovation Center. The aim of the challenge is to encourage innovations in the supply chain. Unica will provide an investment budget to assist the AQ Group in further marketing its initiative.
Hellevoetsluis lighthouse returned to its former glory
With assistance from Unica, the iconic lighthouse in Hellevoetsluis was the highlight of the festivities to celebrate 400 years of the Port of Hellevoetsluis. As part of Unica’s management and maintenance contract for Rijkswaterstaat, the ‘beacon of light’ in Hellevoetsluis was fully restored this summer.
Extra BREEAM star for Unica head office
Since October, Unica has been the proud holder of a four-star BREEAM-NL In Use certificate for the company’s head office in Hoevelaken. The sustainability efforts were rewarded with an ‘excellent’ score for building management and a ‘very good’ for asset management. The building has also been awarded an energy label A based on sustainable applications such as an ATES system, heat pump and solar panels. BREEAM-NL expert Marian Kos of Unica Energy Solutions supervised the certification process alongside assessor Jan Roersen of W4Y.
Unica acquires Dynamics specialist In2Scope
Unica has announced the acquisition of In2Scope from Maasdijk, specialists in the field of Microsoft Dynamics. The company is active in the implementation of Dynamics solutions for Finance & Operations. In2Scope has been integrated in the Unica ICT Solutions cluster that already has considerable expertise in Dynamics. This new addition will simplify integrated implementations of Microsoft Dynamics for its clients. Unica ICT Solutions is a fast growing IT service provider with a staff of more than 250 IT professionals.
PwC achieves BREEAM Outstanding score
Since July 2021, PwC has been the holder of fourteen BREEAM-NL Outstanding certificates. For years, PwC has been actively working to improve the sustainability of its organisation and buildings. Those efforts have now been rewarded with an Outstanding score for Building Use. PwC was the first company to initiate a portfolio certification process in 2017. In total, fourteen locations were certified, three of which for building management. This new certification also applies to the entire portfolio, but has resulted in a significantly higher score in excess of 90%. This result was achieved with assistance from BREEAM project manager Esther de Jong, supervision by expert Marian Kos from Unica Energy Solutions, and assessment by Jan Roersen, assessor at W4Y.
Thales once again calls upon Unica for building modernisation
In July, electronics and security group Thales signed a new contract with Unica Building Projects for the renovation, modernisation and upgrading of the building and process systems in and around building Z. The work involves the first modernisation phase of the project at the Thales Hightech Campus in Hengelo. Over the past six months, Thales Real Estate (with consultants DWA, SBM, LKSVDD and Lucassen) and Unica have completed intensive preparation work. Following completion of the modernisation work, Unica Building Services will be responsible for multiyear maintenance of the various systems.
Unica Datacenters joins Delta21
Unica Datacenters has joined Delta21. The Delta21 initiative is an integrated plan focused primarily on protecting the Netherlands against the risk of flooding. As such, it is an alternative to dyke reinforcement programmes. Delta21 also acts as a large-scale ‘battery’ for the storage of electric energy in the form of an energy lake, as well as improving freshwater management and contributing to the recovery of bioculture in the delta region. In addition to supporting this social initiative, Unica Datacenters will assist the project by investigating the potential advantages of establishing a datacenter in the delta area.
Unica is awarded maintenance contract for climate control systems in 1,250 Defence organisation buildings in the northern and southern Netherlands
Unica, one of the largest technical service providers in the Netherlands, has been awarded a large contract by the Central Government Real Estate Agency. The contract concerns the inspection, assessment and maintenance of the climate control and heat generation systems in more than 1,250 Defence organisation buildings in the northern and southern Netherlands. The contract also includes meeting the circularity targets and sustainability ambitions for the Defence organisation buildings managed by the Central Government Real Estate Agency. The contract will start on 1 January 2022, for a maximum period of 8 years, and represents a value of several tens of millions of euros each year. This makes it the largest contract in the history of Unica Building Services.
Unica completes gas-free Municipal Offices for ’s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands must be climate-neutral by 2050. There is already much discussion on the energy transition - the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources - and the sustainability of buildings. The Municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch has expressed serious ambitions in this field, and has now backed up its words with actions, by calling in technical service provider Unica to make its Municipal Offices ‘gas-free’.
Unica reaches step 2 on the Performance Ladder Social Entrepreneurship
In the spring of this year, Unica reached step 2 of the Performance Ladder Social Entrepreneurship (PSO). The qualification reflects the active efforts by the company to create employment opportunities for people with a vulnerable position on the labour market. The performance ladder is a method for recognising companies that make an above average contribution to creating employment for people distanced from the labour market. Unica is one of the first technical service providers to be certified according to the performance ladder.
Zorgspectrum Het Zand signs contract for new-build project Het Wooldhuis
Janine Noordhuis, member of the Board of Directors of health care organisation Zorgspectrum Het Zand, signed the contracts for the new build of the Wooldhuis location in Heino. Contractor for the project is Dons en Troost and technical systems will be supplied by Unica. Peter van Heerde of PentaRho will be supervising the project. The new build should be completed by the end of 2023.
Rijnstate hospital, Unica and Berghege sign agreement to start building hospital facilities in Elst
Rijnstate hospital, Unica Building Projects and construction company Berghege Heerkens signed the realisation agreement on Tuesday 1 June for the new hospital facilities in Elst. The Municipality of Overbetuwe issued the environmental permit; once the permit is made irrevocable, a start can be made on the construction work.