Henk Zoontjens starts as new director at VMRG in 2023

Since October 1, 2022, Henk Zoontjens has been a director at the VMRG. Henk previously worked at the VMRG and is back at old base in a different role. We speak with Henk about this new challenge.

The facade industry is not unknown territory for you, tell me.

"I once started my career at a facade supplier on the engineering side. From there I advanced to project manager in the facade construction industry. I then joined a systems supplier as an export manager, and after a few years I traded this position for a field sales position in the Netherlands. From this position I got to know the entire facade construction world, because I visited every facade construction company in the Netherlands. A very enjoyable and instructive period."

"Then I switched to another system supplier to set up the Dutch market. At some point I was offered a nice challenge by a facade builder and made that switch. There I became responsible for the entire execution; project management, assembly and service and maintenance. After eight years, a position became available at the VMRG and I thought it would be interesting to use the knowledge and experience I had gained on both the system houses side and the facade construction side for the entire industry. And after a foray into a management position at a systems supplier, I am now back at the VMRG."

What's so great about the VMRG that you're back?

"I am honored to have been asked for the position of director. For me, this is a great step to make. I also previously worked very nicely together at the VMRG with a professional team. A team to take huge steps towards the future together. It is a nice challenge to set the right lines for this."

The "M" of the VMRG stands for "Metal" - what is so special about metal?

"I have always been in 'metal' from the beginning of my working years. The 'M' of Metal is also kind of the 'M' of Modeling. You can actually do anything with it. Any shape, especially in aluminum, is easy to realize. It is easily adaptable to a narrow view or just wide, depending on the requirements. The mold costs are relatively low, giving you a virtually unlimited range and thus a world of possibilities. The wide application of both steel and aluminum is so nice."

What are the opportunities for metal in terms of circularity?

"Metal is recyclable an unlimited number of times, so you're really talking about continuous circularity here. The problem we face is the limited amount of metal that comes back from buildings 'post consumer,' for example, to make new material again. Demand is still much greater than supply now, so we still need those new raw materials. What comes back, we can either reuse in another building or repurpose as recycled material."

"In new facades, 55% of the aluminum is already of circular origin. This industry average of 55% is exceptionally high in both the construction and facade industries. The important thing with this, however, is to keep the material as pure as possible with the right alloys. It is therefore a challenge to recover as much used metal as possible from the chain so that we need to use as few new raw materials as possible. Recycling aluminum only takes 5% of energy compared to extracting aluminum from bauxite. So there's plenty of reason to go all out to offer metal a new round time and time again. This doesn't just apply to metal, of course, but to everything in the facade, rubbers and glass, for example."

How do you see the future of the VMRG Hallmark that all VMRG members have?

"Architects and clients should prescribe this, if they don't already. The VMRG Hallmark stands for guaranteed quality within facade construction. This quality mark continues to evolve, and will certainly be expanded in the future. For example, the entire quality system is prepared for the Building Quality Assurance Act (Wkb) that will soon take effect. The quality assurance contractor will have to deal with an accredited system in accordance with BRL 2701, which means he will have to do fewer checks, which is an advantage for the client."

"Also, the system is set up so that a facade builder with the VMRG Quality Mark relieves a contractor with a well-filled facade construction delivery file as soon as the Wkb starts. For several years we have also introduced a building site inspection to check the total process. This is not covered by the BRL 2701, but is an additional part of the VMRG Quality Mark."

What do you see as the main challenge?

"There are many of them. I want to continuously improve and expand the quality system and the VMRG Hallmark, as just indicated. The VMRG Quality Requirements and Opinions with the VMRG Hallmark attached to them are actually the foundation of our association. The term 'improve' also applies to the training courses within our industry. I would also like to expand these if there is a need for them. Also in the area of digitalization there are still the necessary steps to be made. No shortage of challenges in any case. I'm looking forward to it!"