How it started
19th century: foundation
The company has its origins in the Nederlandsche Heidemaatschappij (English: Association for Wasteland Redevelopment), a land reclamation company founded in the Netherlands in 1888. As such, its original business focus was on the encouragement of agricultural development in the Dutch heather lands.
20th century: domestic, US and Brazil expansion
In the early 20th century the Heidemaatschappij was involved in all aspects of rural development including irrigation and forestry. In 1972, it was decided to heavily restructure the company, resulting in its division into two separate entities, the Association (or KNHM), which continued the company's traditional activities, and Heidemij, which became the commercial arm.
In 1993, the company merged with Geraghty & Miller, granting the new Arcadis a presence in the North American market and an initial listing on the Nasdaq index. Geraghty and Miller, headquartered in Long Island, New York, was subsequently rebranded as Arcadis North America.
Two years later, Heidemij became a listed company on the Next 150 index. During October 1997, the company opted to rebrand itself, changing its name to Arcadis. Two years later, it established a presence in the Brazilian market via the firm's acquisition of Logos Engenharia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Arcadis, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2