Dutch Fender Innovations Successful at Seawork 2012

Fender Innovations won the Innovation Showcase Award in the category Vessel Design & Construction during the Seawork International 2012 exhibition. This largest and fastest growing commercial marine and workboat event in Europe was held for the 15th time in Southampton, the United Kingdom, and attracted over 450 exhibitors and 7,200 visitors from all over the world.

Fender Innovations, based in Den Helder, the Netherlands, is a very young company: it was founded only two months ago and presented to the public for the first time at Seawork. Work behind the scenes, however, was ongoing already for some time, according to director Koos van Bijsterveld: “We worked on the design of our fender for the past three years. Our fenders are lightweight, up to 65% lighter than traditional rubber fenders, and custom-made, which is a unique feature that naval architects are very enthusiastic about. Normally, they have to adapt their ship design to the fenders, but with our product, the fenders are adapted to the ship design.”

Made to ships’ specifications

The patent-pending fenders, that can be used for tenders, wind farm support vessels, pilot vessels and yachts, just to name a few, are built around a hybrid foam core combined with technical fabric and top coating. Van Bijsterveld: “We can vary with all the components and different dampening characteristics can be combined, it completely depends on the specifications of the vessel. Another advantage of our fenders is that they are seamless around the corners. This improves the protection, dampening and wear and tear characteristics. The fenders are also available in a ballistic version.”

According to the jury, Fender Innovations’ fenders are not an innovation, but a revolution. Divided into six categories, to qualify for the Innovations Showcase Awards all entries must have come to market in the previous twelve months and provide a valuable insight into the latest in design, technology and applications. The categories are Vessel Design & Construction, Marine Civil Engineering & Construction, Marine Equipment, Electronics & Materials, Diving & Underwater Technology, Renewable Energy and Safety & Training.

Gail van den Hanenberg