Posted on March 21, 2019
Today Dredge Yard is among the leading manufacturers and suppliers of small to medium sized dredging equipment and components. But where and how did our journey begin and what does the future have in store? What are some of our biggest ambitions? Read on.
Where it all started
Our CEO Basel Yousef had been gathering experience within the dredging industry all around the world before settling in Rotterdam. Before Dredge Yard came to life, Basel had lived in Shanghai, which houses the biggest port in the world, Haarlem and Dubai, where the story of our company really begins.
Dredge Yard CEO Basel Yousef
In Dubai, Basel worked for a Dutch company, as a general manager of the middle east. Yet, this occupation could not fulfil constant need for new challenges and thirst for innovation. This led to a new chapter, and a real challenge – starting his own company in 2011. At this time, Dubai offered a lot of fast progress for the newfound dredging company. This was due to ongoing real estate and tourism related construction projects. Despite the newfound success, thirst for new challenges didn’t stop there.
Search for challenge in the Netherlands
This time, the centre of ports, dredging and shipbuilding – the Netherlands was calling. Basel says that he chose this country because of its relevancy to maritime, shipbuilding and dredging industries. Furthermore, he also sees Netherlands as a home to many highly educated people and universities within these fields. Additionally, many technological companies are based here, which offer great opportunities for development and innovation of the equipment that is at the core of Dredge Yard company.
Rotterdam – home to many international, tech companies and the biggest port in Europe is the perfect place for Dredge Yard
And that’s how in 2016, just 5 years after starting the company, Basel and Dredge Yard moved to the Netherlands. To begin with, the company was situated in Sliedrecht. But eventually, in 2018, Rotterdam, housing the biggest port of Europe and many international companies, turned out to be “the perfect place for us” (Basel Yousef, CEO).
While the headquarters settled in Rotterdam, our engineering office is still located in Dubai.
Dredge Yard’s Office in Dubai
Our great team of engineers in Dubai were part of Dredge Yard from the very beginning. They know our equipment to the smallest screw and are on-board with our strong company values. Because of this, and our dredging projects all around the world, Dredge Yard team can still be found on-the-go a lot, anywhere from Middle East and Asia, to Africa.
Company vision: environment, client & safety
Dredge Yard’s vision is to see a world where dredging operations are safe for both – people involved and the surrounding environment. Therefore, our focus is not only on manufacturing and supplying equipment, but also on the constant improvement and development of innovative digging instruments.
Environment
We strive for environmentally friendly solutions of highest efficiency. Our equipment should be used to improve the environment and standard of living. At the same time, it should not cause negative impact on living conditions under water and surrounding habitats. This is why we focus on our dredger series ECO. Among other advantages, ECO dredgers have lower fuel consumption, and thus, release less CO2.
Dredge Yard’s Cutter Suction Dredger Operating in Dubai
This makes the ECO series a more environmentally friendly solution compared to large vessels that require large amounts of fuel.
We want to see a world where dredging operations are safe for both – people involved and the surrounding environment.
In addition to this, we promote durable, quality equipment and its regular maintenance, to ensure long dredger life and avoid frequent equipment disposal, which harms nature.
Client needs
Aside from environment, our focus is naturally, on client needs. Dredge Yard is known as an agile company, which is extremely flexible and fast. We try to respond to all inquiries on the same day to advice customers, who are often in a hurry to find the ideal equipment.
Dredging is an activity, which is unique to its environment (…) we believe that every project requires a different solution and we are here to adapt to it.
Furthermore, our standard engineering projects can always be adapted to the wishes of the customer. We strive to provide adapted dredger designs and drawings within a few days of the received inquiry (depending on the complexity of the project).
Dredging Component Inspection By Dredge Yard Team
Dredging is an activity, which is unique to its environment from soil types to weather and hydrographical conditions. Therefore, we believe that every project requires a different solution and we are here to adapt to it.
Safety
Finally, we are committed to promote safety in the dredging industry. We do our best to ensure safety for those who will be operating our dredgers. Therefore, we provide on-site crew training on how to operate and maintain an ECO dredger.
We have a vision of a dredging industry, which offers a safe, healthy, accident-free work place.
Training includes overseeing launch of the dredger; dredge operation and performance optimization training; dredger check-up & maintenance training.
Auger Dredger Inspection by Dredge Yard Team and Clients
Overall, we think it is important to always keep in close contact with the client after delivery – whether it is for technical support, maintenance, training or any other needs.
Dredge Yard’s future aspirations
We have a vision of a dredging industry, which offers a safe, healthy, accident-free work place. It improves the environment and living standards, without causing harm to the surrounding habitats and nature. While striving for this, we have already introduced our environmentally friendly take on an auger head – the adaptive auger head system and continuously optimized ECO dredger series.
Currently, we are developing new dredging solutions and components for improved safety, efficiency and nature protection. But more on that, later in the year. Follow Dredge Yard’s newest updates and product releases on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!
Source: dredgeyard.com
