The Turret

The registered office and headquarters of Ackermans & van Haaren are located on Begijnenvest in Antwerp. The building, situated on the corner of Begijnenvest and Schermerstraat, is marked by a small tower, a turret. This turret has featured in the company’s logo for many years. The company that ultimately exercises final control over the business (through Scaldis Invest NV and Belfimas NV) is also named after it: “Het Torentje”.

From 1891 onward, the partnership’s activities were managed from Antwerp, and around the turn of the century Hendrik Willem Ackermans and Henri van Haaren (son of Nicolaas van Haaren) had settled with their respective families in Antwerp or the surrounding area. Around that same time, an office was established, first in Edelinckstraat and later in Willemstraat. During the First World War, the head office was moved to The Hague in the Netherlands, but the company subsequently returned to its office in Willemstraat in Antwerp. That office also remained the company’s registered seat when Ackermans & van Haaren NV/SA was incorporated in 1924.

In 1927, together with his partners, Hendrik Willem Ackermans purchased the corner building on Begijnenvest and Schermerstraat for 700,000 francs from H. Rieth & Co, which had itself acquired the property, dating from 1883, from the Leclef family in 1913. Rieth & Co was an oil company of German origin, active in the Port of Antwerp, which at the time had been placed under sequestration and was being liquidated. After the transfer of ownership, renovation works were launched, although progress was slow. It was only on 19 October 1928 that the company exchanged its offices in Willemstraat for the corner building with the turret. A little later, on 17 January 1929, this building also became the company’s official registered office.

Until Dredging International moved to its current headquarters in Zwijndrecht in 1977, the group’s worldwide dredging activities were directed from Huis Rieth. Since then, the building has served as the nerve centre of the Ackermans & van Haaren investment group.

When Ackermans & van Haaren went public in 1984, the company used a logo that did not include the turret. However, the cover of the first annual report following the stock exchange listing did feature a drawing of the turret. That cover was used year after year, each time with a different background colour, until and including the 1999 annual report. From 2000 onward, a stylised version of the turret appeared as a graphic element in the corporate logo.

Between August 2002 and February 2007, the building underwent a major transformation. The 900 m² corner property was renovated and integrated into a 4,000 m² new building along Begijnenvest. In Schermerstraat, the property at number 42 was also fully renovated. It was originally leased by Leasinvest Real Estate, before later being fully incorporated into the offices of Ackermans & van Haaren.

The architecture of the expanded building – combining traditional elements such as the turret with the contemporary extension – conveys a clear message: this is where a company with roots in the past and its gaze firmly set on the future is based.