Known for point drainage, but equally strong in line drainage

Within the civil engineering and infrastructure sector, TBS-SVA is known as the market leader in drainage. "Most people know us for our products for point drainage in particular, such as gullies and manhole covers," says Willy Bruckers, commercial director TBS-SVA Group. We already wrote a lot about TBS-SVA's climate-adaptive point drainage products in past editions of GWW. "But actually we are just as big a player when it comes to line drainage," Willy emphasizes. "High time, therefore, to tell a bit more about that."

Indeed, when talking to customers, Willy notices that they are not always aware that TBS-SVA can also supply line drainage products. "So it is good to bring to their attention that in the same quality form as our point drainage products-the highest within the Dutch market-we have a whole range of line drainage products. We have divided our products within line drainage into two categories: industrial line drainage and inner city line drainage."

Industrial line drainage

"Our industrial -or also called infrastructural- gutters are specially designed for areas where there is very heavy traffic. Think of container terminals, airports, logistics sites or industrial areas," Willy says. "For those areas, where there are heavy trucks and where there are substantial braking forces or heavy maneuvering traffic, we offer very robust line drainage solutions." In this, TBS-SVA offers two types of industrial gutters, according to the EN 1433 standard. One is the self-supporting Type I grating gutters, designed with a steel basket mesh reinforcement in a suitably dimensioned concrete wall. "Those are our SOLID grating gutters or the FORTE concealed gutters, which by themselves can withstand the heavy axle and brake loads of trucks," Willy says, explaining that they are real 'heavy-duty guys': "You have to consider that the most sold concealed gutter weighs about 2.2 tons each ... so they can take a beating!" In addition, TBS-SVA offers Type M gutters that require a concrete foundation and lateral concrete support, such as our Type Kompaq. Not only are these Kompaq lighter to handle, but recycled raw materials from plastic PET bottles are used in the production of these gutters.

Inner-city line drainage

Because proper drainage is important everywhere, but sometimes the aesthetic factor also plays a role, TBS-SVA has appropriate solutions for that as well. "Our inner-city Design gutters beautify public infrastructure but remain functional with good drainage capacity." Two types of gutters are also available in this range: there are the self-supporting Type I grid gutters, a heavily reinforced concrete grid gutter application without encasing concrete, "but with chop-friendly gratings," Willy adds. "These are excellent for inner-city applications such as plazas or shopping streets. The Type I gutter is also available as a trench gutter with a corten steel or stainless steel upper section. There is even a Danish-design range with a specially designed cast iron design," Willy emphasizes. "It just depends on where you want to apply the gutter and whether you want as little disruption as possible in your streetscape or whether the gutter is allowed to stand out design-wise. Modified fiberglass concrete Type M gutters require concrete support, available with galvanized steel or cast iron corner profiles. The inner-city type M gutters are specially designed for shopping and pedestrian streets, plazas and parking lots where a beautiful design appearance as well as bicycle and heel friendliness are desirable."

Opinion

It may be clear: TBS-SVA truly has a suitable solution for every application or design. "Because of the variety of possibilities within our product range, we like to think along with engineering firms, landscape architects or clients when they need to design a site. We can advise and calculate which gutter can best be used in the specific situation. Both hydraulically, but also in terms of the desired strength. And of course how our gutters fit aesthetically into the image. We have our own project engineer who can make a suitable laying plan in the preparation phase, but can also advise during the execution phase. That is appreciated by the contractors," Willy knows. "In practice, we sometimes see that installation instructions are not always read properly, or are even followed differently in order to save costs. There too, with our years of experience and expertise, we offer a helping hand, reducing failure costs."