What if the construction of 100 factory-built homes is suddenly at risk of being canceled due to grid congestion? “Then we’ll just supply the power ourselves,” thought Coos Schouten, owner of Schouten Techniek and Ursem Modular Building Systems.
He’s been offered “a fortune” for Schouten Techniek (280 employees, revenue of approximately 80 million euros) on several occasions, says 62-year-old Coos Schouten at the company’s headquarters in Zwaag.
“Handing over the business you’ve built as a family doesn’t feel right. Besides, I’m simply convinced that we have what it takes to continue running this company profitably. The work is also just too enjoyable to let go of.”
A wooden racing bike hangs on the wall. The sprocket and chain, however, are made of steel. The custom-built bicycle reflects his mindset: progressive and unconventional at the same time.
Think about it yourself
“I just have my own ideas. I’m not one to readily accept someone else’s suggestions. We don’t just blindly adopt specifications either; we think things through first. If it’s right, we leave it as is, but if it needs to be done differently, you have to take a stand. I think we have that responsibility, too.”
Schouten loves to bike and doesn’t shy away from the toughest descents. And when “a buddy takes a tumble,” they can even laugh about it. Car racing is in his blood, and “gas flows through his veins.” “But,” says Schouten, “I’m deeply committed to making the whole world more sustainable, and I’m happy to be part of that. I also think the move toward heat pump technology is a good one. That means moving away from gas boilers…”
Problem-solving entrepreneur
It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Schouten, owner of an installation company, a modular builder (Ursem Modulaire Bouwsystemen), a development firm, and an energy supplier, doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Or rather: when he encounters problems, he solves them in his own way. He puts it this way: “Where you stumble, a treasure lies buried.”
That’s how he came up with the idea to devise a solution to outsmart grid congestion. That story began three years ago with a major “setback.” Through Ursem Modular Building Systems, Schouten had just been awarded a “wonderful” project from HomeFlex (a landlord for migrant workers) to manufacture 200 modules, enough for over 90 residential units. A substantial contract, Schouten emphasizes.
A quarter of the annual revenue was in danger of going down the drain
“At the time, we were producing between 600 and 800 units a year. So that order represented between a quarter and nearly a third of our annual revenue. Suddenly, that work was in jeopardy because Liander couldn’t supply power…”
“It was extremely disappointing,” Schouten recalls. He watched a million euros in fixed costs go up in smoke—that’s the downside of a housing factory: “You can’t just switch to a different project in the factory on a whim.”
Schouten found “a gem”: “Then we’ll supply the power ourselves.”
One Sunday afternoon, he put his feet up on the table, started thinking, and opened a spreadsheet… “Solar panels, a battery. Add a mini-CHP unit… Hey, I could actually make this into a pretty neat setup,” Schouten mused.
Told he was crazy
A day later, he presented his solution to the management team. They told him he was crazy. But Coos wouldn’t be Coos if he didn’t follow through—and that’s exactly what he did. Ultimately, the innovative entrepreneur succeeded in keeping the grid-congestion-plagued project on track. He and his team found a solution in the form of a microgrid, a smart neighborhood-based energy network.
The grid has now been operational for a while. It works, says Schouten, and he believes this solution could kickstart many more housing projects across the Netherlands. Curious why this hasn’t happened yet? And do you want to know how this grid works? Then listen to the latest episode of the Bureau Stoer podcast.
Find more episodes of Bureau Stoer here: About Bureau Stoer
You can also see the solution in the video “Innovation in 3 Minutes”: This microgrid bypasses grid congestion
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