Bruynzeel wins prestigious order from Charles Darwin Foundation

Bruynzeel Storage Systems, the leading provider of space-saving storage solutions in Europe, has secured a multi-million euro order from the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos Islands. This significant project entails the storage of all scientific collections housed at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Renowned for its dedication to research, conservation, and protection of the islands' unique biodiversity, the research station holds invaluable collections spanning animals, plants, and insects. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, the new depot will serve as the repository for these collections.

Priceless collections

Bruynzeel's customized storage systems help the Charles Darwin Research Station organize and manage highly valuable research data, samples and materials. By using high-performance mobile storage systems and moving to one central location, the research station can better and more efficiently manage and protect its precious collections. In addition, accessibility and storage capacity is increased while also taking into account the storage of future collections.

Strictest possible requirements

The Charles Darwin Foundation has chosen Bruynzeel due to its proven track record with over 200 world-leading museums and research institutions. Given that a significant portion of its collections are irreplaceable, the Charles Darwin Foundation applies the strictest possible conservation requirements. The collections officially belong to the Ecuadorian State, which has entrusted the Charles Darwin Foundation to be the custodians of the collections.

"We are delighted that the Charles Darwin Foundation has chosen Bruynzeel to store their extraordinarily valuable collections," said Alexander Collot d'Escury, CEO of Bruynzeel Storage Systems. "Our custom-built storage systems will help them keep decades of collected research materials safe and organized so they can continue to focus on their important conservation work in the Galapagos Islands. We look forward to working together and supporting them in their mission to research and conserve the unique biodiversity. We are also committing for 20 years to the restoration of the species-rich Scalesia forest with its important function for biodiversity."

Sustainable storage

An important criterion in the tender was the level of sustainability of the solutions offered. Bruynzeel, recognized as the most sustainable producer in the sector, provides storage systems with the lowest CO2 impact in the industry. For instance, their storage systems incorporate Bruynzeel GreenSteel®, which delivers a CO2 saving of more than 90% compared to the market standard. Bruynzeel collaborates with ArcelorMittal and uses accredited XCarb® certificates, among others, to achieve this high level of sustainability.

Bruynzeel is undertaking this project in collaboration with its U.S. subsidiary, Delta Designs. Delta Designs is renowned for its hermetically sealed museum cabinets, which offer the highest quality preservation for the most fragile objects. Their prestigious clientele includes the American Museum of Natural History, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Together, Bruynzeel and Delta Designs provide the highest quality total solutions to museums and institutions managing precious collections.

Charles Darwin and the Galapagos Islands

Known for their pristine nature, the Galapagos Islands are globally renowned due to British naturalist Charles Darwin, who in 1835 was the first to study the unusual geology and biology of the archipelago. It was here that Darwin developed his groundbreaking theory of evolution. Established in 1964, the Charles Darwin Research Station serves as a pivotal base for scientists to conduct research on the islands' extraordinary flora and fauna. The station also plays a vital role in educating the public about the importance of the Galapagos Islands' extensive biodiversity for future generations. As the largest research site in the Galapagos, it attracts 125,000 visitors annually and features an archive, library, and museum

Recent assignments

Bruynzeel Storage Systems achieved its largest order ever in early 2024 with the supply and installation of mobile storage systems for the National Archives in Sweden with a contract value of €19 million. The new Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada was the largest order in 2023 with a value of €18 million. The RBC Museum is one of the most important museums of its own history in Canada with a collection of more than 7 million artifacts.

About Bruynzeel Storage Systems

Bruynzeel Storage Systems was founded in 1953 as part of the Bruynzeel Group and became independent in the 1980s. The company operates in the museum, archive, library and office markets, with customers including the Louvre in Paris and Abu Dhabi, the Boijmans van Beuningen Depot, the UK government's National Archives, the University of St Andrews and Schiphol Airport. The Netherlands-based company is also growing rapidly in mobile storage solutions for healthcare, retail, industry, office, data centers and vertical farming.

Bruynzeel Storage Systems is the European market leader for innovative and space-saving mobile storage systems. Bruynzeel supplies mobile storage systems worldwide with the most innovative functionality and safety for users and objects. Bruynzeel helps these organizations use their space as efficiently and effectively as possible. Less space required means lower costs and has a huge positive impact on the carbon footprint. Bruynzeel itself is climate neutral in its own operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2¹) since 2021. Its solutions have the lowest carbon footprint in the industry. As "The Footprint Reduction Company," Bruynzeel's mission is to support organizations in reducing their carbon footprint. Bruynzeel has committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi²) and has the ambition to achieve 'Net Zero' for Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2035.

In early 2023, Delta Design Ltd became part of the Bruynzeel Storage Group. Delta Designs is a leader in North America for the storage of museum, university and research institution collections and is known for its high-quality custom-made museum cabinets. Delta has worked with leading institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and many other appealing Ivy League Universities.

In addition to its 10 own offices in Europe and the United States, Bruynzeel operates through an extensive network of long-term partners and distributors in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, Australia and Asia. All systems are produced in the factories in the Netherlands and the United States and with its best-in-class manufacturing process, Bruynzeel is able to deliver mobile storage systems of high quality and design with very short production and delivery times.