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In our report pre-season trade show Waterworld Electronics. On May 4th, we visited WaterWorld Electronics in Oldemarkt. Read our report on a very inspiring day here.
The day started early, with an appointment at 10:30 at WaterWorld Electronics in picturesque Oldemarkt. It looked like it was just north of Flevoland on the map, and we're often out early. In short, we seemed to have some time left, and we decided to make the most of it.
The night before, someone had ordered a product we didn't have in stock, but we could pick it up from the supplier in North Holland. Besides, the customer was in a hurry, and hey, Hoevelaken isn't that far from Oldemarkt (forgive our urban shortsightedness). So we could easily combine the two. First to North Holland, then speed on to Oldemarkt, and then deliver the package in Hoevelaken. On the way, we'd also pick up some smoked fish in Harderwijk—a full day.
The latter turned out to be true, we came back from the supplier during rush hour near Amsterdam, were actually a bit late in Oldemarkt, had to drive quite a bit for the fish and the customer and were back home late that evening and quite exhausted.
As soon as we entered, we were greeted by a friendly lady who asked if we'd like a cup of coffee. The coffee didn't come from a machine with 30 different types of espresso, latte, and cappuccino, nor from a fancy self-grinder with a flashy display. No, the coffee came from a regular coffee maker, freshly brewed for us, and then we were given a thermos for our next cup. Delicious, familiar, and truly emblematic of the rest of our visit. No frills, just open, honest, and fair. That felt good right away.
Sebastiaan was still in conversation for a bit, but soon approached us with a big smile. A firm handshake confirmed the feeling of being welcome and in the right place. We first sat down together in a meeting room. We explored the situation a bit and got to know each other, and I particularly appreciated that Nils was also able to share his story. He was able to ask all his questions and always received a clear, patient explanation.
Sebastiaan very emphatically positioned WaterWorld Electronics as an electronics specialist that (also) manufactures electric motors for the maritime sector. We were taken through the origins and growth of the organization with great pride, as well as the non-maritime projects for, for example, agriculture and defense. It is incredibly impressive how someone of Sebastiaan's age (I can say that) has built such a fine company. I can only have immense respect for that.
After having a look around, we received an extensive tour of the factory. We could see live how motors are tested, and here again, we received full explanations from the people working on them. Nils and I, being the geeks we essentially are, were wide-eyed with wonder, and we quickly hit it off when the conversation turned to microcontrollers, embedded software, and Raspberry Pis. It is all the more impressive that WaterWorld Electronics manufactures the necessary printed circuit boards and controllers entirely in-house. Super cool to see.
From the test room, we went to the assembly/soldering area. I have a technical business background, but I'd never seen a machine park that fills printed circuit boards with electrical components and then fully automatically solders, bakes, and applies the sealant. It was really cool to see it in person, and truly impressive how much knowledge and passion Sebastiaan shares about it.
From this room, we walked through to the area where the engines are assembled. It was great to see that engines can be assembled to order from stock components. We also got a sneak peek at a new development, but I promised Sebastiaan I wouldn't tell him anything about it 😉. In this room, we also saw live how every engine that leaves the factory is tested on 40 points and how this is documented for each engine. The test was performed by someone with perhaps 50 years of expertise and so much passion for their work that age wasn't an issue at all—it was wonderful to see.
Finally, we inspected and discussed an installation in a workboat in an adjacent room. It's great to see that we, too, now recognize all the components and install them ourselves. This confirms our own growth over the past few years.
Sebastiaan, thank you for the friendly welcome and extensive tour. It feels truly wonderful that you took three hours to show us around. I hope we can make a significant contribution to the electrification of recreational boating in the Netherlands in the coming years. We'd love to visit WaterWorld Electronics again, and hopefully, we'll leave with a car full of engines to delight our customers.
Remco Putker – Robust-MT Marine Technology BV.
