About Van de Berk en Kerkhof Makelaars
Agricultural expertise strengthened by digital innovation
Van de Berk en Kerkhof Makelaars is a renowned real estate and valuation firm located in Aarle-Rixtel and Best, Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands. As a valued customer from the very beginning, Frans Merkens, with his rich agricultural background, works closely with KATE Innovations to meet the challenges of modern agricultural valuation practice.
Frans’ background is deeply rooted in the agricultural sector. When his father had to stop working on his dairy farm due to back problems, he made the switch to real estate. This family history gives Frans a unique perspective and valuable insights into the agricultural sector.

Challenges in agricultural real estate valuations
The modern agricultural appraiser faces complex challenges:
- Broad expertise required: The range of facets that an agricultural appraiser must take into account is enormous. This requires in-depth knowledge in various areas.
- More than just numbers: A good appraisal goes beyond numbers; it revolves around the underlying idea of the object or company.
- Quality assurance: The quality of a appraisal report must be consistently high.
- Lack of information among clients: Clients often do not know the company to be appraised well, nor the context and the unique story behind it.
- Recognising unique value propositions: Identifying and communicating the added value of a company compared to comparable companies.
The search for a suitable partner
Van de Berk en Kerkhof was looking for a partner who could work flexibly and efficiently. At the same time, the NVM was increasing its demand for a substantively strong software partner specifically for agricultural appraisers. After a careful evaluation, KATE Innovations proved to be the most suitable party, which also excelled in speed and accuracy.
What Van de Berk en Kerkhof particularly appreciates is the accessibility of the system. The visual approach and intuitive interface make KATE Innovations extremely user-friendly, which ensures smooth integration into daily work processes.
Through the collaboration with KATE Innovations, Van de Berk en Kerkhof Makelaars has been able to take their agricultural appraisal practice to a higher level, where tradition and innovation come together seamlessly.
The benefits of KATE Innovations
Frans Merkens identifies several significant advantages that the collaboration with KATE Innovations has yielded:
- Working completely digitally:
- The complete valuation story that was previously written manually can now be recorded in KATE
- Digital delivery to clients and banks
- Retention of your own professional signature despite digitisation
- Structured reporting:
- Clear substantiation of valuation values
- Organised management of references in Compview
- Your own references are given a suitable place in the system
- Three core advantages according to Frans:
- Efficiency gain: Work faster as a valuer, especially with a well-filled database
- Integrated substantiation: Calculation models in KATE that are included in the report with one click
- Quality control: A built-in controlling factor that prevents essential elements from being forgotten

Plan your demo
Discover how KATE optimizes your work processes. With a personal demo we show you how our software fits your working method and growth. We will schedule the demo within 24 hours of your request. Experience the difference yourself.
