Argentina’s booming agricultural exports demanded modern river access to global markets. Rosario, on the Paraná River, was chosen to become that new harbor.

For Nicolaas van Haaren and Hendrik Willem Ackermans, working in Rosario was the result of persistence. Earlier business trips to seek out new opportunities in Egypt and Algiers had so far yielded no contracts, yet international ambitions to expand continued. When the Argentine government appointed Hersent and Schneider to build the port, longstanding partnerships with both contractors opened the door.

Rosario became the founders’ first major contract outside Europe. The works required dredging, extensive quay construction and land reclamation. By the completion of the first contract in 1908, dredging totaled 9 million m³. Delivering the project also meant transporting purposebuilt vessels across the Atlantic - bucket dredgers, hoppers, tugboats, barges, and even a 50ton “Titan” crane, a logistical achievement in itself.

The international breakthrough marked a real turning point. Between 1903 and 1925, DEME’s founders contributed to 11 port projects in Argentina, establishing a longterm presence in Latin America and representing the start of the company’s global ambitions.