PODCAST: From garden shed to thriving fender firm
Thanks to the attention they received at Seawork (they won an Innovations Award), three years later Fender Innovations was unrecognisable. Sylvia Ruizendaal speaks to Maritime Journal editor Debbie Mason.
Fender Innovations began life in a garden shed after noticing how bad the fenders on the market seemed to be.
This was in 2009, when Koos van Bijsterveld and Jaap de Bruin were supervising charter boats. They saw there were often problems with the fenders on these boats and realised there was a gap in the market.
But when they developed a solution that they considered a game changer, the other fender builders they took it to were not impressed and sent them away.
Many may have fallen at this first hurdle, but not van Bijsterveld and partner Sylvia Ruizendaal. Instead, they spent months building and testing and getting their product ready for market.
By chance, Seawork 2012 was on the horizon – so they decided not only to go, but to enter the Innovations Awards as well – which they won.
Since then they haven’t looked back and are regular exhibitors at the commercial marine event.
Fender Innovations’ systems consist of a core of non-water-absorbent PE foam and are used on fast sailing vessels such as lifeboats, patrol vessels, crew suppliers, RIBs, fireboats, coastguard vessels and support vessels for the offshore wind energy sector.
Listen to our podcast with Sylvia Ruizendaal talking to Maritime Journal editor Debbie Mason about how they got where they are today.
