'Red pumps' conquer the world

With over fifty years of experience in pumping water, Van Heck Group has become a global market leader. The 'red pumps' are used worldwide for the most diverse projects. Domestically, the family business is also widely represented and a regular partner for many water boards. An interview with managing director Jeroen van Heck about the effect of climate change on water management and water quality.

Spijkster pumps pumping station

"Water management in the Netherlands has been explained in terms of being able to drain water very quickly," Van Heck begins. "As a result of climate change, we have to deal more and more with heavy rainfall, but also with extreme drought. We know how to deal with heavy rainfall, but buffering water is still a process of habituation. Our country is not yet well adjusted to a prolonged period of drought. Moreover, the latter has a direct impact on ecological water quality. In 2018, this became clear and, among others, the area below Muiden on the Markermeer inland had to deal with the first forms of salinization. The entire ecosystem then becomes confused. On behalf of the water board, we hastily installed an emergency installation to pump water from the lake into the area to combat salinization."

Van Heck has a huge fleet of pumps, finished in the familiar red color. So far this year, the drought is still "just" going well and, according to Van Heck, except for a few situations, there is no need to take additional measures. But the situation could change just like that. "After all, the weather is out of our control. In any case, we are able to respond quickly and appropriately. The installation at Muiden to combat salinization, not the smallest with a capacity of 45,000 m3/hour, was operational in just three days. You can also come to us for small projects. In Hamburg, for example, we delivered very small and quiet low-energy pumps for irrigating meadows in the spring to create a better environment for meadow birds. An issue that also plays a role in the Netherlands."

Commissioned by the water board, Van Heck hastily installed an emergency plant in 2018 to pump water from the Markermeer into the area to prevent salinization.

Water management is a water board task and very clearly regulated in the Netherlands. "We should be happy about that," Van Heck argues. "Water boards in the Netherlands often react even before the population receives signals of impending 'calamity.' In other countries it is often organized in a staggered way, and that does not always make it easy. For extreme rainfall in the Netherlands, we have developed emergency plans for various regions together with water boards. The steps to be taken and the emergency installations to be deployed are described in great detail. Even down to informing a municipality, should a road, for example, have to be closed in order for the pumping installation to function. That's what we at Van Heck are extremely adept at, the project-based approach to both small and large projects from A to Z."

Van Heck supplies pumping systems for many applications, including cable and pipeline laying, dredging or civil works, worldwide. For example, an installation is set up in the eastern tip of Russia near Japan to assist Van Oord's dredging operations and the "red pumps" are a familiar sight in Australia.