Full throttle for BTZ

With a strategic location in Northwest Europe and excellent hinterland connections, the industrial and logistics companies in the port area are profiting from the combination of unhindered seaport access and multimodal hinterland connections.

BTZ can receive the large bulk vessels commonly used for rock transport. They can ship around 32,500t of rock in one load.
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With easy access from the North Sea, the ports connect to Dutch, German, Belgian, and French waterways, with numerous transhipment choices and shorter shipping times. Highway access in less than ten minutes and an eight-hour shorter sailing time than to neighbouring ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are clearly reasons why many companies are investing in the ports.

Customised solutions

One of these companies is Bulk Terminal Zeeland (BTZ). The company decided to lease two hectares of land, connected to a 250m quay in the Quarleshaven in Vlissingen in July 2015. This new facility was established to provide cost-effective and customised solutions for bulk processing and storage. When entering the terminal just three years later, it is evident that a lot has happened. The terminal is enjoying a continuous growth, as existing and new customers are acknowledging the many pros of the facility. Time for an update with Ko de Kraker, Director and René Geleijnse, Commercial Manager at BTZ.
“Ever since the start of our activities in Vlissingen, there has not been a quiet moment for us,” Mr de Kraker says. “Last year we spent most of our working hours at the terminal,” Mr Geleijnse adds. “I think we have been away on business about three times. This is certainly not an ideal situation, as we want to pay our customers a visit every now and then, instead of inviting them to come over to Vlissingen. With the assignment of a new terminal supervisor, we hope to give ourselves some space.”

Multipurpose terminal

Starting as a terminal for bulk cargo, BTZ has grown into a multipurpose terminal. “From the start our customers were looking for multipurpose facilities on our terminal, so it was logical to enlarge our portfolio,” Mr de Kraker explains. “Considering dry bulk, we are now specialising in recyclable scrap. We are also one of the few agri bulk terminals specialising in bio grains and feed. We do not intend to compete with the terminals that handle general agri bulk, but with our bio-certified equipment and storage facilities we are a strong player in the handling, storage, and customised processing of this type of bulk.” Mr Geleijnse adds, “We are experts not only in the discharging and loading of bulk cargo using a variety of cranes, but also in board-to-board handling. We ensure that every requirement is fulfilled using the correct equipment. Our terminal provides all the space needed for storage, handling, processing, and transhipment. We can crush, screen and repack bulk cargo in drums, big bags or containers, marking and weighing per unit or truck.”

Offshore industry

In addition to scrap and agri bulk cargo, BTZ also offers handling and storage services for the offshore industry. Handled and stored goods range from rocks to cables and tools. Mr de Kraker, “We can at our terminal receive the large bulk vessels commonly used for rock transport. They can ship around 32,500t of rock in one load. With our equipment and, let us not forget, the huge flexibility of everyone in our workforce, we are able to unload such vessels very fast. We received 120,000t of rocks for the Norther and Rentel offshore windfarms. They were unloaded, stored, and reloaded within a period of just eight weeks. This really is an effort!” For reloading the rocks, Tideway’s fall pipe vessels Flintstone and Rollingstone both visited the terminal five times.

Continuous expansion

BTZ today uses 60m of the 250m quay, but soon it will be possible to make use of the full length. The company will then be able to receive larger vessels, or allocate two vessels of 120m in one time. “These extra metres are a welcome addition to our facilities. This is not the only extension we are dealing with,” Mr Geleijnse says. “ We have constantly been expanding our terminal since 2015. We recently leased an additional 3.2ha from North Sea Port, so now we have a total of 11.0ha available for storage, 3.5ha of this space consists of warehouses.” Mr de Kraker, “The covered storage will soon be added to with an extra 6,000m2. We have already bought the warehouse, but the problem is that the proposed building location on our terminal is currently occupied with bulk cargo waiting for transport,” he smiles.

Mr Geleijnse (l) and de Kraker (r)
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Additional volumes

The growth of BTZ so far has been very fierce. But according to Mr de Kraker, this did not cannibalise on existing volumes in the port area. “It is a good thing that our growth comes from surrounding ports,” Mr de Kraker says. “As our terminal is fully occupied most of the time, we regularly send our clients to our colleagues for storage, as we prefer to keep their business over here instead of in other competing ports. This may look risky but we are convinced that in the end, our clients, as well as BTZ, will profit from our ‘thinking along’ attitude.”

Certified

BTZ is GMP+ as well as SKAL-certified. A quality mark of GMP+ International guarantees the reliability, quality, sustainability, and safety of feed. It means that Bulk Terminal Zeeland meets all local and international statutory standards in the feed industry. Being SKAL-certified proves Bulk Terminal Zeeland is qualified to handle and store organic food according to European legislation.

www.btzeeland.nl

 

(Photos courtesy of Scherp! Fotografie)

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