WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE THE ISLAND BUILDER WITH ITS OWN ASPHALT, CONCRETE—AND PLAYBOOK FOR TOUGH TERRAIN WWW.WINDWARDROADS.COM
THE ISLAND BUILDER WIT ASPHALT, CONCRETE—AN FOR TOUGH TERRAIN WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE AT A GLANCE WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE WHAT: L eading infrastructure contractor and builder skilled in top tier projects and focused ont future growth WHERE: S int Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Anguilla WEBSITE: www.windwardroads.com A ‘ONE TEAM’ APPROACH TO DELIVERING TOP TIER INFRASTRUCTURE RESULTS 1 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10
TH ITS OWN ND PLAYBOOK Headquartered on St. Maarten with operations in Saba, St. Eustatius, Anguilla, and the French side of the island, Windward Roads blends in-house materials, tight logistics, and a “one team” culture to deliver quality infrastructure where schedules and supply lines are anything but simple. 2 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10
FROM SMALL INTERSECTIONS TO MULTI-ISLAND DELIVERY Founded in 1986 as a small subcontractor on St. Maarten, Windward Roads has scaled by adding capability where island projects need it most: asphalt production and paving, ready-mix concrete, and aggregate recycling.“We started small—intersections and local infrastructure,” says [Witteveen]. “The philosophy was never too big to do a small job. From there, we built the pieces to control quality and time.” Today, the company runs 80+ employees and a broad subcontractor bench, operating as Saba Roads & Construction on Saba, Statia Roads & Construction on St. Eustatius, Anguilla Roads & Infrastructure on Anguilla, plus an administrative entity on the French side. St. Maarten serves as the hub: procurement, customs, staging, and trans-shipment move through the main office and port before materials dispatch to the satellite islands. “Nearly everything flows through St. Maarten,” Witteveen says.“We’ve got boats almost daily, planes daily, and a 20-minute boat to Anguilla every half hour. But once you’re in Saba or Statia, weekly sailings can be the difference between a one-day fix and a one-week delay.” THE ISLAND CHALLENGE: PLAN DEEP, MOVE FAST, IMPROVISE SMART Building on small islands means constraints— parts aren’t around the corner, immigration and tax regimes differ by island, and subsurface and marine works always surprise. • Availability: Specialty parts or materials often aren’t on-island; even on St. Maarten, lead times are longer than on the mainland. • Transport windows: Saba/Statia sailings are weekly; miss Tuesday’s ship and you can lose a week. • Rulesets: Saba and St. Eustatius are special Dutch municipalities with different immigration, tax, and labor rules than St. Maarten/Anguilla— Windward Roads navigates three countries’ frameworks across four islands. • Subsurface risk: “Go into the ground or underwater and you’ll find what you didn’t plan,” Witteveen says. “That’s normal here. So preparation is everything.” CAPABILITIES THAT CHANGE DELIVERY MATH Windward Roads built in-house capacity where it matters most to island infrastructure: 3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10 WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE
• Asphalt production & paving: The company operates St. Maarten’s only asphalt plant and is the island’s primary asphalt applicator. “Most comfortable roads are asphalt,” Witteveen notes. “On small islands, the volumes can’t justify multiple producers. Our plant creates the quality and schedule certainty projects need.” • Concrete production: In-house ready-mix allows QC control, on-time pours, and reduced dependence on third parties. • Heavy equipment fleet: Excavators, loaders, transport, and specialty gear sized for infra/ marine work—maintained for reliability over 4 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED For over 80 years, Kooyman has been the trusted partner for professionals, contractors, and homeowners across the Caribbean. With locations in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Barbados, and St. Maarten, Kooyman has become more than just a hardware store—it is the region’s one-stop source for construction materials, tools, and home improvement solutions and the Caribbean’s biggest retail store. At Kooyman, customers can expect a wide assortment of quality products ranging from lumber, cement, steel, plumbing, and electrical supplies, to power tools, paint, and finishing materials. Our stores also feature drive-thru service for quick pick-ups, as well as online shopping and delivery options that make the building process more efficient than ever. For professionals, Kooyman’s PRO program offers tailored benefits including dedicated account managers, specialized support at the PRO desk, and exclusive deals to help keep projects on time and within budget. Kooyman even offers options to ship to satellite islands surrounding our main locations.The sales department can provide more information about this opportunity. What truly sets Kooyman apart is its role in the region’s largest construction and renovation projects. From residential developments and hotels, to hospitals, schools, and commercial complexes, Kooyman works hand in hand with contractors, architects, engineers, and developers. Our experienced account management teams provide guidance on product selection, sourcing, and logistics, ensuring that partners receive the right materials at the right time—whether the project is on-island or requires coordination across multiple islands. With strong supplier relationships and a solid distribution network, Kooyman is able to manage the complexity of large projects while maintaining the personal touch of a local partner. Beyond supplying materials, Kooyman believes in building stronger communities. We support local tradespeople with knowledge and training, host workshops and product demonstrations, and collaborate with partners to promote innovation and sustainability in the construction sector. By bringing together global brands and local expertise, Kooyman continues to set the standard for reliability, service, and quality. Whether you are a professional contractor managing a multi-million-dollar development, or a homeowner improving your space, Kooyman is the go-to place for building materials and expertise. Our motto, “Everything You Need to Succeed,” reflects our belief that every project—large or small—is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about creating lasting value, strengthening communities, and shaping any project into a lasting success. Kooyman is proud to be your partner in building today, and tomorrow.
rental risk. • Recycling & circularity: On-site crushing of demolished concrete, wood/green waste shredding, and aggregate reuse wherever engineering allows. “We prefer to own the critical path,” Witteveen says. “If the plant is ours and the paver is ours, we control quality and timing, and our clients see the difference.” PEOPLE: HIRE CHARACTER, TRAIN SKILLS, BUILD ONE TEAM Windward Roads runs a Caribbean-first hiring posture—local teams across the islands, complemented by Dutch, English, and other expat supervisors or engineers where specialist skills are thin regionally. “We hire character and train skills,” says Witteveen. “The team is Caribbean at heart, with a few Dutch supervisors and engineers where needed. We put real effort into training and transparency so everyone understands the plan.” Culture is intentionally close-knit: Friday beers, team events, and open comms reinforce belonging. Four values show up on the walls and in project reviews: Team-member strong, Transparent, Educated, Enthusiastic. As a subsidiary of a 90-year-old Dutch group, the company also brings Dutch standards in safety, QA/QC, and documentation—while respecting Caribbean work culture. “It’s a different rhythm,” Witteveen says.“That’s the field you play on. It’s fun.” QUALITY, SERVICE, REPUTATION— MEASURED ON SMALL ISLANDS In a market of ~58,000 people on St. Maarten (and smaller on the satellites), your work is visible for years—and so are your relationships. Windward Roads bakes follow-ups and guarantees into close client handling. • Structured updates: Scheduled meetings and as-needed briefings on progress, budget, quality, and issue resolution. • Post-handover attention: Periodic checks and warranty actions to protect longevity. • Repeat business focus: “Most of our clients are 7 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10 WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE
repeat,”Witteveen says.“That only happens if you keep surprises low and communication high.” RECENT AND UPCOMING WORK With so many competing projects, Witteveen highlights some of the more significant ones to emphasize the scale and importance of the projects the company is undertaking: • Statia (St. Eustatius) – “Blue Circle” drainage: Island-wide stormwater improvements to guide rainwater safely off a cliff-edge historic town and reduce erosion risk.“It’s a safety project as much as infra,” Witteveen says. • St. Maarten – Airport asphalt: Taxiway resurfacing and forthcoming runway works in staged sequences to protect operations. • St. Maarten –Vie L’ven resort siteworks: Early and upcoming packages for a planned ~230-key, fivestar-plus resort by North American investors— bringing a higher tier of hospitality quality to the island (including plans for a Michelin-starred restaurant). “It’s a new bar for local tourism,” Witteveen notes. LOGISTICS AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Because every out-island job runs through the St. Maarten hub,Windward Roads treats customs,staging, and shipping like critical scope—not overhead. The firm sequences containers, consolidates local buys, and pads contingencies around weekly sailings and airfreight limits. Small islands magnify small misses: a part that’s a same-day courier elsewhere can be a seven-day slip in Saba.“We plan so that one missed ship doesn’t sink the program,” Witteveen says. SUSTAINABILITY: PUSHING THE CURVE, ISLAND BY ISLAND Windward Roads is leaning into circularity and decarbonization—areas where small islands often lag due to scale and Witteveen points specifically to: • Solar: Installed arrays on facilities, with more projects queued. • Fleet: Electric cars for corporate use—unusual for the island construction sector. • Recycling: Crushing of concrete for reuse; 8 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10
shredding of wood and green waste for proper disposal or repurposing. • World Bank demolition: Current program to demolish and responsibly process three buildings, diverting materials back into the island economy where feasible. As part of a larger Dutch group active across Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba (including a limestone aggregate mine, concrete, asphalt, and heavy civil), Windward Roads shares best practices across the Dutch Caribbean to bring circularity forward.“We’re ahead of the local curve—and we want to pull the curve with us,” Witteven says. SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS: BE THE CONTRACTOR VENDORS WANT The company’s approach with vendors is simple: be easy to do business with—clean takeoffs, clear orders, tight QC—then ask for the best pricing.“We eliminate ordering errors at the back office,” Witteveen says. “Reliability earns trust, and trust earns value.” How Windward Roads measures success When asked about success and what it means to the company, Witteveen answers without hesitation pointing out what he feels to be the keys to growth: • Delivery reliability under island constraints (hit the ship, keep the pour, finish the paving window). • QA/QC that holds up on highly visible assets (airport surfaces, town centers, seafronts). • Client retention in a very small market—repeat work as the primary KPI. • Team engagement—low turnover, strong local participation, steady skill-building. THE ROAD AHEAD: BALANCE THE PIPELINE; LEAD ON CIRCULARITY Looking ahead, Witteveen has a set of priorities for the immediate future and plans for long term growth for years to come: When assessing the next 12–24 months: Keep the work mix balanced to avoid the “too hot / too cold” swings common on small islands—sequencing 9 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10 WINDWARD ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE
PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Kooyman BV www.kooymanbv.com Kooyman is the Caribbean’s leading home improvement and building supplier, with stores in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Barbados, and St. Maarten. Serving professionals and homeowners alike, Kooyman offers quality products, expert advice, and reliable service. From major construction projects to DIY solutions, Kooyman is the region’s go-to partner for building strong. airport, drainage, hospitality, and municipal jobs so people and plants remain utilized, not overrun. Looking towards the next 5–10 years: Extend leadership in recycling, low-carbon ops, and durable paving standards—partnering with the airport, harbor, and government on CO₂ accounting, recycled materials specs, and end-of-life strategies for concrete and asphalt. “On islands, waste has nowhere to hide,” Witteveen says. “We have to design it out.” 10 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10
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