The one-stop-shop for the tank (container) industry - Europoort (NLD)
Right in the middle of the Port of Rotterdam 13 hectares of dedication to (tank) containers can be found. In just a little over a decade ITT (In ’t Veen Total Maintenance Tank & Silo) has developed into Europe’s largest tank container depot, TCE (Tank Cleaning Europoort) being its beating heart.
This one-stop-shop concept cannot be accessed much closer than an ITT. There is room for a storage containing over 3.000 tank containers, there is a special storage for loaded thanks, 24 cargo heating points, 13 cleaning jobs, three boilers, one big water treatment facility (WWT), an enormous tank container repairing facility, N1 & Co2 purging systems, latex cleaners, etc. All approximated as a NASA-launch base.
Founder and owner Kees in 't Veen was tempted in 2004 by his biggest customer kemira to move his transportation company from Pijnacker to Europoort. Kees started with two chemical cleaning jobs and a food job. Partners for tire service and maintenance and repair of tank containers were selected to complete the concept. In 2011 the repair services were doubled, 6 extra chemical cleaning jobs were added and the existing cleaning installation was converted to a special food cleaning. In the meantime all kind of improvements were introduced which strengthened the added value of TCE in the market and gave the services a distinctive character. Such two special 'power jobs' with 200 bar pumps, a air cleaning installation, SGF accredited Cleaning Guard system for capturing and validating data of food cleanings, etc.
In 2018 TCE3 became fully operational, with four cleaning positions for food tank containers. All washing lanes contained over 100 bar pistons which were nourished by hot water. Two lanes are multi functional, by combining high pressure cleaning with Cleaning in Place (CIP). The system is fully integrated and automatized. Without manual intervention, high pressure cleaning alternates with CIP-circulation with cold water, peroxide or a cautic batch. Using this method will even satisfy the high requirements of our customers.
With over 50.000 cleanings per year and spick and span housekeeping became TCE in the world of tank cleaning the benchmark. During a recent visit a customer effectively summarized his expressions : 'I just visited the Taj Mahal of the tank cleanings!'
