Our history

Our history begins in 1881 when two young and ambitious engineers Johan van Hasselt and Jacobus de Koning set up the first independent engineering firm in the Netherlands.

Our founding fathers: from left to right: 1st row - Johan van Hasselt, Jacobus de Koning.
2nd row - Bastiaan Verheij, Adriaan Dwars, Arie Heederik.

The journey continued when, some decades later, three civil engineers Dwars, Heederik and Verhey started their firm the Vereenigde ingenieursbureaux voor bouw- en waterbouwkunde in 1917. Both companies joined forces in 2012 as Royal HaskoningDHV. As of May 2025 the company name was simplified to Haskoning.

In our history, we see the roots of our work. From the independent thinking enabling clients to thrive and communities to flourish, to the deep domain knowledge that is our DNA, branching out into new market sectors. Since their foundation, both companies diversified step by step and from the 70s onwards, they started to expand their knowledge base with the acquisition of specialised consultancies, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Our family tree

Our founders shared a passion for the profession of engineering, an indestructible belief in progress and the drive to make the world a better place. This family tree (dated 2025) shows how we have grown from a small passionate group of people to an international community of 6,800 employees focused on enhancing society together with the same perseverance and ingenuity as our founders displayed. We are still an independent, employee-owned organisation. And by growing digital competences in recent years, Haskoning has opened up a new world of virtual engineering, enabling completely new services and business models.

Download the family tree

A tree diagram with colored circles illustrating the historical evolution of Royal HaskoningDHV from 1881 to 2025.

Key moments in our firm's history

New name

2025

As of now, international consultancy and engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV will be simply known as Haskoning. The company retains its Royal designation.

Anniversary

2021

Royal HaskoningDHV celebrates its 140th anniversary. Much has changed over the years, but we remain focused on enhancing society together with the same perseverance and ingenuity as our founding fathers displayed. Nowadays it’s with the support of the latest digital solutions.

Merger

2012

DHV and Royal Haskoning merge to form Royal HaskoningDHV. This makes us the largest independent engineering and consultancy firm of the Netherlands and puts us among the top 10 worldwide.

United Kingdom

1994

Engineers and environmental scientists of British engineering consultant Posford Duvivier joined our company. Their specialist expertise working on port installations represented a major expansion for our company.

Designation

1981

Haskoning becomes a ‘Royal’ business, as designated by the Royal House of the Netherlands. This underlines our 100 year existence, spotless reputation and financial stability. We proudly carry this designation until this day.

International

1951

Our company entered a golden era of prosperity and growth when we joined Nedeco, Netherlands Engineering Consultancy. This umbrella organisation for overseas projects provided a wealth of experience and laid the foundations for further international expansion.

Historical image of Central kitchens in the Netherlands

WW II

1940

During the Second World War, DHV made a valuable contribution to the national food supplies in the Netherlands by designing dozens of so-called Centrale Keukens, or community kitchens.

Water technology

1919/1968/2005

From 1919 onwards, DHV provided advice on sewage systems. In 1968, they invented the Carrousel to carry out wastewater treatment. And in 2005 the first fully functioning industrial wastewater treatment system based on Nereda® technology was put into use.

Women

1917

Women started working in our company. Their role changed dramatically in more than 100 years since they started.

Netherlands

1917

A collaboration with a Dutch beer brewer lead up to the start of engineering firm Dwars, Heederik & Verhey (DHV).

Egypt

1889

Jacobus de Koning travelled to Egypt to create a design for a railway bridge across the Nile.

First independent engineering firm

1881

Johan van Hasselt and Jacobus de Koning set up the first independent engineering firm in the Netherlands. It’s the only engineering firm in the Netherlands that has been able to keep its independency until today.

Images

1881, 1917, 2021: Company archives Haskoning
1889: H. Arnoux, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde
1917: Heineken collection
1919: Stadsarchief Amsterdam/Gustaaf Oosterhuis
1940: Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden
1951: Nedeco archives
1994: Steve Cadman/Flickr, Creative Commons