From family business to major producer

Lieverdink was founded in 1959 by the parents of the previous owners, brothers Gerben and Eric Lieverdink. The family business started out producing furniture and realisations for the interior construction industry, but gradually wooden floors were added. ‘We are talking about craft parquet here, a segment that is still present in our offering,’ clarifies Willem, who has a long career behind him in the wood sector and took up the position of managing director at Lieverdink in February 2022. At the time, the company had just come into the hands of investment company Anders Invest.

‘Through further acquisitions and growth, the company's profile has evolved over the years. In particular, the launch of our two-layer parquet Q2 caused a turnaround in our core business. This two-layer parquet now constitutes about 60% of our business,’ Willem continued. Lieverdink has invested heavily in recent years in areas such as production machinery and finishing lines to support its evolving business.

Lieverdink employs over 40 people and its production site is located in Doetinchem in the Netherlands. ‘We are very proud of the fact that we produce in the Netherlands, close to our customers. That proximity is ideal for responding to requests, but also for keeping a close eye on evolving standards and regulations."

Lieverdink's traditional parquet and two-layer parquet are distributed through a network of retailers, mainly in the Netherlands and, with mouthfuls, in Belgium and the UK. The floors mainly end up in the residential sector, but the company is also making moves into the project sector.

Two-ply parquet, the new focus

Lieverdink has been producing two-layer parquet for decades. ‘In the early years, this was only about Hungarian point and herringbone pattern as an alternative to full carpet,’ Willem looks back. Meanwhile, the Dutch manufacturer also has machines to produce wide two-layer parquet planks. ‘As standard, we can produce a wide variety of formats, from 7 to 30 centimetres wide and from 30 to 300 cm long", says Hein ’in practice, we deliver a lot of custom-made products.’

Lieverdink's Q2 two-layer parquet flooring consists of a base layer, an FSC-certified birch plywood board 9, 12 or 15 mm thick. On top of this, the 4 or 6 mm oak top layer is glued. The oak comes from France. ‘We apply cold glueing because heat causes tension in the board,’ says Willem, who also points out the easy maintenance of the oak top layer.

Why are more and more consumers choosing multi-layer parquet like Lieverdink's two-layer parquet floors? Willem clarifies, ‘Our customers value quality and the aesthetic aspect of the floors. What also sets us apart from traditional parquet flooring is the ease of installation. Laying a traditional parquet floor requires some experience and prior knowledge. With our two-layer parquet, at most it is necessary to master the glueing technique. Within the same time, you can therefore install more square metres of our two-layer parquet floor than with a traditional parquet floor. Another advantage is that the two layer parquet can be pre-finished in our production, which makes that the floor can be used directly after installing.”
To guide dealers and flooring installers through the world of multi-layer parquet, Lieverdink has launched the Q2-Box. This box includes sample materials and explanations of the composition and possibilities offered by the two-layer parquet.

‘Lieverdink makes it fit’

The company's slogan ‘Lieverdink makes it fit’ is clearly not a hollow marketing statement. ‘What is typical of Lieverdink is that we do what we promise. Customer satisfaction is one of those promises. This is proven by our through customisation as well as our new quotation tool with which customers can access information 7/7 and 24/24 about our two-layer parquet, among other things,’ says Willem.

Lieverdink is a pioneer of the combination between wooden floors and underfloor heating, a combination about which there are still many doubts on the market. ‘Lieverdink keeps repeating the message that wood floors and underfloor heating can go together perfectly. Our two-layer parquet does not need to be adapted to underfloor heating and it even provides benefits: the wooden top layer retains heat for a long time, so less energy is consumed,’ says Hein.

Sustainability also fits into Lieverdink's forward-looking story. ‘Sustainability has permeated all our ranks. For example, we use only certified wood and generate green electricity with solar panels,’ says Hein, who describes the manufacturing company as authentic, passionate and helpful.

One thing is certain: we are going to hear a lot more of Lieverdink's two-layer parquet, in the Netherlands and soon in Belgium. Interested in buying or distributing this multi-layer parquet? Then contact Lieverdink's passionate team.

Website: www.lieverdink.nl