Get to know the Van Hees family business: “My heart lies in chemistry”

With quality and reliability high on the agenda, family business Van Hees supplies numerous laboratories with chemicals. Peter and Martijn van Hees – father and son – tell how it all started, where they are now and how they make a difference for their customers.

“It started, like so many companies, in the garage,” says Peter with a smile. “I am originally a chemist and I worked in sales for many years. I also come from a family of entrepreneurs and the choice for entrepreneurship felt like a logical step.” In 2015, Martijn joined the family business. “First in financial administration and gradually I got to know the company better and better,” says Martijn. “Earlier this year I took over Van Hees completely from my parents.”

The focus of the family business is on chemistry. But in addition to chemicals, Van Hees also offers general laboratory equipment. Peter: “My heart lies with chemistry. But before I started my own business, I sold equipment for years. We now also sell basic equipment, such as stirrers and overhead stirrers.”

Reliable delivery

Father and son Van Hees attach great importance to reliability and quality. “When laboratories encounter product problems, they come to us. For example, when the quality of a product is not consistent enough. We send them a test sample and if both parties are satisfied, we create a stock for a certain period of time,” says Peter. “We are proud of our high-quality products and reliable deliveries.”

Martijn nods in agreement and adds: “We buy many products ready-made, but there are also products that are really critical. If reliable delivery starts to become a problem somewhere in the chain, we can make it ourselves.” For example, Van Hees produces HPLC solutions and a number of products for the food industry. Peter emphasizes the importance of additional quality requirements, especially for the latter. “These products must meet high standards. If we don’t trust that someone else can do it, we do it ourselves.”

Purchase property

The chemical company, which once started in a garage, now has its own production facility and sufficient storage capacity. After years of renting a building and being dependent on external storage, they bought their own building in 2020. “The building we have now bought is in a category 5.1 location. This means hypothetically that we can start a chemical production and storage location here.”

Martijn explains that there is a big advantage to having a property for sale compared to a rental property: “We are making major investments in the storage and production facilities and a property for sale gives us security. It is good for continuity and this way we can guarantee our reliable deliveries. The biggest compliment I received from a customer was the comment 'What do you mean, delivery shortages, there are none?' That is very nice to hear, especially in times of corona.” Father Van Hees agrees with his son and says, “We are proud of that.”

 Van Hees is a member of the FHI Laboratory Technology trade association. Would you like to know which other companies this trade association represents or would you like to stay informed about news from the industry? Visit the website or sign up for the newsletter.