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Tank Cleaning
May / June 2016

Gröninger stays the course and sees growth in Asia

n for the long haul ” was the

“ Icommitment that Gröninger Cleaning Systems of Rotterdam , the Netherlands made when it commenced operations in Singapore in May 2011 . Under the management of Lindsey Wallace as director of Asian operations - a long time specialist in establishing businesses for European companies in the region – he outlined the investment in time and money required if the group ’ s expansion strategy was to be successful . With the Gröninger name and product range not really known outside the European Union , it was never going to be easy . India , South East Asia and China were all such different markets and apart from language and cultural issues there were no associations or industry groups that act as a starting point for any promotional activities . With more than half the world ’ s population in the target market the region had fewer than 100 depots serving the tank container , road tanker and rail car market compared with more than 600 in the greater European Union . The company undertook a programme of visits to as many depots as possible in the region providing free audits where practical – which enabled an understanding of the industry to be developed while helping to create brand awareness and recognition of Gröninger ’ s systems and penetration in the EU market . Project references are critical to any Asian decision making and particularly those in their region , which was an immediate stumbling block to the company , but important to building the Gröninger name in the region . The company made it a policy to attend every logistics related exhibition in the region , joined @ tco and provided speakers to any forums where they were invited . With self-contained cleaning units beginning to be sold late 2012 early 2013 the Gröninger name started to gain recognition . However , the regional tank cleaning depots used a different cleaning regime to Europe . Solvents were predominately used for cleaning instead of steam and water based chemicals .

Tank Cleaning

Saigon New Port expanded its tank container cleaning capabilities in Vietnam by opening a new facility in Haiphong
EFTCO and the European Cleaning Document were not available in the region and without exception no cleaning standards existed anywhere . Consequently , the investment in technology to clean the ‘ European way ’ was virtually nonexistent and cheap manual labour replaced any significant investment in cleaning equipment technology . However , as time progressed @ tco was established and apart from twice yearly meetings , bringing together for the first time the regional cleaning stations , a depot audit scheme was commenced to try and bring some guidance to an industry that was crying out for some form of cleaning standards . With growth in the tank container market and the surge in road tanker units – which virtually had no cleaning stations anywhere to service them – Gröninger began inviting , as part of its marketing strategy , personnel from the larger regional depots to Rotterdam to experience the type of business model that was successful in Europe . In conjunction with multinational chemical companies ’ adoption of the Responsible Care ( RC ) programme , questions began to be asked . For example , “ Should the practice continue where difficult to clean cargo residues are shipped off to the Asia region for cleaning with ‘ less safe ’ chemicals and labour practices ?”
Or , “ Should chemical and food manufacturers expect to have the same opportunity to have their tanks cleaned to the same standard whether the location is in Houston , Rotterdam , Mumbai , Singapore or Shanghai ?” Inevitably the proactive cleaning depots and tank operators saw the potential and the installation of Gröninger equipment in the region began to materialise . Saigon Newport Corporation based in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam became the first company in South East Asia to purchase a full Gröninger depot cleaning system complete with waste water treatment facilities . Training was carried out in Rotterdam at Gröninger ’ s head office and also onsite in the Cat Lai Port depot location . In addition aided by a growing presence outside of the European mainland , industry leaders from Europe began seeking to become part of the logistics service chain in the Middle East . As a direct result Gröninger equipment found its way to four locations downstream from the Sadara project in Saudi Arabia . Together with systems in the Emirates the push from the West towards Asia was underway . The end of 2015 and early 2016 saw Saigon New Port expand it tank container cleaning capabilities in Vietnam by opening a new facility in Haiphong , the port city of Hanoi . In tandem a
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second system was commissioned in Cat Lai 1,500 km to the south and the forward thinking Vietnamese company was really making a mark in the South East Asia market . Both systems again had waste water treatment facilities and a package of WVT Industries cleaning chemicals to tackle the wider range of cargoes that were now planned to be cleaned . With exhibition presence twice in India in the past 12 months and regular visits to China , Gröninger is poised for additional growth in the region in the next two years . Systems supply contracts are in the pipeline for installation in Shanghai , Mumbai and Singapore . With agents / distributors in India and China under the direction of the Asian office in Singapore , the company has stayed the distance , but is not willing to rest on its laurels and is already incorporating new cleaning technology into its system designs . With the road tanker and rail car cleaning opportunities untapped in the region and the growing use of tank containers carrying liquid food products the needs of multinational chemical and food manufacturers are likely to be met over the coming years in conjunction with safer cleaning practices and possibly even the evolution of a common cleaning standard for Asia . www . groningerasia . com