bedrijfscomplex KEMA

Company complex KEMA was a global energy consulting company. KEMA was founded in Arnhem in 1927 as the N.V. tot Keuring van Elektrotechnische Materialen Arnhem. In 2011, KEMA was acquired by the Norwegian agency Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

Initially, KEMA started as an inspection institute for the Dutch electricity sector, testing electrical equipment under the KEMA-KEUR brand. Eventually KEMA obtained a large number of subsidiaries and representations in more than 20 countries in the field of research and advisory services to government and industry regarding generation, transportation and end-use of energy. Examples of services and topics were:

-Transportation, distribution and (wholesale) consumption of natural gas and biogas

-Energy generation

-Inspection of components for transmission and distribution of energy (high-voltage pylons, substations and the like)

-Testing of high-voltage equipment and performance of short-circuit tests

-Calibration of measuring instruments

-Energy policy, Energy use, CO2 and climate

-Safety, health and environment

In the past, KEMA has also participated in activities related to nuclear energy. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s it built the KEMA Suspension Test Reactor, a small nuclear reactor for research purposes on the Arnhem site, and until 2006 KEMA participated in the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group, which operates the nuclear reactors at Petten (North Holland). The nuclear waste that was released was buried in pits around the test laboratories in the years 1957 through 1972 After the dangers of this waste became apparent, it was decided in 1982 to excavate the waste, about 70 m³, and dump it at a designated site in the Atlantic Ocean.

Shareholders in KEMA were mainly (and initially only) Dutch utility companies. Several major shareholders in KEMA, including Eneco, Essent and DELTA, decided in 2011 to sell their shares to the Norwegian certification agency Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Network company Alliander in Arnhem and Cogas in Almelo did not sell their stakes. DNV obtained a majority stake of 74.3%. No announcements were made about the acquisition price. At present, the distribution of shares is thus as follows:

Det Norske Veritas Holding A.S.: 74.3%
Alliander Participaties B.V.: 25.4%.
Cogas Infra en Beheer B.V.: 0.3%.
The KEMA site has been renamed Arnhems Buiten business park.

Arnhems Buiten (formerly KEMA site) is a monumental park-like business park located on a former country estate on the Utrechtseweg in Arnhem. The site concerns the former estate Den Brink, located on the border of a lateral moraine and the river Rhine and was taken over by KEMA at the time. The complex is a national monument and contains five national monuments and five municipal monuments.

The site has been managed by TCN Property Projects since 2005 and houses DNV's offices, the headquarters of energy grid operator TenneT and branches of Nuon and NRG, among others. Ten percent of the 37,000 m2 park is built out and this low building density will be maintained. There are also plans for residential development (Wikipedia).

Construction

The construction of the KEMA business park with stairways and some garden ornaments came about after the purchase of the former country estate Den Brink to the west of the municipality of Arnhem between Utrechtseweg, Diependalstraat and the Arnhem - Nijmegen railroad line.

The buildings arose from 1936. The area originally belonged to the monastery Klein Mariëndaal, founded in 1392 and dissolved in 1579. In the seventeenth century it developed into a complex with a manor house and several buildings. From 1807 the name "Den Brink" is known. It was inhabited until 1923. After several years of vacancy, in 1931 n.v. tot Keuring van Electrotechnische Materialen (KEMA) bought the western part of the estate of about 13 ha. including the buildings and in 1939 also the eastern part (about 8 ha.). The KEMA needed more space for the testing and inspection of electrical and electronic equipment which initially took place in its own purpose-built laboratory in the former Hotel Bellevue on the Utrechtseweg in Arnhem.

After the war, the KEMA continued to take shape through new building additions according to the concept set up in the 1930s. The KEMA also purchased other land. First, the land between the Arnhem-Nijmegen and Arnhem-Utrecht railroad lines was purchased and built on, then large tracts of arable land south of the Utrechtseweg were acquired, and finally, with the purchase of the Rosandepolder, they reached the Lower Rhine.

At former country estate Den Brink there was a park forest, especially on the higher parts permeated by walks, with views over the sloping more open areas. 

The division between open and closed areas was largely maintained when the buitenplaats was redesigned with the arrival of the KEMA, with influences of the architectural garden style and especially the functionalist style recognizable.

By 1932, a complete plan including road system, a railroad branch line and buildings had been developed and was to be implemented in three phases under the direction of the Nederlandsche Heide Maatschappij. The starting point for the planning was to preserve as much as possible the character of the former country estate, designed predominantly in late landscape style, by, among other things, preserving existing trees and planting new trees. In addition, as much use as possible was made of the existing differences in level on the grounds. In addition, no other building was allowed to be visible from the main entrance of each building; only greenery was to be visible (possibly in accordance with the views of KEMA director Van Staverden.

Within the new layout, there was no longer a place for the 17th century manor house, which had to make way for an ornamental garden layout with a pond in architectural garden style in about 1938. The farm buildings in the layout were constructed from 1936 onward. On October 14, 1938 was the official opening. In the period 1948-1958, almost all pre-war buildings were expanded in several phases. Later some new buildings were realized. The layout of the KEMA site is largely intact. As early as the mid-1960s, the main entrance was moved to its present location. In the northeast corner near the ''KEMA tower", a substantial industrial building complex was created in the 1990s on both sides of the ring road. This was to expand the SEP building. Due to its size and placement, the new building deviates from the target image that was always advocated for the KEMA site. A parking deck is situated on the square between these buildings. The layout of this courtyard is disturbed, except for the ring road which continues under two footbridges between the buildings and two trees.

Visit

We regularly welcome visitors from all over the world to our laboratories. Whether you are coming to test your equipment or for a business meeting, we want your visit to go smoothly.

Upon arrival at DNV GL in the Netherlands, all visitors (customers, contractors, suppliers and others) are requested to go through the gate and check in at the reception desk in building R10.

We ask all our visitors to follow the instructions outlined in our Health, Safety and Environment for Customers of DNV GL Testing, Inspections & Certification document.

(sources: arnhemsbuiten.nl, nl.wikipedia.org, dnvgl.com, Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed)