Damen Dredging Equipment Officially Reopened
Kommer Damen, Chairman of the Damen Shipyards Group, officially reopened the offices of Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE) in Nijkerk on November 9 following an extensive refit and extension.
Among the facility’s improvements, the building now provides visitors with a complete ‘dredging experience’, the company said, starting with displays in the hallways illustrating the challenges of living in the Low Countries and explaining why dredging has been an integral part of its history. The first floor then shows visitors how Damen and dredging together make a unique combination based on an exceptional standard of excellence. The remaining floors complete the experience with exhibitions bringing to life the breadth of Damen’s dredging expertise. Equipment and hands-on demonstrations showcase the capabilities that Damen offers across capital, maintenance, environmental and aggregate dredging. In all, around 550m² of new space has been added.
In his speech, Kommer Damen spoke of his own experience of dredging early on in his career and how it sparked an enduring passion for the industry. From there he talked about how cooperation between departments across the Damen Group and actively generating synergies would play a vital role in maintaining momentum in a difficult period for the entire maritime sector. He concluded by wishing DDE all the best in their new offices.
The hosts for the occasion were Hendrik Jan de Kluiver, Managing Director of DDE, and Olivier Marcus, Director of Damen Product Group Dredging.
Stefan Hansum, Plant Manager at Van Oord, was also in attendance at the opening, and gave a presentation during which he shared some insights into dredging at Van Oord and described the performance of two Damen CSD (cutting suction dredger) 650s that his company has recently put into operation. Various other dredging-related activities also took place.
