Krommenhoek Metals Turns 100: A Milestone to Be Proud Of

In 1925, great-grandfather Dirk Krommenhoek started a small cigar shop at Vlietkade 60 in Rotterdam. He soon expanded into the rag and metal trade. At the time, transportation was still done by horse and wagon, but the foundation had been laid. What began as a modest enterprise has, over the course of a century, grown into a leading family-owned business in metal recycling—with locations extending far beyond Rotterdam.

In 2025, Krommenhoek Metals will celebrate its 100th anniversary. “This year, we’re prouder than ever,” says Bas Krommenhoek. “Proud of our history, our people, and the impact we’re making in the circular economy.”

Celebrating Together

The anniversary was celebrated in grand style. The entire staff was invited to an off-site location for a day of team-building activities, followed by a group barbecue. “My father and our director, Lútzen Brink, gave speeches, and all employees received a medal featuring the logo designed especially for the anniversary,” says Bas.

We also made sure to include our business partners. They received a mailing containing a brochure summarizing the history of the past century, along with a limited-edition anniversary pin featuring the 100th-anniversary logo as a symbol of our shared journey. “We received a lot of wonderful and positive feedback on this.”

History on the Map

To celebrate the anniversary, we’ve also launched a special page on the company website. There, we’re sharing special stories and photos from our extensive archive. “We want to show where we’ve come from, with images and anecdotes from the past decades.”

Resilience Across Generations

The company’s history shows just how important resilience and adaptability have been. “We’ve been through a lot over the past 100 years,” Bas reflects. “From the war years, when licenses were revoked, to periods of economic hardship when our family did everything in its power to keep the company going. Our resilience and drive for innovation have made us stronger each time. It was our vision to seize opportunities and adapt to the changing world that has brought us to where we are today: a modern, sustainable organization that plays an essential role in the circular economy.”

Growth and Development

The past few years have been marked by innovation. For example, the rebranding of our subsidiaries has been completed. “That truly is the crowning achievement of our anniversary celebration.” Whale Recycling now operates independently, focusing on electronics recycling and data destruction. ReactPGM is active in the catalytic converter market, and with Oyo Alloys, we have established a joint venture for high-quality aluminum and brass alloys. “We are very proud of these subsidiaries, which are now operating completely independently.”

International growth is also part of that. In 2019, Krommenhoek Metals opened two branches in Iceland. “Our operations there are the same as in the Netherlands. We purchase scrap metal from industry and transport it in bulk to the Netherlands, where it is processed at our facility in Rotterdam.” Collaboration with local partners plays a key role in this. “We truly serve the local market with a container service, just as we do in the Netherlands. It’s precisely because we work together with local people that it works so well.”

Encouraging Reuse

We also continue to innovate at the product level. Through our international online store, www.ballast-producten.nl, we make it possible to reuse scrap materials. “This shows our strong commitment to reuse. Recycling is, of course, already very good, but reuse is even better for the environment. And, of course, there’s a tremendous synergy with the scrap metal trade. We purchase surplus batches of steel and lead that can potentially be used for reuse. We see a lot of added value in this.”

Connecting with the New Generation

In May, we organized the MRF Young Metal Masters networking event, specifically for professionals under 40. “We were asked to host this event in honor of our centennial. That was a lot of fun. It gave us the opportunity to introduce Krommenhoek and our subsidiaries to like-minded people in the industry. Many people know you by reputation. It was great to meet each other and open up. There’s often a lot of overlap. There were people from the second and third generations of family-owned businesses. They’re dealing with the same issues and often run into the same challenges. It’s nice to be able to network with each other and engage in conversation.”

Digitization as a Foundation

Major strides have also been made behind the scenes. “All of our business processes are in the cloud. Everything has been digitized. We no longer do anything on paper. That saves time and ensures we’re no longer tied to a specific location. Whether you’re working from home or—for example—on a business trip from a hotel, everything is immediately accessible. Another major advantage, of course, is the administrative burden, which has been drastically reduced. We always have insight and control.”

Employer branding: Stop talking and start recycling

To attract new colleagues, the “werkenbij” website, werkenbijkrommenhoek.nl, was launched in 2024. “It’s hard to find people, and it’s also difficult for us to recruit crane operators, drivers, and weighbridge operators. My sister Britt handles HR for us, and she came up with the idea of creating a separate brand to recruit good people. Together with an advertising agency, we devised an entire campaign: ‘Don’t talk, just recycle,’ featuring cool, raw photos and videos. It ensures that when we post job openings, we actually get responses and applications. It’s already resulted in many great new colleagues.”

The Power of Family

What is most special to Bas personally about this anniversary year? “That we’re still a true family business where my father and my sister are actively involved. It’s wonderful to be able to do this together. Generations of Krommenhoeks have put their heart and soul into making the company what it is today. Our core values have remained unchanged over all these years: reliability, craftsmanship, and strong relationships with customers.” As Grandpa Joop always said: “He who does not know the value of his word will quickly gain a bad reputation as a merchant.” According to Bas, this motto still forms the basis of their daily work.

Looking to the Future

While celebrating this anniversary, we remain focused on the future. “The world is changing, and we’re evolving with it. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. By investing in modern technologies and solutions, we’re contributing to a circular economy and the climate transition. Our goal is to keep metals and raw materials in the supply chain for as long as possible, while respecting people and the environment.”

The impact that Krommenhoek Metals makes is highlighted in its annual Impact Report. “We send it to customers, banks, and government agencies. We think it’s very important to show what we do and what impact it has. We believe that’s the way forward. We remain committed to sustainability and its further development.”

We are also closely monitoring upcoming sustainability legislation. “The CSRD sustainability reporting requirement has been postponed, but we expect it to become increasingly important over time. That is why we continue to provide our customers with data. To do this, we use the CO2 Reporting Tool from our industry association, MRF. This tool provides insight into the CO2 savings associated with the metals that are brought to us. Companies can then use these figures. We want to further develop these kinds of insights. In our view, that is the way forward.”

Finally, Bas mentions another growth plan: “For Whale Recycling, we are currently actively looking for a new location so we can continue our growth. We are focusing on the North Brabant region as a potential location.”