DEME was established as a holding company in 1991 and includes names such as Dredging International and Baggerwerken Decloedt in the dredging sector, Tideway, GEOSEA and Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors in marine engineering and oiland- gas related activities; DEC, de Vries & van de Wiel and Ecoterres in environmental techniques; and DEME Building Materials (DBM) in fluvial and marine aggregates.

The group’s success can be attributed to the unique and valuable contributions of each member, which complement the activities of the other companies. In its home market of Europe for example, the group’s headline project in Belgium, the construction of the C-Power far-shore wind farm, involves a range of specialist activities. This contract requires thirty 45 metre-high gravity-based foundations to be installed on pre-dredged foundation pits 30 km off the Belgian coast for its 5MW wind turbines.

“In this project we have dredging, heavy lifting at sea, stone dumping activities, trench dredging, cable laying and directional drilling – and the whole project delivers renewable energy,” says Hubert Fiers, communications manager for DEME. “So it is a really good example of how the synergies within the one group can work.” While DEME’s European base provides a backyard to try out new things and train its staff for their overseas contracts, 80% of the group’s turnover is generated in other regions.

Stone revetment works for the protection of the new industrial areas reclaimed at Jurong Island, Singapore

In the Middle East DEME has recently built, in partnership, a 400-hectare residential island in Qatar. Here petro-dollars can purchase the creation of entire islands. DEME’s €152 million contract in this so-called Pearl Qatar project involves dredging, reclamation, soil improvement, dry earth and rock excavation, onsite quarrying, and shore protection. In 2007 the group also completed a 1,700 - hectare reclamation to create a platform for the new Doha international airport.

In the UAE, DEME is constructing the Al Raha Beach waterfront in Abu Dhabi and the Al Marjan artificial islands in Ras Al Khaimah; A new 350 million Euro contract has been awarded there for the construction of the huge artificial island Al Dana. Important international projects in Asia and Oceania include the construction of two new ports in India at Damhra and Gangavaram, the creation of Jurong island in Singapore and the operation of one of DEME’s jumbo trailers in several port access channels in China for the past two years.

The project in Singapore entails the joining of seven islands into one to create a petrochemical hub for the East Asian region. Some 5000 hectares of land are being created in the process and 70% of the project has so far been completed. In Australia, DEME has just finished a deepening project on the west coast at Cape Lambert while it recently won contracts for maintenance dredging at Bunbury, Port Hedland and for deepening the approach channel to the port of Gladstone. In a new €100 million contract, DEME undertakes a major extension of Newcastle, Australia’s major coal port.

In South America, DEME has completed a major port development at Sepetiba in Brazil and has started a new port access dredging work in Itaguai, also in Sepetiba Bay. Maintenance dredging works have been executed in the Orinoco River and Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela for a number of years now.

In West Africa, DEME coordinates its activities in the region from its base in Nigeria whilst the group’s projects in South Africa include the creation of an entirely new access channel to the port of Durban and extensive maintenance dredging in Richard’s Bay. In Angola, Luanda Bay is being given a new waterfront, while a new site platform is being reclaimed in Soyo.

Thorntonbank wind farm off the Belgian coast

Approximately 10% of DEME’s business entails environmental projects. This is but one aspect of DEME’s contribution to sustainable development. DEME focuses on environmentally-friendly dredging techniques while also carrying out remediation and decontamination of silt and soils. DEME’s work treating dredged materials includes working on landside projects, cleaning up the soils of petrochemical sites, brownfield rehabilitation, remediation of so called “black spots”, remediation of waste deposit areas, and landscaping. Its UK subsidiary, DEC UK, participates in the cleaning of 500 hectares of contaminated soil on the area earmarked at Stratford for the London Olympics 2012 site.

Rainbowing activities for the Coega harbour development in South Africa

While DEME will always be, first and foremost, a dredging company, they have established satellites around this core business in support. Two important strategies for the future are the maintenance of a “good geographical spread” and a multi-disciplinary approach.

Fiers points out that having a worldwide presence makes the group less dependent on cyclical fluctuations while a wide spread of activities gives DEME the opportunity to offer total turnkey solutions and packages to clients. “What we do allows future generations to prosper,” says Fiers. “We are creating new infrastructure, new ports, new residential areas and new sites for sports and recreation facilities. We are making positive tracks to create a better living world for tomorrow.”