Van Oord Receives Royal Designation

Van Oord  has received the right to use the designation Koninkliik (Royal) from His Majesty King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands. 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.

Founder Govert van Oord started out as an independent entrepreneur in 1868. Over the course of 150 years, Van Oord grew to become an international dredging, oil and gas infrastructure and offshore wind contractor, an achievement supported by a series of acquisitions and mergers. The fifth generation of the Van Oord family is now active in the company.

“It is an honour 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,” said Pieter van Oord.

Van Oord has Its head office in Rotterdam and employs approximately 4,500 staff, who worked in 2017 on 180 projects in 42 countries. The company’s fleet consists of more than one hundred vessels.