The original Zweistra quality butcher was located in Maartensdijk and initially consisted only of a shop and sausage factory. Because the sausages became so popular and the assortment grew, in 2015 Zweistra moved from a 50 m2 floor space to a 500 m2 floor space on the Maartensdijk industrial estate. Three years later, this space once again proved to be too small, forcing Andries Zweistra – owner of Zweistra Vlees en Vleeswaren – to search for a new location.
He found this in the former distribution centre of Hamberg Fashion in Leerdam. The current building is no less than three times the size of the previous location. Not to mention, it is close to home. With this large amount of space, Andries hopes to be set for the coming years. The move wasn’t completely hassle-free though; the new building had to be completely renovated in order to be suitable as a sausage factory.
In the search for the right party for the job, Andries stumbled on an article about polyester doors. ‘That’s not what I’m looking for’, he thought. Instead, he contacted his business network to consult about high-quality installation companies. This is how he ended up with Metaflex’ partner: Inoflex. He contacted Inoflex and was soon made an offer. To Zweistra’s surprise, this offer included Metaflex doors. ‘Metaflex is known to be a respectable company, with many great references, but I always thought they’d be too expensive for us.’ Nevertheless, Zweistra was satisfied with the offer and the collaboration became a fact.
Collaboration between the two continued to be excellent. Despite the tight delivery time, the renovation was complete two weeks earlier than planned. ‘I think this was partly due to the fact that I had taken time off work and decided to be present during construction every day. As a result, we were able to consult and solve any issues directly. I can definitely recommend this approach. Except for a few minor changes, they were able to install everything according to plan. Things went very smoothly. It was a real pleasure working with them!’
Work commenced on 1 March and the renovation was complete by early July. The interior of the building had been completely transformed.
Zweistra Vlees en Vleeswaren’s new production location is now located at Nijverheidstraat 4 in Leerdam. Curious about their products? Feel free to take a look at www.zweistravlees.nl.
Solutions
Zweistra explains: ‘When looking for doors, I don’t want them to rattle too much. They have to be made of solid material. I prefer to spend slightly more in advance rather than it constantly having to be fixed afterwards. Metaflex doors, which are mostly made of stainless steel, are perfect. Indeed, no polyester for me. Given that we drive around in 250-kilogram carts, polyester doors would’ve been too weak. Fortunately, these Metaflex doors are extremely durable.
Besides them being solid, they also slide smoothly along the rails, guaranteeing they close easily. Thanks to the unique operation of the rails, the door also gets a slight push when closed. This guarantees the doors are completely shut tight, something which is often forgotten during our high-pace work activities.
Not to mention, because the doors are easy to operate and completely airtight when closed, I expect to achieve a better return in terms of energy consumption. Precisely for this reason, we decided not to incorporate transparent PVC flaps in the new building (this in contrast to the previous location). Our meat carts easily bump into the flaps, which makes them dirty fairly quickly. Without flaps, the environment is a lot more hygienic.
The doors in the rooms with smoke cabinets are known to yellow fairly quickly. For this reason, we installed a MAK Chiller sliding door with a circular, matt stainless steel finish. This door in particular is very beautiful.
I’m also extremely satisfied with the revolving doors. Because they are raised doors, the door fits largely within the frame. As a result, the step isn’t as deep – not even for the cooling and freezing doors. Combined with the flat finish, this ensures a very sleek appearance.
Of course, it’s difficult to estimate what things will look like in advance, but I’m extremely happy with the result!’
The following Metaflex doors were installed in Zweistra Vlees en Vleeswaren’s factory:
- MAK sliding doors finished with coated steel plate
- BDM hinged doors finished with coated steel plate finished with coated steel plate
- KDM chiller hinged doors finish with coated steel plate
- VDM freezing hinged door finished with coated steel plate