Dries Beyens, Product Development Engineer
"We focus strongly on sustainability in the R&D team, both for our products and our processes. In various ways, we are trying to get rid of today’s energy-intensive bricks. By 2050, Vandersanden aims to produce CO2-neutral or even CO2-negative bricks. That is not just an empty promise, but an ambition we work on literally every day."
CO2-negative bricks
"For example, today we are working on producing bricks through carbonatation. They should go into production within one to two years. These bricks are produced from steel waste and dried in an environment with CO2. With this production process, we extract more CO2 from the air than we emit, which allows us to produce CO2-negative bricks. By means of illustration: building a house with traditional bricks results in 3 tonnes of CO2 emissions on average. Building the same house with these new bricks absorbs 5 tonnes of CO2."
R&D team like a start-up
"Actually, we work a bit like a start-up here. Employees are given many opportunities to develop their own concepts. When I first joined Vandersanden, I visited a company that offered a dry-stacking system. To be honest, I thought we could do it differently, maybe even better. Vandersanden gave me all the space I needed to work out this system myself. They are always open to good ideas, as long as they are sustainable. If they are not, they are rejected straight away."
Stories of
our people
About Vandersanden
Collective well-being
As a community participant, Vandersanden wants to contribute to the welfare of employees, clients, society, and the environment. We like to call this ‘collective well-being’, and it is shaped by four individual areas.
Careers at Vandersanden
Are you talented in your field and looking for a new challenge? Then you could become a new member of our team. Curious about the profiles we are currently looking for? Or would you like to send us an unsolicited application?
Academy
Sharing expertise helps everyone. Vandersanden is always eager to share expertise and skills with architects, developers, contractors, suppliers, students, users and other interested parties. Would you like to see our upcoming courses?