ZWIJNDRECHT, Netherlands, Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2024. His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, has granted the company the designation 'Royal'. On Thursday 26 September, the King's Commissioner Wouter Kolff presented the Royal award to the company.
The award ceremony took place during an anniversary celebration, held by the international steel pipe and tube distributor at its own location in Zwijndrecht, with 300 guests from the Netherlands and abroad. The King's Commissioner in the province of Zuid-Holland Wouter Kolff presented the award to the Management Board. The Royal designation is only awarded on the occasion of a special anniversary of companies that have prestige in terms of nature, size and reliability and occupy a leading or very prominent position in their field in the Netherlands, preferably with an international reputation. The company must have existed for at least a hundred years and have built up a good reputation during that period.
Peter Rietberg, Chairman of the Management Board: "We are proud of this recognition of what Piet van Leeuwen once started as a one-man business and what has grown into an international, leading company. For a family business, continuity is one of its most important core values. As chairman of the management board, but especially as the grandson of the founder, I consider it a great honor that our company may carry the Royal designation. This is literally the crowning achievement of our work, now also visible in our redesigned logo."
Joop Sassen, Member of the Management Board and CEO: "Van Leeuwen has grown through innovative entrepreneurship and the knowledge and expertise that we have built up over a hundred years. Without our customers, suppliers and international teams, we would never have been able to achieve our position as a globally leading pipe and tube distributor. The Royal designation underlines Van Leeuwen's strength and stability."
Photo award ceremony is available via this link.
Investments
In recent years, Van Leeuwen has invested tens of millions of euros in modernizing and expanding its international network and machinery. This year, a monorail was put into operation in Zwijndrecht, the largest tube sorting system in the world with a length of 315 meters. Van Leeuwen also opened the World Tube Center, an experience center showcasing the company, its various market segments, and the broad range of products, services and applications.
On the occasion of its centenary, Van Leeuwen and its shareholders, the Rietberg family, jointly established the Van Leeuwen Education Foundation. The Foundation is committed to promoting equal opportunities for everyone by supporting initiatives that enable access to quality education.
History
Piet van Leeuwen started trading in steel pipes and iron in 1924 in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. A century later, Van Leeuwen has grown into a globally operating trading company. The first foreign branch was founded in 1947 in Belgium, after which the European network was expanded. In the 1970s and 1980s, global expansion followed with branches in North America, Asia and Australia. In the present century, organic growth and strategic acquisitions have led to new branches and expansions in the Middle East, China and Central Europe. The 2019 acquisition of Benteler Distribution, which doubled the size of the company, provided Van Leeuwen with access to important new markets in Europe.
Royal Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group is an international distribution company specializing in steel pipes, and pipe and tube applications. The family-owned company, with its head office in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands, was founded in 1924 and is active in virtually all industrial sectors. The Group has 70 branches spread across 32 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and North America. Van Leeuwen's 2,400 employees have specialist knowledge of sourcing, processing, project management, logistics and stock planning and work closely together with customers in its markets. The combination of global logistics and knowledge of products and customer applications makes Van Leeuwen a leading company in its markets.
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