HTC began its journey into the tank cleaning sphere in 1998 when its first station located near the port of Antwerp opened.
What initially began as a single cleaning station quickly expanded into a larger group of four stations located across Belgium.
Jochen Van Hoydonck, business manager Group HTC – Tankcleaning, said he has been delighted with the company’s progress so far, adding: “HTC’s commitment to excellence, innovation and sustainability has driven its growth over the past two decades.”
Twenty-five years on, the company is opening its latest facility that has a large depot.
This new cleaning installation, HTC Haven Noord, has been built to the north of the port area.
The facility has the capacity for more than 2,000 empty tank containers as well as four cleaning lanes.
At the end of the year, HTC will begin the construction of six more cleaning lanes. There will also be a maintenance and repair workshop at the site.
Van Hoydonck added: “This way we want to fulfill the needs in the market for more storage and create more flexibility for our logistics partners.
“HTC is now located across Belgium with our three locations strategically spread across the port area, where we can offer the best service to our customers.
“With our facilities here, we are in a very good position to serve the chemical industry.
“This ranges from solvents, oil products as well as heavy resins where we have a special unit to carry out the chemical cleaning.”
HTC’s other facilities at Herenthout and Seneffe have lanes for the cleaning of food products following customer demand for food-grade operations.
Diverse cleaning services
The tank cleaning company’s core business is providing tank cleaning services for a broad spectrum of industries ranging from food to various chemicals.
HTC’s specialised facilities include closed bays with activated carbon filters to handle a range of substances including pungent ones like acrylates.
“This reinforces our commitment to meet the diverse industry needs,” added Van Hoydonck.
The company’s success can also be seen in the fact that, over the years, it has become a one-stop-shop for the tank cleaning industry.
In addition to tank cleaning, the company also offers heating and steaming services for loaded tanks as well as a storage depot for empty tank containers.
HTC has also forged a special partnership with ITACT for repairs and maintenance services.
“The aim is to provide a comprehensive solution to all of our customers’ logistical challenges,” added the business manager.
As part of the company’s growth strategy, it has also ventured into the ship cleaning sphere.
Van Hoydonck was also keen to stress that sustainability is a core commitment within the company.
He continued: “Each cleaning station is equipped with its own water treatment facility and in Antwerp as well as at HTC Wallonie, they have full capabilities for external wastewater treatment.
“Energy costs are certainly one of the biggest challenges for the sector. However, by optimising our processes and reducing our energy consumption, we can keep these overheads down.
“We try to minimise the consumption of energy at our new installation with hot water recuperation and gas cooling condensation.
“Everything is also digitally monitored so we can clean in the most efficient way while using the minimum amount of water and detergents.”
HTC is also committed to innovation and this is reflected in its use of intelligent software including a vast product database linked to various cleaning programmes.
The company has also been one of the pioneers and front-runners in integrating the ECLIC platform for the use of the electronic cleaning document (eECD).
Van Hoydonk concluded: “HTC recognises its environmental responsibility and it has initiated measures to reduce water as well as energy consumption.
“We are exploring the filtration of dock water to achieve a water balance of zero. This is done by discharging purified water back into the dock.
“There have been so many uncertainties this year, which have still not been resolved. There is the Ukraine war and high energy costs to name but two.
“However, at HTC we believe that the only way to go is forward. We want to look into the future and continue to be a reliable partner for our customers.”
Setting high standards in the industry
