Deltares and the University of Western Australia work together

On Friday the 14th of April, the University of Western Australia (UWA), represented by Prof. Ryan Lowe, and Dutch research institute Deltares, represented by Simone van Schijndel, Regional Manager Australia and New Zealand, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The MOU highlights the desire of both institutions to increase collaboration on a broad range of research topics, in particular related to coastal dynamics, water quality modeling and offshore engineering. It is expected that the agreement will open up joint opportunities for joint research projects in Australia and the Indian Ocean region. Besides (applied) research projects, both institutions intend to work together on software development and professional training, and will promote exchange of researchers and students.

Dutch feature in 'International Business Today'

The Export Council Australia features the Netherlands in their ‘International Business Today’ Autumn issue with the article: "Netherlands – The Gateway to Europe".

Jeroen Nijland of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency elaborates on why the Netherlands is the most connected economy  in the world and on how Australian companies are perceived as high-quality producers in the Netherlands.

New leadership for Achmea Australia

Achmea Australia welcomes a new CEO, following the news that current CEO Timo van Voorden is returning to the Netherlands – the birthplace of Achmea – after five successful years spent launching and running the company here in Australia. Timo has been instrumental in setting up the Australian division, working to carve a niche for the organisation in mutual-based insurance and risk management for the farming community.

The Achmea Australia team wish Timo every success in the next stage of his career and is pleased to announce Emma Thomas as Timo’s successor.

Emma comes to Achmea Australia from FMG Insurance, a large farm insurer in New Zealand, where she’s already demonstrated herself to be a proven senior leader, gaining extensive experience in the agricultural and financial services industry. She has been a central figure in driving the overall growth, client satisfaction and market share strategies for FMG, which is New Zealand’s leading rural insurer.

Reflecting on her new role with Achmea Australia, Emma spoke of her keenness to build on the achievements already made by Timo and the company over the past five years in Australia.

Huisman celebrates 10th anniversary of its Chinese production facility

On Monday the 17th of April, Huisman, specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solutions, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Chinese production facility: Huisman China. Since its opening on 17 April 2007, Huisman China delivers a significant contribution to the overall Huisman engineering and production capacity. The delivery of the 100th crane in 2015 signifies the added value of the Chinese Huisman production facility for the Huisman Group and its clients in the region.

Huisman CEO Joop Roodenburg said: “Huisman China is currently one of our most important assets because of its available facilities and capabilities. The fact that we additionally guarantee the corporate Huisman quality standards for our entire range of products is extremely important, especially in the current market”.

Dutch companies amongst fastest-growing

Five Dutch companies are named within the first 100 in the latest Financial Times list of the fastest-growing technology companies.

Catawiki, the online auction house for ‘unusual items’ was ranked 13th in the London paper’s list. Catawiki booked sales growth of 13,159% between 2012 and 2015, with turnover put at more than €300m in 2015.

The company now employs more than 500 people and plans to add another 100 in this quarter. Catawiki has some 12 milion vistors per month and is available in 17 languages.

The other Dutch companies on the FT list are: Dag1 (48), Gizmo Retail (55), Marqeting (81) and Massarius at number 95.

Boon Edam installs tallest revolving doors in Melbourne’s Rialto Towers

Global architectural revolving door leader Boon Edam has enhanced the aesthetics, efficiency and functionality of the entrance to Melbourne’s Rialto Towers by installing five of the largest revolving doors in the Southern Hemisphere, each standing 5 metres tall.

Boon Edam – which has dozens of Fortune 500 companies among its global clients, including some of the world’s largest firms – already has more than 100 installations in Australia, spanning office buildings, airports, healthcare facilities, retail outlets, hotels, restaurants and national attractions visited by millions of people a year.

The new doors are a striking focal point of the $100m regeneration project for the Rialto building, managed by Built, to modernise the building and extend it by wrapping new buildings around its base.