AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals in Deventer is an enthusiastic client of the Limburg-based company Evilim, in which WML and Evides are shareholders. A good thing has no borders, you might think. However, the truth is that the director of Evilim Cock Mudde took a former client with him to his new company. In any event, AkzoNobel is extremely satisfied with Evilim's service. In Deventer we spoke to Cock Mudde and Elbert Kruk, who is in charge of the water that AkzoNobel recovers itself locally.

As Kruk explains, ‘We manufacture peroxides that are used in the polymer industry. The production process requires a lot of water. For example, large amounts of ice are used. From an environmental perspective, we felt that it would be irresponsible to use tap water for this process. We also believed that there was a cheaper alternative. Therefore, we used to pump our own water. Since we are situated near the IJssel, we only needed to bore 32 metres to reach the groundwater. In this way, we recover enough water for ourselves every way.’

However, Kruk reveals that this pumped water contains too much contamination to be used in the production process without further treatment. ‘The water contains too much iron and manganese. That's why we have a water treatment system on our grounds. It has two filters that convert the water to the right quality. Our company's policy is to outsource anything that is not part of our core business. Water treatment is a good example of this. That's why we outsourced the purification of our production water to an external party.’ As Cock Mudde explains further, ‘Evilim recently took charge of this responsibility. We feel committed to this system and ensure that it functions without any problems. Of course we can use tap water as a back-up. But you want to avoid doing that on account of the environment and the costs involved. That's why we carry out structural maintenance on the system. I'm proud of the fact that we signed this contract and will make sure we don't disappoint AkzoNobel.’