Booster Blog

BOLIDT IMMERSES VISITORS IN THE WORLD OF SYNTHETICS

 A breeding ground for innovation and a source of inspiration, the Bolidt Innovation Center will give visitors the opportunity to see, feel and experience how our materials are created. They can also try their hand in the open source laboratory and come up with their own applications for thermosetting polymers. At the Bolidt Innovation Center, history will be written and the future created. Visitors will remember their centre for a long time to come.

Rotterdam: international sea port, heart of the Dutch maritime sector and gateway to Europe. The ideal starting point for a visit to the Bolidt Innovation Center. Hop on board a high-speed taxi at the spot that was once the terminal of the Holland America Line. As you sail along the river Noord, you’ll pass well-known shipbuilders like Damen, Heerema, Royal IHC and Oceanco. Listening to the audio tour, you’ll hear all about Bolidt’s applications and the many sectors the company operates in around the world. At the end of the short boat trip, you’ll arrive at the Bolidt Innovation Center for a unique programme that’s been tailored to you.

Bolidt’s story can be summarised in just a few words: over 55 years of innovation, replacing traditional materials and so do our bit towards fostering a better and healthier living environment in terms of design, sustainability, safety, hygiene and data & energy. Bolidt is a pioneer in every sector it operates in; an inventor of trailblazing sustainable materials. It's a riveting story that’s far too interesting just to tell it. You have to see it, feel it, experience it. You can make materials, try them out, test them and come up with new applications for them at the Bolidt Innovation Center. And it's all designed for the visitors’ benefit.  

Relentless tests

The Bolidt Innovation Center represents the experience economy 2.0 – the customer experience reinvented. Visitors are immersed in the world of Bolidt. Put on a virtual reality headset and see what materials Bolidt has developed especially for your sector, but also what other outside-the-box solutions are possible. There’s a wall with over 600 samples that shows the total range of Bolidt systems. The ‘Inzoomer’ shows how materials are made antibacterial or fire-resistant at a microscopic level. At the Bolidt Innovation Center, materials are also subjected to relentless mechanical tests, culminating in the ‘Cliffhanger’ (spoiler alert: the car really sticks to the ceiling).

But the experience isn’t just entertainment. The Bolidt Innovation Center may be a great spectacle, but it’s also a fascinating museum on the history of thermosetting polymers. There’ll be real people working in the labs too, and visitors can also try their hand in the open source laboratory. You can look over the shoulder of a Bolidt employee and see how innovations are created, plus you'll get the opportunity to shape the future of the maritime industry. You’ll come away from the Bolidt Innovation Center with more knowledge, new insights, brilliant ideas, ultra-new applications and a head full of inspiration. You’ll remember your visit for a long time to come. Wouldn’t this kind of decking be the perfect solution for our ship? Can this synthetic wall coating also strengthen the construction of our platform? Wouldn’t an artistic deck like this look super cool on my superyacht? 

Detecting movement

Bolidt is no stranger to experience; we’ve already integrated it into our synthetic systems, as you can see from the spectacular Bolideck® Glow ship deck that lights up in the dark. Or the Ferrari go-kart track on the Norwegian Joy cruise ship. And also from the Bolideck® Future Teak, a durable synthetic system that feels and looks like genuine teak. And experience goes even further. Bolidt offers an incredible range of possibilities. Using modern technology, Bolidt is capable of adding information to materials. The decks can transmit data and also be transformed into an interface. They can register movement and detect dangerous situations in shipping too. 

So experience is in Bolidt’s DNA and the Bolidt Innovation Center shows you the stories behind the materials. What Bolidt does for itself, it can also do for clients. What’s your company’s DNA? How can you let your customers experience this? Brainstorm with Bolidt and find out how the materials can tell your story.

Cross-fertilisation and co-creation

Bolidt is a true niche player. Those working in the cruise ship industry often think Bolidt only makes decks for cruise ships. There’ s no shame in that. Bolidt, however, works for all sectors in the maritime industry, where innovations often result from cross-fertilisation. So let’s do away with pigeonholing. The Bolidt Innovation Center doesn’t distinguish between sectors, just between five themes: design, sustainability, safety, hygiene and data & energy. That frees us from constraints, because our products having antibacterial, seamless, wear-resistant or heat-resistant properties means they can be applied in lots of sectors. At the Bolidt Innovation Center, we can share solutions between industries. After all, Bolidt believes in the added value of co-creation: engaging with clients on new applications and techniques or jointly rolling out commercial activities.

Innovation, experience and co-creation all taking place in a high-tech building – one that has earned the BREEAM Excellent certificate and that embodies Bolidt’s story. Transparent, everything under one roof and focused on chemistry in all senses of the word. Inside, all the walls are see-through, underlining the open-source nature of our work. From a glass gallery, you look out over a large exhibition floor where materials undergo all kinds of tests. The Bolidt Innovation Center is also home to a library, restaurant, sports facilities and a boardroom overlooking the water. A transparent panoramic lift takes visitors to a colourful roof terrace, where Bolidt’s outdoor applications are showcased. You’ll see Rotterdam in the distance, but you’ll probably stay a while longer on your visit. 

 Visit and combine

You can visit the Bolidt Innovation Center on request; a programme will be tailored specifically for you. Clients in the maritime sector can combine a visit to the Bolidt Innovation Center with a tour of Dutch companies, fairs and events. What’s more, Rotterdam is a perfect starting point to discover the rest of maritime Europe.