The Schrijver Story

It was 1976 when Mr Henk Schrijver was faced with the renovation of his family’s listed farmhouse in Holland. The building lay between two rivers and at six meters below sea level. Extreme damp blighted the building’s thick original walls and newer brick walls alike.

Mr Schrijver’s previous experience building chimneys and fireplaces had given him an understanding of airflow, coldspots and ventilation and he put this knowledge to work to find a solution. The result of his ingenuity was the Schrijver Damp Control System, a brand new, natural way to cure the problems of damp.

Having resolved his own damp issues, he installed the system for family and friends in Holland where around a third of all properties lie below the water table. It was so successful that, with their encouragement, Mr Schrijver decided to start a company.

This turned out to be a great decision. Before long the word spread and his simple and innovative solution was installed into properties in Belgium, France, Portugal and Spain. To date over 25,000 homes across Europe have benefited.

In 1988 the system received its official patent, following extensive laboratory tests, and that same year it won first prize for the best invention of the year in the Nationale Ideeënbus, a Dutch Television national competition similar to the UK’s Dragons’ Den.

In 1997 Henk Schrijver’s son, Frank, brought the innovative damp control system to the UK where before long it was met with acclaim, winning the Chamber of Commerce Best British Enterprise Award in 2002.

And today the success story continues: Frank Schrijver UK Ltd continues to install the system into all sorts of properties across the nation, from castles to churches, apartments to mansions, suburban semi’s to wave-lashed lighthouses. All with the same result – a healthy, dry environment and happy, satisfied customers.