During Rotterdam Processing Week, the three winners of the Silent Motor Award were announced. From the nominations received, the expert jury selected three convincing winners. These winners distinguish themselves behind the scenes in their daily work through their exceptional qualities. Awards were presented in the categories: ‘Process Optimization’, ‘Sustainability & Energy Transition’, and ‘Young Silent Motor’.
Walter Karremans, Elscolab
Walter Karremans, Technical Sales Engineer for Industrial Process Monitoring at Elscolab, received the Stille Motor Award in the field of “Sustainability & Energy Transition.” This award recognized and appreciated Karremans’ exceptional performance on complex Elscolab projects in the process industry. For example, he developed a leak-tight steam jacket that can be clamped around an existing measuring cell (i.e., Elscolab’s analyzer) at Sulphurnet to prevent local “cold spots” in liquid sulfur and prevent the liquid from solidifying, enabling immediate measurements. This development eliminates the need to wait hours for purity measurements; instead, the results are now available in real time.
Tom Vissers, Ebert HERA
The second Silent Motor Award in the “Young Silent Motor” category went to 31-year-old Tom Vissers, seconded by Ebert HERA (formerly Sitech) to the ammonia plant on the Chemelot site. Vissers is uniquely skilled at applying technology effectively in maintenance, minor modifications, and comprehensive process improvement projects. He has an eye for innovations and improvements during upgrades and migrations of older systems.
Koen de Buck, Yara Sluiskil
Automation engineer Koen de Buck of Yara Sluiskil received the jury’s award in the “Process Optimization” category. De Buck was, among other things, the initiator and driving force behind the implementation of the “Smart Safety Test” simulation/test package. This system can be used to definitively prove that new and existing safety systems are 100% functional. By leveraging this innovation, De Buck has succeeded in significantly reducing downtime at Yara Sluiskil’s factories.
