Limburgs Museum Seacon Blue

As a company, we have become successful through the engagement of people in our environment, which is why we want to give something back to our society. On our Seacon Blue page, we share stories of some of our great partnerships. We spoke to: Bert Mennings (Director at Limburgs Museum), Linda Frints (Business Developer at Limburgs Museum), Charlotte Janssen (Press Officer at Limburgs Museum) and Frank Hermans (Chief Sales Officer at Seacon Logistics).

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“For both Seacon and Limburgs Museum, finding and making connections is in their DNA. It is important to both of us to see how and where we can have an impact and how we can create value together.”

Bert Mennings Director

Story

“The Limburgs Museum collects, displays and tells stories from Limburg,” Bert tells us. “They are the stories of an international province at the heart of European developments, about the past, the present, and the future. The Limburgs Museum was founded in 1993 when the Goltzius Museum in Venlo and the Limburgs Volkskundig Centrum in Limbricht merged. The building was designed by architect Jeanne Dekkers, who also designed the plans for the current renovation. The facade will have a transparent character, the grounds will be greener, public facilities will be modified and the interior will be updated to get the museum ready for the next 25 years. From the very beginning, a number of companies have been sympathetic and given their support. Seacon Logistics is one of these partners. They’ve been supporting us for a number of years, which we greatly appreciate because it’s not to be taken for granted! Especially in these uncertain times with the pandemic.”

“Social involvement has been high on the agenda since Seacon Logistics started,” Frank continues. “Through our Seacon Blue initiative, we invest in sport, culture, education, social welfare, and charities. At the time, the connection to the Limburg Museum was made by Hai Berden, founder and owner of Seacon Logistics. That was many years ago now. Several years have passed since then, and I’ve taken over his place in the business club and its advisory committee. As a family business, we feel a strong commitment to the Limburgs Museum and we’re very proud of how we work together. At Seacon, we consider it important to enter into long-term relationships with customers and partners. We have the same kind of relationships with Seacon Blue partners. That fits well with our core values and the strong sense of ‘we’ that we have in our organisation. We project this to the outside world, and certainly also to our own employees, who we encourage to enjoy special exhibitions.” Bert adds: “We think it’s great to have support from global players like Seacon. It’s something we’re extremely proud of. For both Seacon and Limburgs Museum, finding and making connections is in their DNA. It is important to both of us to see how and where we can have an impact and how we can create value together.” 

“Our stories are accessible in various ways,” says Charlotte. “Visitors can learn about Limburg’s rich history in the museum, on location and online. In this way, we’re visible outside Venlo too, and lower the threshold some people have about visiting the museum by bringing the museum to the location. The Limburgs Museum on location is a great initiative that came about through crowdfunding. Last year we raised €40,000 that enabled us to go on a year-long tour of the province. Using a table-sized tablet with objects from our collection, historical videos and music, we stimulate dialogues and bring back memories, for example in care institutions, schools, and disadvantaged neighbourhoods. These special stories make the people, attendants and us very happy. It’s nice to be able to do something meaningful for others this way.” 

 “Especially in the time of coronavirus, we’ve noticed the value of making connections and being in contact with each other,” says Linda. “The business club helps us to realise high-profile and major exhibitions that would not otherwise be possible. An example is the temporary ‘Dino Experience’ exhibition with a life-size model of a Tyrannosaurus rex and ‘Super Sint’ (formerly the ‘Pakhuis van Sinterklaas’ [Saint Nicholas’s warehouse]) with collection pieces from the Saint Nicholas story. At the moment, we’re looking at ways to strengthen each other even more in the future. This could for example be through interesting collaborations. The unique exhibition ‘The Forgotten Princesses of Thorn’ opens in October. It gives unique insight into the unknown lives of three forgotten princesses in the eighteenth century from the town of Thorn, now part of Limburg. Three pieces come from our own collection and 50 lenders from all over Europe and America are providing pieces for the temporary exhibition. It includes over 200 objects including dresses, jewellery, carriages and paintings. Our business club has helped make this high-profile exhibition possible. These princesses travelled all over Europe. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them travel again, but now for example as a billboard on a ship on the river Maas? That could be a way to utilise each other’s qualities. Who knows, maybe a princess will be sailing on the Maas soon!”

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