Report on KIVI-RBT visit to Remeha Apeldoorn

Commercial director Mark Vellinga welcomed us as a group. We were then split into groups and very experienced educators explained how Remeha, grew from a bicycle shop to one of the most important producers in the Netherlands in the field of energy.

Remeha produces a range of products from ordinary domestic boilers through heating boilers, to H2 boilers heat pumps and combinations of these products.

In Apeldoorn, in a very well-oiled working environment in production lines adjacent to large warehouses, a large number of the above-mentioned products are assembled. Thanks to Just In Time deliveries and a "Lean" organisation, it all seems to run smoothly.

Remeha once wanted to go public, but due to circumstances it turned out to be untimely at the time and currently all shares are held in a foundation, managed by the then shareholders.

During the break of the tour, RBT had time for its own meeting. Use was made of this to pay tribute to Jan Meissen, the founder of RBT. Actually, this should have been done at the members' meeting 10 days earlier, but Jan was in hospital at the time. Fortunately, he had recovered sufficiently to be there again today. On behalf of RBT chairman Prof Dr Ir Genserik Reniers, Arie Quik presented Jan with this award.

Jan, actually still recovering from his hospitalisation, was still pleasantly surprised and of course could not resist recalling how much safety and the environment are close to his heart and how little engineers are actually taught to make sensible risk analyses and learn from past mistakes.

After this ceremony, the floor was given to Rick Bruins, Remeha's business development manager, who gave the Remeha vision of energy developments in the Netherlands. For the rapporteur, it was a pleasure to finally hear someone who knew well what he was talking about and who also had the numbers well in order. Rick described how natural gas will continue to play a role in keeping Dutch households warm for a very long time, but that the technology to switch completely to H2 will not pose any major problems.

For the near future, it is very likely that hybrid systems will be used, in which a heat pump (COP 4.5) with about 1kW of electricity will heat a house until it is below 5oCoutside. Then the natural gas boiler steps in. For hot water, the natural gas boiler is always used. This will require about 1kWh per household and the (rather optimistic) expectation is that the grid can handle this.

Rick Bruins' presentation as well as Jan Meissen's Member of Merit certificate can be found under 'Documents'.

On Thursday 17 November 2022, KIVI RBT was invited by Remeha for an introduction to the innovative company.

Remeha develops innovative and energy-efficient products for climate control or heat and hot water, both for homes and utilities. With its innovations, Remeha wants to anticipate the wishes and needs of now and in the future. With solutions for all energy carriers - Gas, Electricity and Heat Grids - Remeha has realistic and suitable solutions for every ambition, regardless of scale and complexity, making energy transition feasible and affordable.
With over 500 employees, Remeha is contemporary in its development, production and market approach, making it a leading manufacturer in the Netherlands and Europe. Remeha is one of the main brands within BDR Thermea Group. BDR Thermea Group in Apeldoorn realises a turnover of 2.2 billion euros with 6,500 employees in over 100 countries.

The programme is as follows:
14:00 - 14:15 hrs: Reception and walk-in at Remeha
14:15 - 14:30 hrs: Welcome speech by Mark Veilinga (Commercial Director Sales Unit NL)
14:30 - 16:00 hrs: Tour of the factory and Showroom
16:00 - 16.30 hrs: Departure factory to Technicum reception area and break
16:30 - 17:45 hrs: Presentation Remeha by Rick Bruins (Business Development Manager New Energy Concepts)
17:45 - 18:30 hrs: Exchange of thoughts on the topics covered with an alcohol-free drink and snack
19.00 o'clock End of the programme.

*) Points of attention include in particular:
- The development of the hydrogen central heating boiler.
- The development of heat pumps.
- The risks involved in installing these systems in residential buildings.
- What is the involvement task of the developer of these boilers with this?
And all this in the context of the energy transition.

A current point of attention is the development and application of heat pumps as a large-scale replacement of the familiar central heating boiler. As it also concerns applications in the private sphere (residential houses), this is a subject where Risk Management is high on the agenda right from the development phase!
After an introduction on this subject and a tour of Remeha's factory, there will be ample opportunity to enter into a discussion on these developments and, where possible, to contribute additional experience of KIVI-RBT participants.

For practical reasons, the number of participants is limited so do not register too late (no later than 7 November next).

More information from Jan Meissen, e. j.meissen@xs4all.nl

Documents