On January 1, 1917, the "United Engineering Consultancies for Construction and Hydraulic Engineering in Rotterdam and The Hague" was founded: a merger between an engineering consultancy firm owned by Mr. Heederik and that of the engineers Dwars, Groothoff and Verhey. In the years that followed, this federation flourished under various titles, but the name DHV - taken from the names of Dwars, Heederik and Verhey (Groothoff stepped down in June 1917) - would endure.
In the beginning...
The DHV engineering consultancy had a modest beginning in a single room of a house in The Hague, home of founder Verhey. The complete staff consisted of two draftsmen and a secretary. Their activities in those early years were mostly in connection with the ongoing Dutch battle against water. Heavy storms in January and December 1916 having caused severe damage to the dikes of Noord-Holland and West-Friesland.
In 1920, DHV moved to Amersfoort, in the center of the Netherlands. In 1928, the company moved into a villa on Tesselschadelaan in Amersfoort. DHV continued to grow steadily and, by 1933, had no fewer than 25 staff. A major project for an electricity company, involving the construction of a new power station in Nijmegen, played an important part in helping DHV weather the Depression. Half the draftsmen were assigned to this project and, within three years, the new power station was completed.
The war years were also difficult for DHV, although the construction of 'central kitchens' provided an important source of new orders. It was in August 1940 that the Dutch Department of Food Supplies in Wartime asked DHV to draw up plans for its first 'central kitchen' in Rotterdam. By November of that same year, the building had been completed. It fulfilled a need and, as the war went on and the problem of feeding the population grew worse, led to the construction of more central kitchens with DHV's continued involvement.
From shortage to growth
The post-war reconstruction program helped DHV grow from 50 staff to 250. They worked on power stations, factories, canals, drainage systems, purification plants: there was work aplenty and DHV continued to grow. Despite the ready availability of orders at this time, management was concerned that once the reconstruction of the Netherlands was complete, the work would 'dry up'. The company therefore started to look further afield. In 1952, DHV undertook its first overseas assignment, in Syria.
Growth continued and, by 1970, DHV had a staff of around six hundred. Countless discussions and 'democratization' within DHV reflected the social changes of the era. The spirit of the age was clearly expressed in the company's new headquarters in Amersfoort, in which open plan offices symbolized openness and equality. On December 1, 1970, the Dutch Pollution of Surface Waters Act came into effect. This heralded yet another successful period of growth for DHV, which was a leading authority in the area of water purification.
The early 1980s were somewhat less propitious and DHV began to concentrate on overseas growth. Its process of internationalization was continued, helped by participation in a number of overseas engineering consultancies and later, in the 1990s, by acquisitions. To better serve the international and regional markets, DHV Raadgevend Ingenieursbureau changed its name on January 1, 1991 to the DHV Group, a group of market-oriented specialist companies. Between 1990 and 1992, the company payroll almost doubled - from 1200 to 2200.
DHV has seen two periods in which financial losses have led to major reorganization: 1982/83 and 1995. Some acquisitions made in the early 1990s proved to be loss-making and, in 1996, the Executive Board decided to discontinue the activities of the offices in England, Spain and Germany. A brief flirt with a fellow company in the sector, Heidemij (currently Arcadis), was unsuccessful and DHV continued towards the new millennium on its own.
DHV's new corporate strategy is aimed towards the strengthening of DHV Group as a whole. The company has adopted a specific market approach, geared towards distribution across client groups, countries, regions and core activities.
Project philosophy aims to foster DHV's involvement in the preliminary processes. One consequence of this approach has been the foundation, in late 1997, of DHV Management Consultants, in which activities in organizational and policy advice are combined.
The company closed both 1996 and 1997 with a positive financial result, despite having made major investments in Human Resources Management, IT and its market positions. Staff numbers were again increasing and, by the end of 1997, DHV had over 2600 employees. Larger accommodation was required and on March 11, 1998, the first concrete was poured for a new headquarters building on Laan 1914 in Amersfoort. The festive opening of the new building took place on February 16, 2000.
Strengthening DHV’s continuity
In the years ahead, efforts concentrated on guaranteeing and strengthening DHV's continuity in the Netherlands, Europe and beyond. The Executive Board considered major growth essential. This has been achieved through both autonomous growth and through careful acquisitions. In 2002, for instance, DHV acquired a 40% interest in the Canadian engineering firm Delcan, followed in 2003 by the takeover (100%) of NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants. In late 2005, DHV increased its participating interest in its South African partner SSI to 65%. As a result, DHV is the first Dutch consultancy and engineering firm with a majority interest in a South African consultancy firm.
January 1, 2007 marked DHV's 90th birthday. The company has grown into an international knowledge based organization with over 4000 employees, active all over the world through a network of companies in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
This celebratory year reached a pinnacle when DHV was commissioned to carry out a highly unique project, namely the widening of the world-famous Panama Canal. The year 2007 is also the year in which one of the largest and most complex projects in DHV history was completed, the Dutch high-speed train line (Zuid). Since 1990, hundreds of DHV employees have worked on every phase of this project. The construction of this railway line through the most populated section of the Randstad region is no minor accomplishment.
DHV’s growth strategy remains the same. The South African Turgis Consulting (mining) and Innova Aviation Consulting companies were added in 2008, followed by the Dutch NPC (station and station areas) company in 2009. The number of employees has increased to over 5000 as a result. In addition to growth, DHV’s policy is also aimed at internationalization, innovation and corporate responsibility (CR). Sustainability with regard to both projects and business activities is taking on increasingly greater importance. Whereas sustainability was an implicit aspect of projects in the past, it is now becoming a more distinctive factor in terms of importance. The forty-year-old head office, for example, has been renovated in keeping with sustainability principles, making it a symbol of the ‘CSR everywhere’ philosophy. In early 2010, the Board of Directors of the DHV Group decided to render its business activities climate-neutral and, in this way, contribute to resolving the climate crisis.