‘I think it was my mother who originally thrust a flyer about archaeology into my hand. I thought: Wow! Imagine studying archaeology in the Netherlands. I didn’t know that you could that. I’d already been at uni for four years.
I studied psychology for a while and earned a propaedeutic certificate in pedagogical sciences. But neither of these courses was what I was looking for. Luckily for me, I had parents who could support me financially.

Archaeology suited me down to the ground. My marks shot up. I got bogged down in all the models and diagrams in psychology and pedagogical sciences. But in archaeology,
I was able to work with real material right from the start. Out of doors too. During my programme, we uncovered 500 graves in and around the Eusebius Church in Arnhem. We found a gold earring next to one of the remains, right where the ear would have been. It sparkled just as brightly as when it had been buried under the ground.

I worked on a zero-hours contract at
De Steekproef in Zuidhorn, a commercial archaeology company. They offered me a permanent contract just as we were moving to Amersfoort, where my wife was about to become a member of the clergy. It didn’t matter. De Steekproef had work in the middle of the Netherlands too. I could start there.

I spend much of my working day at my desk, working out whether there is likely to be anything buried in the ground somewhere. I study geological data, old maps, aerial photos. I don’t mind digging and drilling, as long as there’s something to be found. But digging isn’t much fun if you don’t find anything by the tenth trench. But thanks to prior research, you usually know what to expect. Although we do sometimes stumble on things we hadn’t bargained for, like in the sludge in De Gouwe canal in Zuid-Holland. We had expected to find Roman treasures, but you simply wouldn’t believe the things that emerged from the depths! We did find some Roman pottery, but there were also ID cards, debit cards, car registration documents, a drone, and a 19th-century weapon.

I want to develop further in my career. Take pottery. If IKEA is stamped on the bottom of a bowl, it’s easy to tell know how old it is. But people have been making pots and pans since the Stone Age. I’d like to learn more about materials.’

'I was a slow starter. Or maybe I was just lazy, ha-ha. I had to repeat my final HAVO year. I didn’t know how to study. And when I went to Hanze UAS, I soon got hopelessly behind in business studies. I spent nine months working full-time as a removal man. I really enjoyed it, saw it as a sort of team sport.

Then I trained as a PE teacher for three years, but when I actually started teaching, I realized that I had no patience with children who were nervous about things like walking along a bench. Then I found archaeology. I said to myself: No more messing around; power through and finish it this time.

I started Snel en Wel during my degree programme, with Tristan who I knew from football and removal work.

We spent € 100 on a website and rented a storage unit. In 2022, we hired our first employee. It was very exciting.  

But now, seven years later, we’ve got three businesses. Koot was part of Nobbe from Winschoten, who wanted to sell up and asked if we were interested. The whole business was too much for us, but luckily, we were able to just buy the Koot part. We worked together with Makken. We called them if we were busy, and they called us if they were. In early 2025, the owner asked if we wanted to buy Makken too. Now we were ready for this step. The location was great, on a business estate on the outskirts of Groningen. So that’s where we are now.

We’re keeping the names. Koot and Makken are established names in the removal business, with their own clientèle. It would be a pity to lump everything together under Snel en Wel. The movers here each have uniforms for all three companies.

We have a staff of 12, including ourselves. What do you need to be a mover? Good will, a smile, and a friendly nature, both for clients and for your colleagues. Much more important than muscles. Sometimes things don’t work out. Then you just roll up your sleeves and fix it. We can’t just say: the truck’s half full and it’s five o’clock, so sorry, we’re off! 

I sometimes help with the removal jobs, but I’m mainly in the office organizing things. It’s hard work. I start at 5.15 in the morning. You want things to be right, and you want to do your best. This takes dedication.'

THOMAS WOLT (24)

DEGREE PROGRAMME > archaeology
2017-2022 IS > with UG-alumnus Tristan Koen (business studies 2014-2019) managing director of removal firms Snel en Wel, Koot and Makken
FAMILY > married to Stephany (30),
son Hugo (18 months) HOME > appartment in Helpman, moving to a new-build in Assen later this year INCOME > 60.000 euro gross
per year

RINDERT HOOIVELD (31)

DEGREE PROGRAMME > archaeology
2017-2023 IS > archaeologist at
De Steekproef FAMILY > married to Nathasja (34), pastor; daughters
Liese (5) and Aafke (1) HOME > semi-detached house in Woudenberg
INCOME > 2730 euro gross per month
(36 hours)

Searching for the right direction was certainly a challenge for this duo. They took a couple of wrong turns, smiled, and tried a new path. Nowadays, one of these UG alumni is a passionate archaeologist, and the other is the boss of a staggering three removal firms.