PARTNERSHIPS BEAR FRUIT FOR ALL

Luvian Saha has successfully co-operated with Heuvelman Hout (https://www.heuvelman-hout.nl/) for many years and it is one of Luvian’s largest Spruce sawn timber customers in Europe. Heuvelman Hout is today a part of Timber and Building Supplies NV (TABS, https://tabsholland.nl/), which is a holding company consisting of 14 companies. With these companies, TABS forms a group of leading suppliers of timber and building materials on the Dutch new construction, renovation and maintenance market.

A slogan of TABS Holland is “Making the Dutch construction industry build better” and one key aspects to this is committing to purchase 100 % either PEFC or FSC® certified material. Responsible forest management, sustainable operations and maintaining biodiversity in nature are a prerequisite to supplying TABS Holland. TABS Holland has experience of wood product markets for 225 years and all companies included, the group has 104 locations around the Netherlands with 1735 employees.

Heuvelman Hout’s history began in 1876. In the beginning, founder Hein Heuvelman traded in wood, stone, tar products and even pigs. About 50 years ago, the company specialized in softwood, sheet materials and hardwood. “Today Heuvelman doesn’t only deliver wood products to our customers, but offers solutions for our customers”, said Dave Wielinga, Manager Central Purchasing Softwood, at Heuvelman Hout. “And this is what I expect from a supplier too”, he continued. Today Heuvelman Hout serves professional building and construction customers from two locations with over 140 employees.  “Working with Luvian has always been transparent and they do their utmost best to keep their promises. When we agree something together, I know I can trust them”, Mr Wielinga explained.

“This feedback gives me great satisfaction”, said Sales Manager Hanna Penttala with pleasure in her voice when driving back from Heuvelman’s office after annual co-operation meeting in March 2025. “Heuvelman is definitely one of our most regular and loyal customers and it is heart-warming to see how well our values and business-thinking match together”, Hanna continued. With industrial customers like Heuvelman, it is crucial to meet regularly. Of course, modern-day tools provide opportunities to catch up on-screen, but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting with no rush and a possibility to talk about other aspects of life too, rather than always about specifications, quality and prices. This deepens the customer experience but also assures the supplier that a right path has been chosen together.

For decades, Luvian Saha’s Dutch business has been managed locally by C. de Groot Houtagenturen B.V. “Quality, reliability and continuity are natural attributes to Luvian”, stated Mark Dercksen, Sales Manager of C. de Groot Houtagenturen. “But with demanding customers like Heuvelman, it is not enough”, he continued. “Like Hanna already mentioned, matching values and aligning mutual targets create partnerships and only true partnerships bear fruit for all parties”, Mark explained with several year experience in timber trade with both Luvian and Heuvelman. Regular meetings and open communication even about difficult topics are essential in relationships like Luvian and Heuvelman have together.  One of Luvian’s values is Trust and it is based on long-time stable co-operation with chosen partners. We want to be Industrially Efficient by operating in a consistent and predictable way. This means we can keep our promises and be transparent with our decisions. It is not only that customers choose us, but we also must seek customers and partners who align with our strategy and values. And when we find one, we must keep it.