Krematorium Memmingen – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ -in the south of Germany, has been using a second FT cremator with a fully automatic insertion machine since the autumn of 2015. This second cremator of Facultatieve Technologies is connected to the existing double stream filter, which is designed to serve two cremators.

“2014 was a year of positive developments for our Group. A growing number of families in the Netherlands and in Germany opted for the personalised services offered by our crematoria and cemeteries”, said Henry Keizer, President & CEO of ‘the Facultatieve Group’. “Furthermore, Facultatieve Technologies booked some major successes in the US and Canadian markets. Under the difficult economic conditions of 2014, our staff managed to realise some great results. With offices and operations across the world, global economic developments have an impact on all our Group’s activities”, said Henry Keizer. “Which is why I’m so happy and proud that we have managed to show such a positive result of € 3.5 million after tax. It just goes to show how resilient our Group and its employees are.”

The number of ceremonies that ‘the Facultatieve Group’ provided rose in 2014 by 5% to 16,054. “By offering top-quality services geared to people’s individual wishes, we have managed to maintain our market share in the Netherlands at around 10%. Facultatieve Deutschland provided nearly 7,000 cremations in 2014 (2013: 6,000), further expanding our market share in Germany.”

Facultatieve Technologies continues to develop positively. “The combination of designing, building and maintaining the systems is becoming increasingly important. Thanks to our own service teams in different countries and our proprietary software for remote diagnostics and changes, we always respond quickly and efficiently. New products are developed – often together with clients – for finding the best solution within a project.”

Dealing with over 19,000 deceased persons, around 100,000 thanatopraxy treatments and some 16,000 transport movements, Hygeco’s Post Mortem Assistance showed a further strengthening of its growth in France in 2014.

In the German context, Krematorium Niederrhein Willich – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – provides many unique options that very few other crematoria in Germany can offer to relatives of the deceased. The Crematorium recently held an evening for funeral service providers and their staff. Over one hundred professionals from around the region visited the crematorium to see the options with their own eyes.

The visitors were given a guided tour of the unique auditoriums, the visiting rooms and the cremation area. Attention was given also to the reception rooms.

Niederrhein Willich Crematorium provides the opportunity to relatives to hold a post-funeral reception after the ceremony if the relatives so wish. The Crematorium has various tastefully decorated reception rooms with extensive gastronomic possibilities, which can cater also for larger groups.

After the tours, visitors were introduced to a number of these gastronomic delights and chatted with colleagues and other business contacts.

Memmingen Crematorium today donated a sum of 38,500 euros to various projects in Memmingen involved in youthwork, culture and training. Under the watchful eye of Mayor Ivo Holzinger, Stefan van Dorsser, CEO of Memmingen Crematorium, handed over a total of 38,500 euro. Part of that went to the Memmingen children’s hospital for a new play area. And the Roman Catholic Church of St. Josef received a cheque too for renovation of its facade. The Memmingen urban schools community and the contact group for the disabled in Memmingen (the Behinderten-Kontaktgruppe Memmingen e.V.) also got a cheque to restore a wing of their building and as a contribution to a new vehicle.

Memmingen Crematorium
“Since the opening in 2006, Memmingen crematorium has played an important role in the lives of many people in Memmingen and environs”, said Henry Keizer, CEO of ‘the Facultatieve Group’. “Based on this role and our sense of social responsibility, it therefore gives us great pleasure to contribute to these worthy projects that benefit all residents of Memmingen.” The Memmingen Crematorium – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – opened its doors in October 2006 on the Waldfriedhofstraße 4a. With many years of experience and its vast pool of expertise, ‘the Facultatieve Group’ guarantees that funeral ceremonies at Memmingen crematorium are handled with the respect they deserve. Key to this is an optimum service with scope of personal input to fulfil the wishes of the deceased and those they leave behind.

Over the last six months, the former manager’s house at Moscowa Cemetery (Waterbergseweg, Arnhem), has been refurbished and converted into ‘Tearoom Moscowa’. The tearoom – built in 1954 and listed on the municipal historic buildings register – was officially opened by Mr Kaiser, Mayor of Arnhem and Henry Keizer, President & CEO of ‘the Facultatieve Group’, on 3 June 2015. On that occasion, the walking route ‘Walking at Moscowa’ was also revealed.

“Moscowa is a popular walking area and we have been frequently reminded of the need for a place where visitors can have something to eat and drink”, André Kruijmer, location manager, explains. “We are pleased that the tearoom will be able to meet that demand, yet visitors can also call in on here with questions about the location of a certain grave for example, or to buy some flowers.” Tearoom Moscowa is opened seven days a week, from 10am to 4pm.

Walking at Moscowa
Moscowa is worth visiting not only to experience the ambience of a typical Arnhem cemetery, but also from a nature and historical (art) point of view. The memorial park is a popular walking area to many. At the same time it is a park which holds many historical facts. In order to make these more visible, twenty information signs were recently erected in the park and a guide was compiled: ‘Walking at Moscowa’. This booklet, which is available from the new Moscowa Tearoom, leads visitors along paths by numerous monuments and beautiful spots.

Cultural and historic value
Moscowa is a (monumental) memorial park with a history dating back as far as 1873. Thanks to the ancient graves and the large diversity in the landscape, the park also holds a high cultural and historic value. After all, there is a reason why in 2013 Moscowa was the second cemetery in the Netherlands to be admitted to the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe (ASCE). Members of this prestigious organization of special cemeteries include the monumental Père-Lachaise in Paris, Montjuic in Barcelona, Cimitero del Verano in Rome and Westerveld in Driehuis (Municipality of Velsen).

Funeralia – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – is certified in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001: 2008 and is “Made in Germany”. Funeralia is audited annually by TÜV, the independent German ‘Technische Überwachungsverein‘ under very stringent quality requirements. We are very proud that the TÜV has awarded Funeralia its certificate every year since 1999 based on its strict standards and extensive audit.

Read more: http://www.funeralia.de/en/funeralia-en/quality-in-function-and-detail/

Its charming location and the almost un-Dutch atmosphere means Westerveld is often chosen as a site for television and film recordings. Numerous TV producers and film-makers have chosen, and continue to choose, Westerveld as the location for their productions.

For instance, the fourth season of Penoza, a successful Dutch crime series, was recently recorded at Westerveld. Recordings were made at various locations in the memorial park. This was not the first time that the cast of this popular series visited Westerveld. Thanks to its monumental appearance, the beautiful lanes and hilly landscape and serene tranquillity, the memorial park was chosen three times before.

The series features the best Dutch actors and actresses, including Monic Hendrickx (Carmen van Walraven) in the lead. The fourth season of this popular TV series will be broadcast in the autumn of 2015.

For the new Duin en Bollenstreek Crematorium, H. Mens, the initiator of this project, has chosen a system of Facultatieve Technologies, part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’. The agreement was signed on 22 April for the delivery of two cremation furnaces an FTIII cremator  (with wider primary chamber to accept larger coffins) and an FTII – together with a flue gas treatment system and accessories. The crematorium will be built in Lisse, a town between Amsterdam and The Hague. It is expected to be taken into use in the second quarter of 2016.

At the end of March, Funeralia – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – exhibited at the ‘Altenpflege’ trade fair in Neurenberg. With 28,000 visitors, Altenpflege is the leading fair for the care sector in the German-speaking region. Some 700 exhibitors presented a wide range of medical products and services in Neurenberg. Due to the wide range of options and ergonomic design, there was a great deal of interest in Funeralia’s systems for transporting the deceased and also for their range of biers.

For further information: www.altenpflege-messe.de