Posted on April 27, 2026
Last week, we received the Oldtimer Club Nijkerk1 at our yard. Vehicles of every age and type gathered at the quayside next to our dredges and the club members were entertained in our office and factory on presentations and guided tours. I was happy to present part of my ‘History of Dredging’ story2. It was an engaging lecture for people that are actively involved in keeping rolling history alive. They were very excited to see how we have transported our dredges over time.
Transport of a single pontoon by Stoof Breda
When our predecessor company ‘De Groot’ started it’s business in Nijkerk, the idea was to be as close as possible to the emerging Zuiderzeewerken, the reclamation of the IJsselmeerpolders3. Most of the equipment could be launched from site and towed to the project site for mobilisation. Still, sometimes it was faster to deliver the equipment by truck, especially when it was small enough to fit on the loading bed.
Suction dredge on a flat bed trailer
Over time, the dredges increased in size, as did the trucks. And when the hull did not fit on the bed anymore, an (extendable) trailer could be utilised. Any additional equipment, spuds, pipeline, wires, etc. Could be loaded on separate trucks or later into containers for transport. As our products grew in size, this was the way we delivered the dredges. Also influenced by the constraint of the motorway bridge and the lock to the IJsselmeer. It has been a familiar sight to see trucks from the company ‘De Haan’ loading the dredges and bring them either to a port for shipment. Or sending directly to the client by road.
Suction dredge on transport by de Haan Transport
The modular design of our dredges has been a selling point for easy transport and quick mobilisation. This workaround turned out to be an advantage to our customers. The assembly at the destination can be done by local cranes. We can provide supervision and assistance on location. Even our biggest CSD’s have been road transported. e.g. The CSD650 was transported on 10 trucks and 7 containers. When you encounter this convoy on the road it is quite impressive.
Convoy of a dismounted CSD650 on 17 trucks
