A distributor that does the selecting.
Vanteq Industrial was founded in Rotterdam in 2009 to do one thing differently: sell flow equipment against a duty point rather than against a part number. Sixty-four people, two locations, 2,400 line items and an engineering desk that signs its own calculations.
Botlek, Rotterdam.
Four thousand square metres at the Botlek, Rotterdam, two hours from Antwerp and forty minutes from Schiphol freight. The fast-moving half of the catalogue is on the floor; the rest is on call-off with agreed lead times, which are on the quotation rather than discovered after the order.
Stock is counted on a perpetual cycle rather than once a year, so what the counter sees is what is on the shelf. Three hundred and ten order lines leave the building on an average day and ninety-four per cent of stocked lines ordered before 15:00 CET go the same day.
Four things we will not trade away.
Stock, not a backorder queue
Six point eight million euro of stock at Botlek, counted on a perpetual cycle, with the stocked lines visible to the counter before anyone promises a date.
Selection by an engineer
Five application engineers across the two offices. Every quotation that involves a calculation is signed by the person who ran it.
Assembly and test
Pump sets, hose assemblies and filter skids built up and pressure tested in Rotterdam before they ship, so the first test is not on the plant.
Breakdown cover
A named engineer on call for contract customers, and a critical spares list agreed in advance so the part is on the shelf when the call comes.
Eleven sectors, and what changes between them.
The same pump is a different selection in a brewery and in a plating shop. These are the eight we are in most weeks.
Chemical and petrochemical
Aggressive media, sealless pumps and lined valves, with material certification against the line class.
Food and beverage
Hygienic connections, EPDM and silicone elastomers, and surface finishes stated in Ra rather than in adjectives.
Water and wastewater
Large-diameter isolation, submersible and self-priming pumps, and coatings specified for buried and submerged service.
Pharmaceutical and fine chemical
Sanitary filtration, double mechanical seals with barrier fluid, and documentation packs that match the batch record.
Pulp, paper and board
Abrasive and fibrous duty, hardened trim, and rotary lobe and progressing cavity pumps for high consistency.
Energy and district heating
Steam control, boiler feed, and heat exchangers rated for the pressure and the cycling, not just the duty.
Marine and offshore
Compact footprints, duplex and bronze materials for seawater, and spares held against a vessel list.
Metals and surface treatment
Acid transfer, filtration of plating baths, and PFA-lined equipment where stainless will not last a year.
Five engineers, and the working shown.
Selection is not order taking. An enquiry for a pump gets an NPSH check, one for a control valve gets a noise and cavitation check, and one for an agitator gets a shaft critical speed calculation. The assumptions behind each of those are printed on the quotation, because the assumption is what the argument is usually about.
Where a selection is marginal the document says so, names the limit and offers the alternative. A quotation that hides a marginal selection is a warranty claim with a delay on it.
Put us on the enquiry list.
Send the next duty point to the engineering desk and see what comes back.
Vanteq Industrial is a fictional company created for demonstration purposes. The history, the figures, the locations and the people described on this page are illustrative and do not represent an actual business.