About Sorba

Sorba started in 1977 with the development and production of convector housing, but nowadays we have entered other markets. Cladding for Façades, interiors and infrastructural projects have become our major working areas. In the past 40 years we have worked on many projects, like the concrete panels of the Public Transport Terminal in Arnhem, the colourful cladding of the office tower 400 Beethovenstraat on the Zuidas, Amsterdam, and the interior and exterior of new Underground stations of the Elizabeth Line, London. Each of these projects have unique challenges that demand a different kind of expertise.

The driving force behind the projects are our engineers and project managers. The highly educated engineers have the technical expertise and find the best solutions for your project. Our project managers are not just the planners on the job, but they manage all aspects of the project to ensure a high quality. This way we can maintain our quality standard and guarantee a beautiful result.

Our headquarters is located in Winterswijk, in the East of the Netherlands, but our projects have crossed the Dutch borders. We currently work on projects in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany. The Dutch project managers frequently visit the international projects and in the United Kingdom we even have local teams that serve the British market and monitor the projects on site.

Sorba prefers to be involved in a project right from the concept phase. Why? Because that allows our engineers to apply their expertise at every stage. Is the design technically possible? What will it cost? Which materials are necessary and in what quantities? We have no fewer than 30 engineers on the payroll. These highly-qualified technicians reinforce one another, and are the driving force behind each and every Sorba project. By working from a mock-up – a full-scale prototype of the design – they give the client a good idea of what the engineers are designing. This improves the final result.

Good project managing is just as important as skilled and dedicated engineers. Our project managers not only have technical knowledge, they are also masters in managing projects. Like a spider in the middle of a web, they guard the plans and keep a sharp eye on the budget. They are the main point of contact for all parties involved, and they also do the ordering of materials. In short: they manage the project from beginning to end.

How do our engineers go to work? If the design is complex, the drawing will be set up, according to our technical design, in Autodesk Inventor, to produce a 3D model, supplemented with construction framework conditions. Are there any adjustments necessary? Our engineers make any changes needed. The final result is a BIM-proof model, which provides the input for this much-used Building Information Model. This working method advances the cooperation between all the construction partners involved and prevents failure costs.

In addition to projects in the Netherlands, Sorba also carries out construction in Germany and the United Kingdom. It goes without saying that our managers know their languages. It’s one of the selection criteria! For example we’re working on the construction of an underground station in England? Our own project manager has ultimate responsibility, supported by our English colleagues. That’s how we do things.

We produce the aluminium composite cladding, better known as Alpolic, ourselves. We assemble OTFS (Offsite Timber Framing Solutions) and insulated façade elements: we make them waterproof, vapour-sealed and where necessary flame-proof, so they meet construction requirements. Or we can build a façade solution in a steel frame system which offers a lot of possibilities and freedom in designing façades. We also fit them with windows and window frames. Do you need a made-to-measure glass fibre reinforced concrete façade? We design the façade and provide the manufacturing drawings, and we use one of our specialist partners for the actual production.

We are working on a large-scale projects, such as the Arnhem Railway Station and several stations of the Elizabeth Line in London, like Farringdon.  Our own managers are on site to supervise the work. The assembly has to go exactly according to plan! That’s our responsibility. You can always count on our skilled mechanics.

Each project must go smoothly. Any slowness or delay is unacceptable. That’s why we organise the logistics ourselves. It gives us control over the process. Wherever possible, we make ready-made elements from prefabricated components, package them skilfully and deliver them exactly on time to the construction site.

Since Sorba  is s SCC certified company, you can be sure we work safely, sensibly and in an environmentally sustainable way.