Expanding Waste Management Company in the Netherlands

Expanding Waste Management Company in the Netherlands

Abstract

We measured the possibility of Veolia waste management company’s success in the Netherlands by looking at its strengths, weaknesses, and operational success in other countries worldwide. By looking at these vital aspects, we found out that the company would be a success in the country, especially due to the favourable business environment made possible by sound business policies by the Netherlands government.

Introduction

The Veolia Company specializes in the management of both solid and liquid hazardous waste. It majors in the entire waste lifecycle, from the collection of waste to its recycling, and subsequent recovery of end products as energy and materials. The company also majors in four central services waste management, water management, energy services, and public transport. The company employed 318, 376 employees in 2012 in 47 countries. Its revenue during that year was recorded at $29.4 billion (Hnadmaker et al., 2014). The headquarters are based in the 16^th arrondissement of Paris. In 2003, the company was known as Vivendi Environment; however, after a major restructuring in 2014, it was changed to Veolia.

In 2005, Veolia became an established umbrella brand to cover all the other four group divisions. Hence a new logo was created. Antoine Frerotte became the chairman and CEO of the group after succeeding Proglio Henry; this change was a result of a massive political scandal in France. Proglio kept the company’s position until criticism from the public forced him to give up his company’s revenues (Gruber, 2015). In 2011, Veolia experienced disappointing financial results; it announced the launch of new businesses restructuring plans, and redeployment of assets. It would have only three divisions (energy services, water, and environmental services). The transport sector was divested.

Business model and growth

The company’s services in the Netherlands would surpass its targets, given the uncertainty in the fragile Netherlands economy. The company’s position in using a sophisticated method of converting waste into energy would be significant in ensuring its success. The company would need to apply a comprehensive research and development policy, regulations, and health and safety programs that would enhance its services in the country (Burns, 2015). The application of convergence between waste treatment and resource management, between the quality of service and environmental footprint reduction, is also another aspect vital to the company’s success in the country.

Factors such as new high–performance facilities, whose performance is unrivaled, and the rollout of new biological processes would help in the growth of the company in the Netherlands. The production of biodiesel from already used cooking oil and motor oil regeneration projects of Veolia in other countries would also ensure its successful establishment in the Netherlands market. The company should also apply technological changes that can dramatically reduce energy consumption and ensure resource recovery.

Revenues and Acquisition

The waste management division of the company saw revenues slip by 2.4 percent, according to its annual earnings statement in Paris. The company blamed it on lower municipal waste collection volumes and a decrease in prices of scrap metal. In Germany, the waste revenue division increased by over 6 percent on high recovered prices of papers. In the United Kingdom, the waste revenue grew by 1 percent at constant rates of exchange. The company reported a fall of 3 percent across most of its regions against the previous year (Pierce, 2013). However, since the decline was mainly connected to currency effects, it would experience high revenues in the Netherlands since the country has a stable economy that ensures the balancing of foreign currencies and encourages foreign investment such as the Veolia waste management company. At constant exchange rates, the company’s waste management operations brought in 0.5 percent more revenue in 2015.

SWOT Analysis

The Veolia company has good capital: stocks; and subsidiaries are many, and the company is one of the oldest waste management companies globally. Hence it has a high market establishment and would provide good quality services and improve the living standards of people in the Netherlands. Its strong financial status would enable cost reduction through economies of scale, and a vast network of assets to facilitate collection and transfer of waste is another advantage (Weng et al., 2015). The Netherlands has an entrepreneurial environment that helps promote new investment in the country. Hence the Veolia company together with its foreign investment strategies would be sure of positive performance in the country.

The company has a reliable communication channel that enables efficient communication between different departments and from the managers to employees. Also, there are good benefits for employees in the company: including family care, professional development, and medical care. Therefore many waste management professionals from the Netherlands will want to join the company because of its competitive edge.

However, the company will encounter a few obstacles in the country such as lawsuits on improper waste disposal that would hurt its image in the Netherlands. Past failure in the global market can also affect the company’s operation in the country, making them lose opportunities to other local waste management companies. The company has a poor corporate culture based on an advertisement in the form of internet postings on websites; some complaints include poor management (autocratic leaders, expect too much) and cutting operation costs so that the company’s management makes more money. Waste management is subject to strict laws regarding waste handling, especially in the Netherlands where the government has spot in place stringent policies to help in the management of waste, if the Veolia Company fails to adhere to these policies, its operations in the country might be terminated. 

Employees and Market Share in the Netherlands

The company’s employees are offered a variety of occupations with each occupation having specific responsibilities and also a fair share of its challenges. Each employee together with their responsibility is valued equally since all matter to the company’s success. Veolia uses a variety of collection systems such as waste compactors which require only one man to operate. However, the driver needs to be careful in maneuvering the hook to capture the compactor and lift it into the truck (Remy et al., 2013).

The general collection would be carried out by a fleet of rear-end loaders and various teams of drivers. Both drivers and attendants would have to deal with high levels of physical stress in often unfavourable working conditions (Nagasawa, 2015).  The company will have a fair market share in the Netherlands because of its competitive operational nature in other countries around the world; it has a large network of waste management assets and an excellent management team that would ensure its success in the country.

Conclusion

Expanding the Veolia waste management company in the Netherlands would be a success because of its successful operational history in other countries like France and Singapore. The Netherlands has favourable government regulations that encourage foreign investment in the country. Hence Veolia would be ensured of a complimentary business environment in the country.

References

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Handmaker, J. and van den Biesen, P., 2014. Opinion Paper: International law and government responsibilities about the activities of Veolia Corporation in the occupied Palestinian Territories.

Nagasawa, S.Y. and Imamura, A., 2015, October. Global water business: Focusing on the business process model of Veolia Water. In Water Resources and Environment: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Water Resources and Environment (Beijing, 25-28 July 2015) (p. 73). CRC Press.

Pierce, G., 2013. The Prospects for Social Business in Peri-Urban Water Supply: Employment and Household Welfare Impacts of the Grameen Veolia Venture.

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Weng, Y.C., Fujiwara, T., Hong, H.J., Sun, C.H., Li, W.Y. and Kuo, Y.W., 2015. Management of landfill reclamation about biodiversity preservation, global warming mitigation, and landfill mining: experiences from the Asia–Pacific region. Journal of Cleaner Production, 104, pp.364-373.