From 1976 to date
Van den Hoogen Security was established in 1976. In that year, husband-and-wife team Wim and Irene van den Hoogen, together with their father Wim van den Hoogen Sr. started a key and lock speciality business and security company on the Sint Antonielaan in Arnhem (photo above left). They sell, make and repair keys and locks of all types, sizes and brands. And they quickly expand into the installation and opening of locks and closures.
Master safecracker
The demand for opening safes also increases. Wim van den Hoogen was and remains no proponent of the conventional (commercial) method: grinding the safe, ruining it and selling a new one. To be of true service to his customers, he wants to be able to open safes without damaging them.For this, he apprentices himself to the legal master safecrackers Toon Schoffelmeer and Henk Bergervoet. Many years of training follow - both at home and abroad, along with practical exchanges with safecracker colleagues around the world. Since then, Van den Hoogen Security has been able to open virtually every safe (almost completely) undamaged. And the company is known as that security partner with the 'burglar's knowledge'.
Van den Hoogen Security opens from 5-15 safes per week on average. "You can think of us as legal safecrackers," explains Wim van den Hoogen. "We open safes and learn a lot about bypassing closures at the same time. We apply this practical knowledge by making safes and other security measures more secure for our customers".