Hans van Breukelen, or rather: Hans van Brooklyn Bridging cultures & growing Selmers USA

In the Netherlands, Hans van Breukelen is a famous football name. In the United States, he simply became Hans van Brooklyn. “Think about Brooklyn, New York,” Hans always says. “That’s almost the same as Breukelen.” With the World Cup 2026 taking place in the United States, this feels like the perfect moment to meet Selmers’ own ‘Hans van Brooklyn’. The man who has helped grow the company’s presence across America for more than a decade.

Hans has lived in the United States since 1999. At the time, he worked for the Dutch heavy-lift and transport company Van Seumeren, later Mammoet. What started as a business opportunity turned into a permanent move. “My wife and I came to Houston to have a look,” he says. “We thought: this is a world we can live in. We gave it a shot and never went back.”

A Dutchman in Texas

Hans eventually joined Selmers through his long-standing connection with Meemaken and Roderick van Seumeren. During the acquisition of the Texas-based company Alltec, he became increasingly involved with the organization and later took on the role of Selmers representative for the United States.

Bridging two cultures

One of his first and most important challenges was helping bridge the cultural differences between the Netherlands and the US. “The Dutch are very direct,” he explains. “Not intentionally harsh, but sometimes that’s how it comes across in America.”

Together with Area Sales Manager Chris Baars, Hans travelled extensively across the country, getting accustomed to how business relationships differ throughout the US. By travelling together, meeting customers and discussing conversations afterwards, Selmers gradually developed an approach that felt natural and effective in the American market.

Closer to the customer

More than twelve years later, Selmers has become firmly established in the American market. The company is active in pipe coating, steel mills, pipe and tube manufacturing and offshore spool base equipment. But according to Hans, the next step is now even more important.

Selmers USA is currently being further developed into a stronger local organization, focused on service, maintenance, repairs and spare parts storage, bringing the company physically closer to its customers. “You’ve got to be here,” Hans says. “Customers want us to be closer to them.”

Eventually, this could even lead to manufacturing activities in the United States. “That would be a new step for Selmers here.”

The other Hans van Breukelen

And then there is, of course, the soccer connection. Although Americans rarely recognize the name Van Breukelen, soccerfans elsewhere in the world often still do. Hans remembers checking into a small hotel in Indonesia many years ago, when the hotel employee suddenly became excited. “He thought I was the Dutch goalkeeper,” Hans laughs. “I said: no sir, same name, that’s all.”

Dutch roots

When it comes to soccer itself, Hans still has strong Dutch roots. Asked which historic match he would most like to have witnessed live, he immediately mentions the legendary Dutch national team of 1974. “At that time, the Dutch introduced Total Football,” he says. “Beating Brazil and Argentina felt like a miracle.”

These days, living in America means he follows American football more than soccer. But during the World Cup, his loyalties become slightly complicated. “I’m American now,” he says, “but I still have Dutch roots. So I just hope the US and the Netherlands don’t have to play each other.”