We make the difference with our steel wire rope advice

Experts Frits, Ayrton and Kevin on steel wire ropes

For years, Mennens has supplied steel wire ropes, and everything related to them. From
advice and assembly to testing and inspection. Veteran and steel wire rope expert Frits van Boetzelaer, together with product specialist Ayrton Dekker and chief engineering Kevin Poot, talk about the multifaceted and fascinating world of steel wire rope.

From Tata Steel and the Department of Public Works to concert halls and zoos. Mennens provides customers in the Netherlands and abroad with the steel wire ropes they need. Frits van Boetzelaer has almost 40 years of experience in the business. Frits: "Companies from all over Europe knock on our door with the most diverse requests. Sometimes we only deliver a rope, at others we replace all the ropes in a large bridge or lock. We also receive the most unusual requests, such as from an oil sheik who wanted to stretch a shark net around his swimming area."

Frits continues: "What sets us apart is our ability to think along, to empathise with our customers. It’s not hard to sell a rope. The difference comes when you provide good advice."

"You get to go places you normally never go."

A profession with many angles

According to the three gentlemen, it’s the versatility that makes this profession so great. Ayrton has been working at Mennens as a product specialist since 2015 and explains, "I really like the fact that you get to see a process from A to Z. You're involved in the whole process - the initial development, the execution and the control. That also means you have to deal with a lot of people and be a chameleon to get along with everyone. In the process, you get to go to places you would never normally go." Kevin agrees: "I get a sense of pride every time I drive over a large bridge whose steel wire ropes we replaced. It feels good - we did this."

Working on the basis of trust

As an enthusiastic foreman, Kevin prefers to go along to all the projects. "I want to be able to sleep at night knowing that everyone is back home safely, and everything went 100% as it was meant to. Our work is challenging. Trust and communication are essential. If your colleague high up in the mast tells you the rope is stuck, you have to be able to trust that."

"Trust and communication are essential."

The steel wire rope business - then and now

Over the years, much has changed in the field. Frits: "Everything’s a lot faster these days. A customer could send an app today and expect a solution tomorrow. You have to respond to that, without losing track of safety. New means of communication are making the work easier: using digital photos and videos, you can, in certain cases, map out a situation more quickly, without visiting the site. But sometimes an on-site visit is essential. It’s all about finding the best solution and maximum safety."

Memorable projects

Frits has experienced quite a few memorable projects at Mennens, but one that stayed with him most was replacing all 200 steel wire ropes on the Afsluitdijk in 2010. "The preparation took as much as six months. The assembly took six to seven weeks."

It’s the big projects that make the most impression on Kevin too. "The railroad bridge in Dordrecht was my first big job as foreman, and it’s a project I will never forget. We worked day and night in three shifts with 60 engineers in each specialty. But replacing the ropes on the Lek weirs, for example, was also special, as those ropes are only replaced once every 60 years. That you’re the one who gets to replace them feels great."

Projects abroad are also special. "Because you don't always know where you’re going to end up," says Ayrton, who did a special job in Sweden in the fall of 2023. "We were asked to replace the steel wire ropes on a large crane, which were used to operate a heavy conveyor belt used to bring iron pallets and ore from the shore aboard the ship. We had everything figured out on paper and went there fully prepared. When we arrived, everything turned out to be different. We worked extremely hard for two full days. In the end it worked out and we got more great orders as a result."

Amazement

Ayrton is still surprised that a situation can differ so much in theory and practice. For Frits, it's the fact that so many replacements are postponed, for the sake of cost. Kevin, on the other hand, is amazed by the importance of steel wire ropes and the various applications. "There is so much engineering behind it. It’s what makes it enormously strong, but very fragile at the same time. What I find especially cool is that we are capable of great things with a small group of people. It’s what I live for."