Following contacts with transport company Van den Bosch all the pieces of the puzzle fell together; it had to be a tank cleaning.
The tank cleaning facility has been in operation now for more two years. So, now is a good moment to look back with Baskay, but also to look ahead. Gröninger Cleaning Systems account manager Ferenc Methorst has been involved in the project from the start and spoke with Baskay.
“I had the idea for a tank cleaning facility, but I really had no idea where to begin,” Bertalan said. “I came in contact with Gröninger Cleaning Systems in Rotterdam via the internet. Clearly, Gröninger could be seen as a company with experience and knowledge. After the first contact, many conversations and a lot of e-mail exchanges followed. I soon went to visit Gröninger, and the company has helped me right from the start. This gave me a better understanding of the opportunities, possibilities and requirements.”
Entrepreneurship runs in the family. Hungary is an important logistics hub between Eastern and Western Europe, and also for tank and bulk transport. So, on paper there was demand; but a good location and a business plan were needed.
The end result of the process is a successful tank cleaning site located on the Budapest ring road.
Gröninger opened doors
“Gröninger helped me with everything, and every day I still learn,” Baskay went on. “The good and constructive contact with Gröninger staff and customers has helped the overall development. During trips to Gröninger I was taken to many tank cleaning depots. I have seen a lot, had many training sessions and also was a cleaning operator myself for a while at OTT (Den Ouden) and Stubbe. Gröninger opened doors for me.”
However, not everything went smoothly. “Suddenly there was the hard coronavirus lockdown. After quite some hassle with travel documents, an installation engineer from Gröninger managed to travel to Hungary. On the way he even slept in his van since hotels were closed. Typical for Gröninger, the company never abandoned me and always kept the confidence level high.
“Partly due to the lockdown, the engineer stayed here for more than two months. Together we built up the system. Gröninger software engineers ‘remotely’ carried out the commissioning, and contacts with tank cleaning managers from the Netherlands continued. Without Gröninger’s knowledge network, the progress would have been slower or perhaps I would not have been successful at all.”
The tank cleaning in Budapest consists of a food bay, a chemical bay and an IBC cleaning facility. There are also six steaming points. With its state-of-the-art tank cleaning, ATC is setting the standard for cleaning in Hungary. Currently on average 40 tankers and 16 IBCs are cleaned each day.
A modern water treatment system has been installed in Budapest as well. Due to the many years of co-operation between Gröninger and partner Aaqua, the systems and controls connect seamlessly. There are several influent tanks, a physical purification, biological purification and an effluent tank.
Due to the growing number of cleanings, expansion of the wastewater treatment plant has started and there are also plans to expand the cleaning plant.
Baskay concludes: “I am grateful that Gröninger has helped up to where I am today. Together with Gröninger, I will continue to work with ATC towards a cleaner world. Our collaboration has a solid foundation.”
