Willem Vlaanderen
Willem Vlaanderen of Oil trade company ‘Vlaanderen’ in Huizen was BioSoil’s launching customer in 1993. This entrepreneur in heart and soul enthusiastically discusses his 15-year relationship with BioSoil.

Fuel trade company
“My father started the Vlaanderen fuel trade company in 1932. He established the firm at a long lease site right next to the old Huizen fishing port at the edge of the IJsselmeer. Initially his primary trade was coal. That changed around 1960. Oil became the fashion and coal retreated into the background. That is why we invested in the installation of diesel tanks and changed the name of the company to Oil trade company Vlaanderen.

Not very aware
I will not try to make the situation sound better than it was. We were not very aware of environmental issues at the time. The equipment cannot be compared to the current installations. Automatic cut-off of the pumps did not exist, so some diesel was definitely spilled occasionally. Sometimes something would go wrong while transferring oil and there were pipe leaks, as well. Just like at every other comparable company in the Netherlands.

Site had to be cleaned
Around 1990 we were asked to leave the site. The harbour was to become a tourist attraction and we did not fit into the plans. As such, I could understand that, but the site had to be cleaned prior to being returned to the municipality.

BioSoil: angel from heaven
That was the beginning of my doom scenario. The soil was seriously contaminated and had to be remediated. That was going to cost me such an astronomical amount of money, I envisaged my company going bankrupt. Then Biosoil contacted me about a new way to deal with this problem: an approach based on stimulation of the biological degradation of the soil, new in the Netherlands and at much lower costs. Obviously, it was not very hard to convince me, but convincing the authorities was something different. Yet, BioSoil succeeded pretty quickly and we got permission to conduct the remediation operation in the proposed manner.

Sound, reliable people
BioSoil had only just been established. The approach and the materials were still being developed. It really was a matter of innovative pioneering. The remediation operation eventually took considerably longer than anticipated in advance, but it was completed successfully. During the entire operation BioSoil always met its commitments, also with respect to the costs. I think that is remarkable. The contact with the employees was fine too. All of them were sound, reliable people who knew what they were doing.

Ruling from the authorities
Recently BioSoil conducted another remediation operation for me. I still own a filling station in the centre of Huizen. Thanks to BioSoil, the soil underneath now meets all requirements again. I just received the ruling from the authorities.

Outstanding achievement
The technology, the materials, the approach: everything has changed dramatically. That is clear right from the start. For the rest, my recent experience did not differ much from what happened in 1994. Different faces, but the same down-to-earth sort of people. The same soundness, reliability, enthusiasm and interest in innovative activities. You cannot but conclude that the BioSoil management has succeeded in retaining exactly the same company culture for fifteen years. That really is an outstanding achievement. So: Congratulations and keep up the good work!”