From draining water quickly, to draining water with care

Drainage specialist develops climate-adaptive product range

In this changing world, heavy downpours and flooding alternate with periods of severe drought, low groundwater levels and inner-city heat stress. "To meet all these challenges, we are developing an innovative climate-adaptive product range," says Willy Bruckers, commercial director of TBS-SVA GROUP.

Successful cross-pollination

Over the past eighty years, both Technisch Bureau Soest (TBS) and Struyk Verwo Aqua (SVA) have been primarily concerned with draining water as quickly as possible, in the context of traffic safety, for example. "With various quality products, both companies have been built up to where we are today; the absolute market leader of all kinds of gullies and manhole covers," says Willy. Since the 2020 merger of TBS and SVA, several innovative products in the field of drainage have already entered the market. "We can therefore safely speak of a successful cross-fertilization where innovativeness and reliability are perfectly combined," says Willy. 

Drain responsibly with care

"Nowadays it is not just a matter of draining water quickly, but given the transition we are in globally, we also need to look at how water can be drained responsibly and with care," Willy emphasizes. "This is why we as TBS-SVA GROUP have broadened our horizons and have already developed several climate-adaptive products that also offer solutions for this. And this is also where the focus will be for us in the coming years." Among others, Willy mentions the Cyclone filter well gully, the Cool City Draining Gutter and the Mini Rain Garden. We wrote about them in previous editions of GWW. "All of them are innovative products with which we try to prevent polluted water from entering public spaces, or into groundwater and surface water, because that's mostly what our drinking water is made from."

We will have to do it together

"In this way we hope to be a pioneer and encourage other companies to do the same. Because there are a lot of products available on the market in the field of water drainage, water buffering and infiltration of rainwater, but we are still too little concerned industry-wide with the infiltration of clean water and with how we can ensure that the underground systems can have a longer life span." Willy says that collaborating with municipalities, market players and engineering firms is hugely important in this regard. "After all, we will have to do it together if we really want to make a difference. TBS-SVA is very keen, by sharing knowledge and partnering, to make even better products and smarter solutions towards a cleaner future." Finally, Willy says he noticed at the fair that there is an enthusiastic response to the Cyclone filter pit gully, the Cool City Drain and the Mini Rain Garden. "The first municipalities are already showing interest."