Market leader in water management

As a manufacturer and developer of innovative and sustainable drainage products and systems for applications in civil, plant and building engineering, ACO is the specialist in the field of water management. Collection, cleaning, retention and disposal of water are the central issues. An interview with Paul Gruson, Managing Director at ACO Netherlands, about trends, developments and the unique askACO philosophy.

Water is important for people and nature. "With innovative, well thought-out and high-quality drainage products and systems, we try to protect people and nature in the best possible way," says Gruson. "We have a wide range of products and offer solutions from the shower drain at home to the drainage at Schiphol Airport for the heavy jumbo jets. In doing so, we are not tied to one type of material. We are a multi-material company. That gives us freedom in selecting the right material and production method for the application."

Knowledge partner

ACO is still a German family business, but with a decentralized philosophy and a high degree of autonomy in all countries. "This is why we are able to respond so well to market needs in the Netherlands. In a world that is changing, we value mutual contact and performing together. This is why we are knowledge partners of our customers in the field of water management and want to exceed our customers' expectations with all our products and services. With our years of knowledge and experience, we help designers, contractors and clients with any drainage issue. Is there a question about collecting, cleaning, retaining and draining water? We make our knowledge available free of charge, so that better thought-out and feasible solutions can be found that can be processed faster. AskACO is what we call that, a 'way of working' that we propagate and that customers could well make more use of."

For the entire drainage chain, ACO supplies the necessary components except the pipes.

Water Management

For the entire drainage chain, we supply the necessary components except for the pipes, Gruson resumes. "Due to the increasing need for climate adaptive measures, the importance of good line drainage systems, infiltration systems and infiltration gutters is increasing. We often sit down with clients at an early stage to develop an integral vision together for 'managing' stormwater." Particularly in the area of infiltration, the vision has changed in recent years. To this end, ACO has developed the infiltration gutter, which the company also presented at the Climate Trade Fair. "Today, people prefer to infiltrate rainwater on site. In the city, however, space is limited. Moreover, cables and pipes require shallow infiltration solutions. Our infiltration gutter captures rainwater and infiltrates it locally, high on the surface, into the soil. This prevents the soil from drying out and relieves the sewer system."

Vertical infiltration

The ACO infiltration channel is so strong that it does not need to be encased with concrete, a sufficiently load-bearing substrate is sufficient. This provides significant time savings in processing. "It involves elements of 2 meters that -depending on the intended capacity- are equipped with several 'wicks' that quickly infiltrate rainwater into the soil. The infiltration gutter does not need to be connected to the sewer system. The gutter lies above all cables and pipes and with the wicks you can easily work around the underground infrastructure. The fuses have been developed in such a way that they cannot silt up or pollute, problems that bother many conventional infiltration systems. As for the gratings, there is a choice from the full ACO range. The infiltration channel combines the aesthetic aspect with the functional and sustainable aspect of on-site infiltration and can also be used in areas with a relatively high groundwater level. We have high expectations for this unique concept."   

ACO BV

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