Vopak Terminals relies on Elinex

With three chemical terminals (Botlek, Chemiehaven, and TTR) and one in Rotterdam Europoort (oil), Vopak Terminals pumps chemicals and oil 24/7 on behalf of its customers. These processes should never be interrupted for various reasons. To ensure that "the lights never go out" at the Botlek terminal, Vopak collaborates with Elinex for emergency power supply. A conversation with Job Roeleveld, account manager at Elinex, and Youssef El Khadari, maintenance planner at Vopak, about the partnership between the two parties and the absolute necessity of reliable emergency power supplies.

Critical Locations

In my role, I am responsible for the E and I installations and the UPS systems at the terminals," Youssef begins the conversation. "Vopak operates its own tanks and pumps chemicals 24/7. These are critical locations where any disruption or downtime must be prevented at all costs. Downtime not only costs time - and therefore money - as ships and wagons have to wait, but it can also lead to unsafe situations. We need to continuously monitor the storage facilities. For example, we monitor whether there is no 'overfill' and check if valves that should be closed are not left open."

Replacement from Maintenance

Job: "Vopak has been a customer of Elinex since 2007, and we handle all maintenance on the emergency power supplies there. Replacement orders often come from maintenance, for instance when parts of the installation have reached the 'end of lifecycle' or are starting to fail." Youssef adds: "Vopak has a wide variety of brands in terms of emergency power systems. This is one of the reasons why we work with Elinex since they provide brand-independent maintenance. Every year, everything is cleaned, the condition of components is assessed, and everything is tested." Job explains: "In the measurements, we assess the stability of the batteries. If we detect batteries that no longer meet the norm, we replace them. In some cases, we replace the entire system preventively for an older UPS. For example, in 2021, we replaced some faulty batteries at Vopak."

Efficiency Improvement of Systems Naturally, emergency power supplies are constantly evolving, as Job points out. "The effectiveness of emergency power systems is constantly increasing. For example, at Vopak, we supply systems ranging from 8 kVA to 30 kVA. In 2007, an Eaton PW9355 system with an efficiency of 90% was installed at Vopak. Today, an equivalent system can achieve an efficiency of up to 96%. The dimensions become smaller, the number of required batteries decreases, and efficiency is higher. We replaced the above-mentioned system with a new UPS solution."

Youssef: "When we replace a system, we receive a price quote. In this case, there were two options, with the new Eaton 93PS not being the cheapest but considered the best for our situation according to Elinex. In such cases, we rely on Elinex's expertise because we have 100% trust in them." Job adds, "We always look for the most suitable solution for our customers. Since we represent multiple brands, we can always offer the best emergency power solution."

Flexibility Ensures Continuity

Youssef is more than satisfied with Elinex's service. "Elinex is highly flexible and always helps us in the right way. For example, during an inspection, a battery problem was identified - it was completely worn out. However, there was an unacceptable delivery time for an identical model from the manufacturer. Due to the urgency of continuing operations, Elinex found a suitable alternative battery, which was promptly installed as a temporary solution. Elinex maintains about 15 UPS systems at the Botlek terminal, from various brands, and they carry out everything to our full satisfaction."

Questions?

Do you have any questions about an emergency power solution? We are here to assist you. You can reach us via email at info@elinex.com or by phone at +31 180-415711.

Text: Draeckensteijn Media