Roll Group by North American Constructors Journal

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Roll Group:

A Fast-Moving Transportation Specialist

Roll Group brings together RollDock, Big Roll and Roll-Lift under one umbrella to provide services across an array of industry sectors. Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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stablished in 2008 with U.S. Headquarters near Houston, cargo and heavy lifting transportation specialist Roll Group brings together RollDock, Big Roll and Roll-Lift under one umbrella to provide “Factory to Foundation Solutions” services across an array of sectors.

transport equipment and cranes to integrate our services on land and sea,” he says.

“Roll Group started initially as a shipping company, but in 2011 it felt like it was a good time to start a heavy lift land division,” explains Bas Bronder, Managing Director for Roll Group Americas. An industry veteran of nearly 30 years, Bronder became Managing Director in Canada as part of a joint venture with ALE Group in 2012.

“Yes, we are a global player but there are still geographical areas where we need to further develop the business. Our mission is to offer the highest level of service and quality all over the world,’” Bronder asserts.

Well established and continuing to branch out in North America, the company is also a global player. It employs approximately 95 individuals at its Houston office, maintains membership in key associations such as the Specialty Crane & Rigging Association (SC&RA) and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and has made shrewd investments on both the land and marine divisions. “We took the opportunity recently to acquire a number of vessels to insure that we don’t lose control in that market. We also acquired

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He likes the company’s strategic approach to growth. It services the Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy both on and Offshore, Port Handling, Power and Civil Construction sectors.

Day To Day Bronder holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Before moving to Roll Group in Houston, he worked in many capacities for Mammoet in Europe and Canada. He also led a joint venture that developed and marketed a strategy to ship industrial process modules from the Pacific Rim to the oil sands in Fort McMurray. In 2001 he was a Project Manager during the grim salvage operation of the Russian K-141 nuclear cruise missile submarine Kursk, which

Roll Group | 5 collided with another ship and sank in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 members of the crew. He says he’s “not keen on roles and titles” but is more focused on everyone working together

Bas Bronder - Managing Director

as a team. “We’re one group. I like to get out in the field to connect with the guys and hear what they have to say about the business. There is not a major disconnect

Chris van Egmond - Finance Director

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Roll Group | 6 between [us]. I really enjoy building something, getting it started and making it better,” Bronder says. The company carries ISO 9001:2015 certification and the International Safety Management Code. Its Quality, Health & Safety, Security and Environment (QHSSE) team creates, develops, and implements business practice and also audits all corporate and project processes. Project specific risks are identified and mitigated. The company is responsible to protect its employees, clients, assets and the environment and its training program. The company’s training program enables staff to share

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their knowledge and experience with newer members of the team. “This industry is highly-specialized, therefore strategic vendor partnerships becomes more and more important,” Bronder elaborates. “At some point you have to fully embrace those relationships, while also making sure that the goals between the parties remain aligned.” Clients expect a quality product and service at a competitive price. Bronder is equally vigilant about the risks the company is exposed to. However, he says “the challenge for our industry, our subcontractors and vendors is to maintain high quality standards, despite the economic challenges.”

“

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Our mission is to offer the highest level of service and quality all over the world.” - Bas Bronder, Managing Director Americas Addressing Challenges COVID-19 continues to impact the industry a year and a half after it exploded across the globe. Bronder says it wasn’t a factor initially because work was still on the go. “People thought it would quickly go away, which obviously didn’t happen. Reality came about in March 2020 and the first measures such as social distancing were put in place. Our people did an amazing job

of adjusting quickly. We were able to work from home and still managed to keep going,” he says. “In general, COVID has shown how vulnerable we are as a society. When we reached the New Year, we were secretly hoping it had all gone away but we’re still very much in the middle of it. To some extent, the rest of 2021 and early stages of 2022 may still be affected by it,” Bronder adds. As is the case across all of construction, re-stocking a work force that is ageing out or has Hannah Pixley - Human Capital & Compliance Manager

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Roll Group | 9 left the industry altogether, is an ongoing concern of the highest magnitude. According to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders, the median age of construction workers is now 41. “We’re not doing a good enough job retaining our people and not doing enough as an industry to reinvest in our people and bringing up enough capacity so the system can sustain itself. Activity levels go up and all of a sudden companies start stealing people from other firms. The pool is always depleted. We have to look at industry-wide solutions because you’re not going to fix it individually,” he offers.

“We are always considering what’s next. In the wind business there is the ability for things to get bigger. The question is how quickly will it evolve from where we are today in the next five years?” - Bas Bronder, Managing Director Americas www.roll-group.com

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Roll Group | 11 Looking Ahead This is a smart, nimble company that has forged a sterling reputation for quality in less than 15 years. For example it is paying close watch to how it can provide services to the wind industry as the world moves away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. “We are always considering what’s next. In the wind business there is the ability for things to get bigger. The question is how quickly will it evolve from where we are today in the next five years? We stay close to the manufacturing and developers because things change very, very quickly nowadays,” he says.