dear reader,You see before you the first edition of ‘AluminiumInSight’, our international newsletter with reports and news items about our organisation. As you can see, Blommaert is developing into a world-class player. Our company is active all over the world with innovative applications of aluminium structures.

Of course, shipping is and will always be our core business, but aluminium’s possibilities are limitless. Municipalities and port authorities are making ever more use of our mobile roofs. ‘Everything under one roof, as long as it’s an aluminium one’ is not our motto for nothing. Providing comprehensive service and technical support to our clients is our primary objective. So we hope that this newsletter may contribute to this aim.

Tom Blommaert.

Aluminium Inzicht is a publication from Blommaert Aluminium Constructions. It appears twice a year and is distributed free within all business contacts from Blommaert

NEwSlEttEr 1 2 4 All OvEr thE wOrldExpansion into the Brazilian market.

EMPlOYEESPOtlIghtgert gillis, International Sales Manager for Mobile Sliding roofs.

MArItIME CuStOMErSM/S Kamina Fitted with Friesian hatch Covers.

EdItION 1 | YEAr 1 | JANuArY 2017

wINtEr SuPPOrt POINt FOr rOAd dE-ICINg SAlt IN rOttErdAM

modular gangway - port of Zeebrugge

lASt MONth, thE ItAlIAN CruISE ShIP ‘AIdAPrIMA’ ArrIvEd At ZEEBruggE. A BrANd NEw gANgwAY wAS IMMEdIAtElY Put INtO uSE.

this new gangway is intended to optimise the flow of passengers embarking and disembarking. In recent years, Zeebrugge has been receiving increasing numbers of prestigious cruise ships. the large volume of passengers on board must be able to disembark very quickly so that this eats into their ‘limited time’ in Belgium as little as possible. Blommaert arranged the development and successful commissioning of this gangway. It is no less than 30 metres long and weighs 5 tonnes. this impressive piece of equipment consists of three parts, so it can be dismantled. this allows the length

Stokerijstraat 352110 wijnegem (BE)

Biesboschhaven Zuid 10-E4251 NM werkendam (Nl)

t. +32 (0)3 353 26 89 E. info@blommaertalu.be www.blommaertalu.com

Shipping mobile roofs industry

[ It is no less than 30 metres long and weighs 5 tonnes]

to be reduced to 21 metres. All Blommaert gangways are subjected to an inspection and load test. this allows us to be 100% sure of their safety. the investment in this new gangway is a clear signal from Zeebrugge to the cruise lines. It allows an optimum service to be offered so that Zeebrugge will be opted for even more often in the future.

(Bron: Artikel uit de krant van West-Vlaanderen. Geraadpleegd op 27 Juni 2016.)

rOttErdAM NOrth’S CItY AuthOrItIES hAd BEEN ON thE lOOKOut FOr A SINglE CENtrAl SuPPOrt POINt FOr thEIr wINtEr SErvICES FOr SOME tIME. thIS wAS tO rEPlACE FOur SMAllEr ExIStINg SItES. BlOMMAErt IS ONE OF thE PArtIES thAt CONtrIButEd tO thE ElABOrAtION ANd rEAlISAtION OF thIS PrO-JECt.

this winter service takes care of gritting all the roads and cycle tracks over a total length exceeding 1,000 km. this modern support point has all the latest techniques and logistics at its disposal. the storage shed was completely renovated. the needs of the surrounding area had to be taken into account. this meant that a maximum height was specified for the roof. this limitation, of course, brought a problem with it for the large trailers that come to deposit road salt in the bunker. In order to be able, nonetheless, to unload the entire tipper of salt, a Blommaert aluminium sliding roof was selected. Our mobile sliding roofs slide fully open and shut as wished, to a full 100%. this makes the storage area very accessible to the many trucks that come with their loaders to unload the salt. this means it is easy to deliver the salt without breaching the conditions for the roof. the sliding roof will have to open and close several times a day, which is why electrical operation was chosen for this application. the roof can be opened or closed smoothly with one press of the button.

Gert Gillisis the versatility and custom-made nature of the mobile roofs. “I have many contacts and what I often hear is that the roofs can be applied everywhere. From a road salt

shed for a municipality to an abattoir looking for a sliding roof for cattle trucks. we recently supplied another mobile roof for the Erasmus hospital in rotterdam. Mobile roofs are an efficient, safe and dry way to

store products with the maximum opportunity for loading and unloading. Customers praise the easy and simple operation.”

International Sales Manager for Mobile Sliding roofs gert gillis (34) lives in wommelgem, only two kilometres away from his work at Blommaert in wijnegem. Alas, he doesn’t get much benefit from this short commuting distance. As befits a proper salesman, gert is always on the road. his operational area covers our neighbouring countries: the Netherlands, France, germany and Britain. he has always travelled a great deal, also in his previous jobs as export and acquisition manager. what appeals to him so much about his present position

[ we recently supplied another mobile roof for the erasmus Hospital in

rotterdam ]

All over The worldIN 2013, BlOMMAErt ExPANdEd ItS ACtIvItIES tO thE BrAZIlIAN MArKEt. IN PArtICulAr, wIth Our dEltA SlIdINg hAtChES. thESE SlIdINg hAtChES ArE MOSt uSEd ON thE BArgES IN thE NOrth OF BrAZIl.

today there are already 250 barges working with Blommaert hatches and this number will only increase in 2017.

Marco eichmann, our Service rep in BrazilMarco Eichmann, Swiss engineer and Blommaert’s representative in North Brazil: “My job is to provide technical after-sales support for all our projects in Brazil. My everyday focus is supervision of the new installations, and the capacity of our maintenance and operational teams. I’m also there to support our customers whenever there are technical questions, and to provide them with the necessary documentation, in both English and Portuguese.”

effectiveness of Blommaert Sliding hatches“Brazil, along with the united States of America, is the world’s biggest producer of soya, and their main plantation lies thousands of kilometres from the sea. this gives rise to a logistical problem. A quick solution is therefore the answer, namely to load the grain into river barges. these barges are ‘floating containers’, each with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes of grain. (this is equivalent to 70 fully-loaded trucks.) Convoys of around 20 of these barges transport the harvest to the terminals on the Amazon or on Brazil’s coast. there, the goods are transferred into sea-going ships and are then transported to Europe and Asia. By employing river transport, a good 30% can be saved compared with transport by truck.”

Challenges and opportunities“given that Blommaert is a foreign company, it was important to have good prior knowledge of the market we were going to deal with. the north of Brazil differs in many respects from the European market. Our hatches come under great pressure, due not only to the poor climatic and weather conditions, but also to how they are operated. In Europe we mostly deal with shipowners who operate the hatches manually. In Brazil, a convoy of ≈ 20 barges turns up at a terminal and they must be loaded or unloaded

INlANd ShIPPINg BuSINESS SOCIAlthE StrOMINg COurANt PAPEr OrgANISES thIS SOCIAl EvErY MONth At wIQuI IN ZwIJNdrECht.

On 10 March, Blommaert sponsored this evening. during the evening, everyone present could deposit their details in our entry box. this would give them the chance to win our ‘Blommaert Belgian drinks Package’. Just as in previous years, Blommaert was present at the ‘Open Shipping days’ in Antwerp. At this trade show, our founder Philippe Blommaert and his grandson Jeffrey drew a winner from all those present at the evening. Mr teekman of M/S Ina emerged as winner of the draw. So, once again, warm congratulations and do enjoy your drinks package!

EMPlOYEE IN thE SPOtlIght

as quickly as possible. As the weather can switch in two minutes from sun to heavy rain, it’s important that the hold can be opened and closed quickly. we have developed an efficient system for this, to allow the hatches to be operated by just one person, even on an incline. we were also confronted with theft of our materials on location. with such challenges, we had to go looking for new electrical and mechanical solutions that are quicker and easier as regards installation and operation. this in combination with our innovations and modifications in recent years means that, since 2013, we have had the most advanced product on the market here. to maintain this market position, it’s crucial to keep investing in the future, by means of:

• maintaining the high quality of our products

• conducting training courses with maintenance and operational personnel

• providing user-friendly, yet robust and also theft-proof products.

to have a strong product is one thing, but a properly-functioning after-sales service is just as important to keep our customers satisfied in the long term!”

our man in Brazil, Marco eichmann

SErvICE BlIJFt BElANg-rIJK vOOr BlOMMAErt.

Shipping mobile roofs industry

AluMINIuM hAtChES FOr

M/S vIgIlIA

BlOMMAErt dElIvErS trANSluCENt POlY CArBONAtE rOOFwe develop mobile roofs for all kinds of sectors including recycling, transfer and storage, biomass and road salt. thanks to our mobile sliding roof, your products are kept safe and dry, yet you can also load and unload efficiently, which saves you a lot of time.A recent innovation is that we can now also supply our sliding roofs in polycarbonate. this roof covering is translucent. Moreover, a polycarbonate roof is very pleasing, aesthetically. with this latest innovation, we are offering an economical, high-quality solution for small and medium-sized storage sheds. the user also has the choice of manual or electric operation. Blommaert can custom integrate other requirements!

www.blommaertalu.com

ANtOINE StruYF PlOuvIEr trANSPOrt

“blommaert supplies top-quality products”

M/S vigilia has recently been fitted with a new set of aluminium ship’s hatches of the Friesian hatch type with associated hatch cranes. the combination of a Friesian hatch with a hydrau-lic hatch crane is the ideal one for moving and stacking the hatches carefully without having to pay in terms of hold opening.

Nonetheless, Antoine Struyf, director of this Antwerp company, describes Blommaert as a “dynamic company that listens properly to the customer and really takes account of customer-specific requirements as regards the design and realisation.” Plouvier and Blommaert have been doing business together since 2013 and both parties are satisfied with the cooperation. Blommaert supplied the fore- and aft-masts to complete a number of Plouvier tankers. Plouvier transport – together with its sister company Intertrans in

A good callout service matters to Blommaert. At our head office in wijnegem, a number of fully-equipped service trucks are always on standby to make repairs on site. these trucks are also used for installations, maintenance and overhauls. they allow Blommaert to offer a mobile service from its branches in Belgium and the Netherlands. Our hotline for the callout service is also available 24/7.

Birsfelden – is active in inland tanker shipping. the shipowner specialises in the transport of mineral petroleum products throughout the entire European waterway network. “working with Blommaert has turned out well,” observes Antoine. “we are very positive so far.”

www.plouvier.be

customer takes the Floor

IN FACt, thE CuStOMEr CONtACt BEtwEEN PlOuvIEr ANd BlOMMAErt hAS NOt ExIS-tEd FOr vErY lONg.

[ about working with blommaert we are very positive so far ]

Project te Dammartin

Service Still Important

Stokerijstraat 352110 wijnegem (BE)

Biesboschhaven Zuid 10-E4251 NM werkendam (Nl)

t. +32 (0)3 353 26 89 E. info@blommaertalu.be www.blommaertalu.com

Shipping mobile roofs industry

MArItIME CuStOMErS

m/s kamina

hArgO lOgIStICS MOBIlE rOOFS

hArgO lOgIStICS MAY BE CONSIdErEd AS A PrOduCEr, dIStrIBu-tOr ANd SErvICE PrOvIdEr IN SPECIAlISEd StOrAgE FACIlItIES.

Blommaert does not intend to spend its time gadding about, but the trade shows are playing an ever more prominent role internationally. Blommaert is regularly represented at trade shows in the maritime and industrial sectors. Below is a summary of our participation in trade shows this past year:

last year, a number of ship owners on the Mo-sel decided to form a partnership with Blom-maert. the motor boat Kamina was duly fit-ted with a full set of Friesian hatches, carrying our derkiena patent. to make the hatches as strong as possible, we opted for IJsselmeer reinforcement under the gutters and below the top plate. this 110-metre vessel was also pro-vided with a hydraulic hatch crane, type hlw 10/6000. Our Improval type fore-mast and various other aluminium products were also essential. In brief, we may state that the M/S Kamina was entirely upgraded by Blommaert. the customer, and we too, are very satisfied with the final result.

In June 2016, we also supplied the linked vessel hanseatic with a full set of Friesian hatches plus our derkiena patent as well as a hydraulic hatch crane, type hlw 10/6000. we were satisfied with the final result in this project too!

the company specialises in the storage of many types of goods and wanted to have certain work done on its storage locations. to make these storage facilities more

accessible for transfer from a vessel to the storehouse, the enterprise moreover wanted to install mobile roofs over the shed so that cargo could be delivered using

a crane. Blommaert took on this work and ensured that various openings with sliding hatches were made in the roof of the shed, so that loading and unloading is easier. the roof can also be fully closed, meaning that the goods are always stored securely.

blommaert at the trade Shows

Final editing: Olivier Symons (Blommaert Nv)text: govert lagrouw (lagrouw Communicatie)

Photography: Philippe Blommaert and govert lagrouwPrint run: 950 copies

Aluminium InSight is a publication of Blommaert Aluminium Constructions. It appears twice a year and is distributed free to all Blommaert Bv’s business contacts.

2016:Open Shipping days (18-20 March)Bauma Munich (11-15 April)Inland Marine Expo (IMx) Saint louis (10-12 May)Maritime Industry in gorinchem (24-26 May)Marintec in rio de Janeiro (19-21 September)Shipping technics logistics in Kalkar (27-28 September)Navegistic in Paraguay (19-21 October)International workBoat Show in New Orleans (29 Nov - 1 dec)

2017:Open Shipping days (17-19 March)Inland Marine Expo (IMx) Saint louis (22-24 May)Maritime Industry in gorinchem (9-11 May)Marintec in rio de Janeiro (15-17 August)Shipping technics logistics in Kalkar (26 and 27 September)Navegistic in Paraguay (4-6 October)Europort in rotterdam (7-10 November)International workBoat Show in New Orleans (december)