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Lawyer Brothers Anker & Anker Reopen Meijer & Meijer!


Meijer PlaatbewerkingOn 23 May 2008, the Anker brothers officially unveiled the new Meijer Plaatbewerking and MSE-Forks expansion and routing in the Frisian town of St. Jacobiparochie in front of an audience of 450 guests and 180 employees. The event was heralded by the firing of a paint canon.

The Anker brothers, two of the Netherlands' foremost lawyers, were invited by Meijer to perform the opening ceremony because they share several striking similarities to the Meijer brothers. Although the Meijer brothers are not twins, they are Frisian, both run thriving businesses and both are socially engaged. The Ankers take on cases that other lawyers shy away from. Hendrik and Albert Meijer certainly do not shy away from investing in technology and implementing policies that help motivate staff and keep expertise and experience within the company. Staff turnover is virtually zero.

The Meijer company was founded in 1921 close to the Wadden Sea dyke. A fourth Meijer generation is currently at the helms of the two companies – Hendrik and Albert Meijer head up the internationally oriented MSE-Forks and Meijer Plaatbewerking companies respectively. With the 5,000 m² expansion included, the companies now occupy some 17,000 m² making it one of the largest employers in the Het Bilt district. Meijer Plaatbewerking's new production facilities meant that the company was able to land several new large customers. One of these new customers is Lely, one of the world's largest milk robot manufacturers. A state-of-the-art welding robot was purchased specially for this customer. Meijer has also set up a special-purpose assembly hall for an Irish forklift truck manufacturer where frame assemblies are welded together. MSE-Forks produces lifting accessories for the same Irish customer that were previously manufactured in Eastern Europe. Both companies have increasingly implemented a lean thinking policy in recent years, especially in the area of production processes. This has resulted in various products becoming extremely competitive in the market.

During the light-hearted speeches given by the Anker brothers, the Meijer brothers also looked to send out a more serious message to Dutch industry. Meijer's own slogan 'We do more' was unequivocally and powerfully transformed into 'Netherlands, do more! Be daring!'. Only in so doing, will expertise and technology stay in the Netherlands preventing the Dutch manufacturing industry from becoming a second-rate backwater.

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