Wijnand van Hetten

Wijnand van Hetten
Born	(1932-03-09) 9 March 1932 Paramaribo, Suriname
Occupations	Dump site owner and operator
Years active	1947–2026
Era	Middenvader Era Vriend Era
Known for	Management of the Van Hetten family dump site
Spouse	Rosalie Kenswil ​ (m. 1961)​
Children	Henk van Hetten
Father	Maurits van Hetten
Relatives	Ewald van Hetten (brother)
Family	Van Hetten family

Wijnand van Hetten (born 9 March 1932) is a retired Surinamese dump site owner and operator. He managed the Van Hetten family dump site in Paramaribo from 1 April 1968 until 10 April 2026. On his retirement, he transferred the site to his son, Henk van Hetten, and it became a construction yard operated by Paramarbo.

Early life

Wijnand van Hetten was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, on 9 March 1932. His father, Maurits van Hetten, founded a dump site in the city. Wijnand's older brother, Ewald van Hetten, also worked at the site.

On 1 September 1947, aged 15, Van Hetten began working at the dump site after school. He completed his MULO education on 30 June 1950 and began working there full-time on 1 July.

Career

On 15 June 1958, Van Hetten established a salvage section at the dump site. The site accepted household waste and debris from construction work. It also received scrap metal and discarded machinery.

Van Hetten separated materials that could still be used. Timber and corrugated metal sheets were stored for later construction work. Structural steel and machine parts were retained for sale or reuse. Intact concrete components were also recovered.

Maurits retired on 1 April 1968 and transferred ownership of the dump site to Wijnand. Van Hetten managed its daily operations and operated machinery when needed. Ewald performed most of the specialised crane and excavator work.

Henk began helping at the dump site in 1975, when he was 12. Wijnand taught him construction work, while Ewald later trained him to operate cranes and excavators.

When Henk founded Paramarbo in 1990, Wijnand and Ewald continued operating the dump site and did not join the company. They lent machinery to Henk during Paramarbo's first projects. The company later continued obtaining reusable building materials from the site.

Van Hetten retired from daily management on 10 April 2026, aged 94, and transferred ownership to Henk. The site became a Paramarbo construction yard but continued accepting household waste and construction debris. Paramarbo also uses it to store machinery and salvaged building materials. Van Hetten continues to visit the site and advise Henk.

Personal life

Van Hetten married Rosalie Kenswil in Paramaribo on 12 August 1961. Their only child, Henk van Hetten, was born on 23 July 1963. Kenswil remained outside the family business. She and Van Hetten continue to live in Paramaribo.

See also

• Henk van Hetten
• Ewald van Hetten
• Maurits van Hetten
• Paramarbo
• Van Hetten family
• Van Hetten family members