We have renovated!

At Poly Temp Scientific, we are getting more and more large projects and our workforce has more than doubled. So it was time to expand our warehouse and office in order to further grow and professionalize. Owners of Poly Temp Scientific, Peter and Robert van der Kuijlen, explain.

Why did you choose to renovate after 13 years in this relatively new building?

''Due to the growth of our company we had lack of space,'' Robert begins. ''When we moved into this building in 2009, there were 10 of us. We were mainly trading internationally and trading in the Netherlands was only a small piece of our revenue. Meanwhile, our share in the Dutch market started growing and our own brand Labselect has been added, for which we also have stock. So it all became a bit too full,'' says Robert. Peter continues: ''Now we have more and more large projects for which we collect the necessary goods, which also take up more space.'' 

In addition, it turned out that the property needed maintenance. Peter: ''We had a building inspection done that revealed several points of attention, so then we called in a construction company.'' Peter continues: ''During the initial discussion with the construction company, we came to the conclusion that in addition to our warehouse, our canteen and meeting room also were too small. You see, previously there were about 10 of us during breaks, but our workforce has more than doubled to over 20 people.'' Robert responds to this: ''We also had a showroom that was too small with not enough space for our current product range. The renovation we had fits within the development we are currently going through as a family business. Also, we have the ambition to grow even further in the future, so, with the renovation we are tackling everything straight away.''

Owners Peter and Robert van der Kuijlen (Photographer: Peter Dane)

With the new showroom, do you hope to receive customers in Bolsward more often?

''We want at least to have the possibility, if customers are interested, to be able to invite them here,'' says Robert. ''The space used to be too limited. Now we have a beautiful spacious building here, with a nice showroom and a large meeting room. Also, we have a sliding door between the showroom and the larger meeting room, so if necessary we can turn it into one space and invite relations. This will allow us to serve the customer for multiple product groups and let them see what we have in store: not only the ULT freezers, but also the centrifuges, biological safety cabinets and ergonomic tools for labs.''

Peter: ''Because we are increasingly profiling ourselves in various ways on the Dutch market, our account managers are also visiting more companies that don't know us yet. At the beginning of the relationship we now can invite the customer to Bolsward with facilities that fit our positioning as an expert and committed partner for the long term.'' Robert adds: ''With our dealers abroad, the situation was often the other way around and we went to see them''.

''We can really start using the new warehouse to adapt to the needs of customers in the Netherlands.''

Poly Temp was through the years mostly known as a supplier of freezers and refrigerators, but the product range has now expanded considerably. Today we also supply biological safety cabinets, incubators, centrifuges and even ergonomic products. As a result, Poly Temp can now furnish a complete lab instead of just supplying cold storage items. Robert: ''In the old warehouse we used to store the stock that came in from Thermo Fisher Scientific, and after testing and approval was sent to the customers. Now we are able to really use the new warehouse to adapt to the needs of customers in the Netherlands.''

What does the renovation mean for the customer?

Robert says: ''I think it allows us to send a signal that we are professionalizing. The fact that we were granted projects at the RIVM for a large number of devices, that we have become a regular supplier for a large party like Genmab and that TNO has chosen us to supply and install biological safety cabinets, for example. Peter adds: ''With the new warehouse we can set up the equipment a bit more spacious. It’s so much more efficient: we can now sort everything here more conveniently.''

‘’It’s a lot more pleasant to work for us as well. The whole delivery flow has become better, more professional and clearer.’’

Robert: ‘’It’s a lot more pleasant to work here for us as well. The whole delivery flow has become better, more professional and clearer. We want to prepare for future growth and to be ready. 13 Years ago we built this building for the future and now we have renovated it for at least the next 13 years.’’

How long did the renovation take?

Robert continues: ‘’The renovation was finished in March 2023. In June 2023 we had the official opening for our business relations where we showed what Poly Temp has to offer and to present our team behind all this. For years, our goal has been to focus more on the Dutch market and to realize growth there. In Europe the revenue has been stable for years, but in the Netherlands is still a lot of growth to be achieved. We are really looking forward to it. It’s hectic but great fun.’’