"In case of real leaks, I am in front myself."

They may call him day or night when a serious repair needs to be done. Hans Bos, business manager at Special Industrial Repair of Belgium, has been an expert in waterproofing and concrete remediation with his company for 30 years.

"A spill doesn't let up," Bos says. "That's where fast and appropriate action has to be taken." The latter certainly also applies to the New Lock in Terneuzen, where SIR has carried out repairs. "We have the experience and technology needed for that in house."

Bos has two feet in the business, preferably at the forefront. "In case of real leaks, I'm at the forefront myself," he suggests. "They can call me day or night if serious solutions are needed. Even on weekends and holidays." That immediately indicates the level of service at SIR.

Repair leaking monitoring wells

The first job SIR was authorized to perform at the New Lock was a repair of leaking monitoring wells. "That leak was located at -46 meters NAP. The building pit was filling up. We repaired that leak with one of our injection methods. The trick was to let the repair agent come out only at -46 meters NAP; that takes real expertise. The pump was at -10 meters NAP, the hose had to go to -46 meters NAP. So we had to extend the hose. The diameter of the monitoring well was not known, while a disk had to be installed to keep the injected material in. Nice work is that, if it's your profession."

Self-developed technique

The next work involved the repair of a leaking sheet pile wall. That was performed by SIR with in-house developed technology. "Then we had to deal with a diaphragm wall repair, on the seam. Everything was sealed off with wedges and rags, to stop flow, then the joint was injected."

Current repairs

"We think along in engineering to make everything feasible, as we always do," Bos continued. So that's where a big piece of added value is at SIR. "We give a lot of advice in advance and can prevent a lot of problems that way. Sometimes this makes us competitors in our own work, because repairing is our job. However, preventing damage is just as important to us and we have the knowledge for that too." When asked where SIR is currently working, the answer is, "We are going to work on the bored tunnel in the RijnlandRoute. When the tunnel tube is drilled, we make sure that the sealing block at the end of the tunnel tube connects watertight to the tunnel rings.

Despite the fact that Bos is convinced his customers are satisfied, he says it couldn't hurt to have official research done on the subject. "Two months ago an HBO student graduated with us on the topic of customer relations. A survey, which asked whether SIR met expectations, showed that 80% indicated that it performed even above expectations. However, this does not mean that we are resting on our laurels; relationships have to be maintained. Proud of the results we are!" concluded Bos.