As 2009 draws to a close – thank goodness some might say – we can all hope next year is better in terms of business prospects. We have been trading through the worst recession in living memory so, as we head towards Christmas, it is only right and appropriate that I use this opportunity to express my thanks to you, our customers. You have made us work harder and cleverer than ever before and I hope we have responded by delivering better equipment, service and advice - this has been our consistent aim and, at the risk of being repetitive, is our objective for 2010.
Whether you are one of our ‘regulars’, a new customer or an organisation we would very much like to do business with please be assured we will be doing all we can to continue to deserve your valued patronage.
From the team at Van Walt, we wish you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Sincerely
Vincent van Walt
Polishing the silver – Best New Dealer 2009In January 2009 Van Walt was appointed the exclusive UK and Ireland dealer for the YSI Environmental Monitoring and Water Quality Systems for groundwater applications. YSI is well known in our industry for their excellent and extensive range of market-leading, rugged water quality meters and environmental monitoring systems and we were delighted to secure this dealership.
Product News – what’s new in rental?Diver - A small, light, easy to use water level logger for measuring fluctuations in groundwater levels and temperature. The mini-Diver can measure water fluctuations up to 10 metres and store up to 24,000 measurements. Rental is available for the Diver alone or as a package with a Baro-Diver (Barometric pressure measurement), readout device and software.
Floating challenge for offshore wind turbine As the NIMBY arguments rage on against the location of future wind farms a Norwegian energy company - StatoilHydro may have come up with a solution – floating offshore wind turbines.
Statoil has constructed the world's first full-scale floating wind turbine in the hope that one day vast wind farms could be constructed far offshore in water depths of up to 700m. This is a trial – albeit a very expensive one – to test how robust the turbine is against North Sea winter storms and, more importantly, whether the infrastructure supporting this turbine can continue to service the site in, what will be, the most extreme of conditions.
Van Walt go wild in WalesThis time of year the following conversation must be had in offices around the country: “What do you fancy doing for Christmas?”
Like everywhere else: “Good food, good wine … a party?” or “An M&S voucher and bottle of bubbly ….” or “Can’t we go back to the same place as we went last year?” … were just a few of the responses in Haslemere.
But no – Van Walt like to do things differently – that’s why we ended up in Wales, gorge walking and white-water rafting!
For those in the ‘know’, I’m sure you’ll be impressed! If, like most of us at Van Walt (everyone over 40), you are an adventure sport virgin - you should be impressed because extreme it was, wet it was, cold it was - but fantastic fun!
New girl Laura gets to grips with our equipmentLaura, our new girl and Yvonne, (our not-so-new girl – more than 18 years environmental research experience) recently attended a Distributors Seminar at Eijklekamp in Holland. The event was to give representatives from around the world a product update, some first hand training on new and less well known equipment, in addition to some ‘old favourites’ and provide an introduction to the Product Knowledge Database (PKD), an invaluable resource for distributors and customers alike.
Mapping water – in space!If you follow what’s happening with space, satellites and science you will probably have read about the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (Smos) spacecraft – destined to map the variation in the wetness of the land and of the quantity of salts dissolved in sea water. These are key parameters that can tell scientists how water is cycling around the planet - from the surface to the atmosphere and back again. These variables have never been measured globally and that's why they have to be done from space.
In the field – SellafieldRecently Vincent and Ikky were on site, well nearly, with the Sampling & Environmental Team at Sellafield. Due to security the training had to take place just outside of the site in the car park. And, in true Cumbrian fashion the weather was bad – cold and wet – not ideal conditions to train the team on their Percussion Drilling Set.
It wasn’t just the weather that was against the Van Walt team. Sellafield had purchased their Percussion Drilling Set earlier in the year, had received training and already used the kit to take samples on the site. Unfortunately they had experienced some problems using the equipment and Vincent and Ikky were on site to try to sort these and to deliver further training to other members of the team.
QRA – Report from the University of Manchester on this year’s eventThis year’s symposium was hosted jointly by the Schools of Environment and Development (SED) and Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (SEAES), at The University of Manchester. The QRA postgraduate symposium aims to bring together students from the UK and abroad to discuss and present cutting edge research across the breadth of Quaternary Science in a professional yet relaxed environment. This year's event was dominated by postgraduates in their first year of study, and offered an ideal opportunity to gain advice and support from those further into their research.
Soil is finally on the e-agenda – good news for everyoneSoil, also known as earth: is the material from which our planet takes its name; therefore its loss or degradation should be one of the most important of today’s environmental problems, particularly with our growing world population and the need for food security. Van Walt is pleased that recently more emphasis is being given to its importance and the timing coincides, coincidentally with a recent ‘push’ we have had on a piece of equipment that can help by analyzing the structure of soil.
