His Majesty of the Netherlands has conferred the right to use the designation Koninklijk (‘Royal’) on Van Oord.
Jaap Smit, King’s Commissioner in the Province of Zuid-Holland, presented the certificate to Van Oord’s CEO Pieter van Oord during an international symposium at the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, where 450 guests had gathered to mark the company’s 150th anniversary.
Pieter van Oord said: “ It is an honor to have the right to use the royal designation. It crowns the one hundred and fifty years of entrepreneurship, spirit and perseverance displayed by my predecessors and all our employees today.”
Jaap Smit, King’s Commissioner, added: “ Rotterdam is proud, Zuid-Holland is proud and the Netherlands is proud. Van Oord is looking forward to a hopefully bright future as a Royal company.”
Founder Govert van Oord started out as an independent entrepreneur in 1868. Over the course of 150 years, Van Oord grew to become the international dredging, oil and gas infrastructure and offshore wind contractor that it is today, an achievement supported by a series of acquisitions and mergers.
The fifth generation of the Van Oord family is now active in the company.