'The Facultatieve Group’ builds crematorium in Germany

‘The Facultatieve Group’ will open a crematorium in Memmingen, Germany, later this year. Mr. Ivo Holzinger - Oberbürgermeister of the ‘Stadt Memmingen’ - and Henry J. Keizer - President of the Executive Board of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – signed the official contract at the end of April. ‘Krematorium Memmingen’ (Bayern, aprox. 150 km west of München) is expected to open in October. First step “This is an important moment for us”, says Henry J. Keizer. “For the first time in our 132-year existence we are not only building a crematorium outside of the Netherlands, but we will also operate it. We have noticed that both the German Authorities and the local Communities are willing to make use of our experience. In that respect, Krematorium Memmingen is only a first step; a start. We hope that we will have built a network of crematoria in Germany in a few years.” Until recently the running of a crematorium in Germany was reserved for the Government. Keizer: “In a few federal states, including Bayern, the law has been revised and now a private organisation can exploit a crematorium. Stadt Memmingen and ‘the Facultatieve Group’ found each other quickly. We have had nothing but positive assistance from the Community”. “People in Germany have already been observing the developments in the Netherlands for some time”, says Keizer. “You can tell by the growing interest for our services in the border region. A lot of things that are already ‘normal’ with us are still not allowed in Germany. A little bit of ash in a medallion for example or scattering the ashes personally. In Germany, the ashes have to be situated at a cemetery. We expect the legislation to be revised significantly, so a lot more will be possible. Of course it will not happen overnight, but in over a period of time. It is a fact that German crematoria and funeral undertakers will look at the developments in the Netherlands as an example for the revision of their own legislation”. Krematorium Memmingen is owned 85% by ‘the Facultatieve Group’ and for 15% by Stadt Memmingen. The foundations for 'the Facultatieve Group' were laid in 1874 with the establishment of the Royal Dutch Cremation Society 'the Facultatieve'. This society built - among others - the first crematorium in the Netherlands (Westerveld, 1913). Now ‘the Facultatieve Group’ is an international organization that supplies services through independent subsidiaries in the fields of communications, cremation and burial, environmental management and incineration technique, information technology (IT) and insurance. The Head Office is located in The Hague in the Netherlands.