Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

Prestressed concrete conctruction elements played a major role in the postwar reconstruction of the Netherlands. This was the main objective of the company Spanbeton, which was established in 1948 by the concrete factory Duinker en Verruijt NV in Alphen aan den Rijn and the contracting company Van Hattum en Blankevoort NV, based in Beverwijk. The company started out under the name N.V. Nederlandse Spanbeton Maatschappij (NSM). Thanks to the NS (Dutch Rail), which was interested in using prestressed concrete pylons for the electrification of the Dutch railway network, it was possible to start production at the site of Duinker en Verruijt N.V. at Gnephoek in Alphen aan de Rijn. The new company's first production run involved the manufacture of prestressed roof trusses for the company’s own factory. After some start up problems were successfully overcome, a total of 4,500 electrification portals, enough for 340 km of track, were produced.