Van Leeuwen
For export, product knowledge and quality management is our strength

For export, product knowledge and quality management is our strength

Wouter Hurkmans,
Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube, Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands

Already in its early years, the Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group established offices abroad. The Van Leeuwen family realized early on that it’s wise to spread your risks. We currently own 41 business establishments in Europe, Asia, Australia and America. However, we also offer our services to clients in countries where we are not based. This is where our export department steps in.

As Export Area Manager at Van Leeuwen Buizen’s General Sales Europe department in Zwijndrecht, I am responsible for relationship management, customer acquisition and sales to our clients in Germany and Austria. I mostly serve clients in the Energy market, the chemical and petrochemical companies.

Within the Energy market, we often work with international resellers so the product is exported twice. For instance, we export our products to a client in Germany, who in turn delivers them to a company in South Africa. In these cases, we make sure to comply with the material requirements set in South Africa.

Knowledge opens doors

We put ourselves ahead of the competition in the export market by combining our extensive knowledge of materials with our strict quality policies. This is why international clients buy our products. Regular products with no special requirements can often be bought locally, while we assist clients who work with extensive quality requirements. This happens often, especially in the Energy market. We have a lot of experience with these orders.

This is reflected, for instance, in the fact that we have a blanket order as a global supplier for the American company Exxon (Mobil Corporation). Other parties are often impressed by this. After all, they are well aware of the strict quality standards which Exxon imposes on its suppliers. Consequently, our contract with Exxon opens doors to other potential clients.

Quality is not a marketing term

We were one of the first European companies to acquire the ISO-9001-2015 certificate (the most recent generation of ISO-9001) last year. It shows that, as a company, you have implemented a quality policy and continually improve that policy. This makes me proud. Moreover, the certificate applies to all our offices worldwide. It also shows that, to us, quality is not just a marketing term. It’s what we work on every day.

Unique product range

We also distinguish ourselves from local suppliers with our unique product range, which complies with both Euro standards and the American ASTM and API. Part of our ranges of steel and stainless steel tubes, fittings and flanges are even certified by multiple standards. In other words, they comply with American AND European standards, again reflecting our international scope when determining material specifications.

Export is not just any profession

Exporting tube materials requires knowledge about transport and documentation. Think, for instance, about dealing with international transportation companies and taking care of all required export documents and LCs. And don’t forget about special packaging requirements. We even designed a special machine to efficiently load shipping containers. In the end, our tubes and tube materials travel the world over land, sea and through the air!

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