[2] The company was founded by Adam van der Wal as a joiner's shop in 1869 in Groot-Ammers - a rural village in the Alblasserwaard region to the east of Rotterdam.

[3] At the end of the 19th century, Adam's son, Jan van der Wal, took over the business and worked as a construction contractor not only in the Alblasserwaard region but at further afield locations, including Vlaardingen and The Hague, where he soon opted to relocate to.

Jan's son, Joop van der Wal, studied civil engineering in Delft prior to joining his father’s company in 1926.

[4] In the interwar period, BAM undertook several large-scale projects, including the office building of the Batavian Petroleum Company in The Hague, the broadcaster AVRO's Amsterdam headquarters, a KEMA laboratory in Arnhem, the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam, and the conversion of Soestdijk Palace on behalf of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard.

[26] In July 2024, Royal BAM reported its UK construction business had suffered a £19.5m loss due to problems at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, and would be cutting further jobs.