Krönnenzommer

Industry Care & Well-being

Place Hellendoorn

Customer Krönnenzommer

Working intensively together from the start is key for Zorgaccent and Van Keulen in upgrade of nursing home rooms. A fire in November 2022 was the immediate reason for Zorgaccent to firmly overhaul a number of wards at Krönnenzommer nursing home in the woods near Hellendoorn. After eighteen months, Schuilenburg, the ward affected by the fire, was completely ready again and Eelerhof ward was tackled. That was completed in January 2025 and preparations for a third ward have now started.

‘That preparation is the very reason why I enjoy working with Van Keulen so much,’ says Marco Koppelman, with practical technical responsibility for the project from Zorgaccent. ‘Even before the offer is made, they come and measure everything room by room. That results in a drawing per room, which I then check. The quotation is based on this and, of course, this drawing also forms the starting point for production and assembly by Van Keulen. So even in this preliminary phase, we come across any difficulties, simply by walking through the rooms together. This prevents problems later in the process.

With changing construction partners, we want Van Keulen to be a constant

Van Keulen Interieurbouw is a subcontractor and a fixed value in successive renovations even though the main contractor sometimes changes. Marco: ‘We always work in clusters of two times nine single rooms that together form a ward with two communal living rooms. We can temporarily house those 18 people in our own location, so that determines the scale. Van Keulen understands that, just as they also understand that not every room is exactly the same, so customisation is needed all the time. Where the main contractor provides new flooring and sanitary fittings, among other things, Van Keulen realises the wardrobes and washbasins. When we got a different main contractor after the first ward, we stipulated that the new contractor should also work with Van Keulen, because then we know it will be right.’

‘That preparation is the very reason why I enjoy working with Van Keulen so much.’

Marco Koppelman

Human touch

Rebuilding in a care facility is about smooth cooperation and the human touch. You work in an environment with vulnerable people and you have to take that into account as a matter of course. Koppelman: ‘With all the technical and quality requirements, you always have to realise that with us, more than anywhere else, it’s about people. And van Keulen realises this, despite the fact that they are a large company that can also make metres in supermarkets. And yes, when things get tense then, they can work very quickly in the last days before delivery.’

Problems, you don’t whine about them, you solve them

‘I look back with satisfaction and am already all set for the third renovation. It’s just a pleasant way of working, although of course, even in our good cooperation, things do go wrong sometimes. At Eelerhof, for instance, there was miscommunication between main and subcontractor. An incorrect supply and drainage of water resulted in a different piece of furniture with two instead of three cabinets. In that case, you can either blame yourself or, within three days, provide a modified piece of furniture with three cabinets. And that’s what van Keulen did, so that our clients could simply move into their new rooms on time.’