About us
Why we do what we do
River Insight offers water authorities and other water managers a circular measurement solution. This all-in-one service offer combines measurement expertise and sensor technology with simple software. Furthermore, we take care of all administration and maintenance.
River Insight was developed by Nortek Netherlands B.V. We develop, produce, install and manage circular current measurement systems for inland waters, enabling water managers to know exactly how much water is moving in their areas. Thanks to a permanent stream of data, water authorities get a better and faster insight into the current water balance. This provides security for the shipping industry, farmers, the government and nature management.
How we do this
River Insight stands for an innovative vision and a fully thought-out service product. Because of the circular principle of Data As A Service (DAAS), River Insight offers clients a modern all-in-one solution where the entire data collection process is outsourced. We position mobile measurement systems, connect them to a secure, closed data network and deliver the data every quarter of an hour in our clients' IT environment. In the meantime, we take care of all administration and maintenance, for as long as our clients desire it.
We believe in circular concepts. We provide our clients with an integrated data solution which forces us to think more closely about management, repair and reuse – as a service. This drives us to improve, continuously provides water authorites the best data related to the current.
Our Data As A Service solution is self-sufficient regarding energy, hardly takes up any space, is produced with the assistance of reusable materials and has the newest telemetry and sensor technology – our trademark. This makes River Insight unprecedentedly sustainable: having the security of a flexible expert service that immediately identifies disruptions in the data collection process and then resolves them. This is the progress that water managers seek: higher-quality data, guaranteed to save time, for remarkably lower costs.
Our values
To measure is to know. At River Insight we want to enhance the ambitions of our clients in a safer, more reliable and purposeful way.
The following are the values that motivate us:
SMART: River Insight offers products and services in a smart way: as a service. We fulfill the needs of the client with a circular service offer that connects the best aspects from science and technology. This is an advantage for our client and better for the environment.
INNOVATIVE: River Insight believes in the proceeds of thought-out innovations. We are progressive, seeking reliable solutions and continuously developing new technologies. In this way, we enable researchers and technicians to do their job even better.
RESPONSIVE: River Insight is decisive and wants to move forward. We act immediately, the moment it is necessary. As a result, our clients are choosing a spirited team that offers unequaled service. Our relationship with our clients is proactive and enthusiastic. We provide insights that save our clients time and money.
HISTORY
Measuring the data related to the current for inland waters started in the year 2000 with Managing Director Sicco Kamminga. Initially from his home and later on via the first office in Zoetermeer, he analyzed, together with his colleague Jan van de Velde, the dynamics in numerous Dutch streams and rivers.
‘‘Ott-molens’ and ‘running-time-difference meters’ were the standard equipment back then, ”recalls Kamminga. ”We were the first in the Netherlands to start using Doppler instruments for current measurements. This is acoustic measurement equipment that was far simpler to use in practice”.
The new-generation sensor technology was embraced by the water managers. Before long, Kamminga, then in the company of Cees Meijer, Jos Sneek, Jan van de Velde and Herman Huitema, was installing flow measurement stations for various Dutch water authorities.
Searching for new, technological collaborations, Kamminga and Nortek started working together in 2002. Their visions on measurement technology, quality and working culture proved to match well. The new company Qmetrix BV was incorporated, and after eight successfull years was renamed Nortek Oceanografische Instrumenten en Diensten B.V.
”I believe that we have placed and maintained at least 150 discharge measurement stations since that day – a huge growth that put a lot of pressure on us, with regard to staffing and company location. This is the reason we moved to Hoofddorp in 2006 and we chose a more spacious company location in Badhoevedorp in 2009. Since 2022 we are located at Hoofddorp again”, says Kamminga.
Since 2021 Kamminga and his team have been working as Nortek Netherlands B.V. The company offers innovative measurement solutions for current and navigation to water authorities, research establishments, dredgers and ports. In June 2022, River Insight was created as a subbrand of the parent company.
THE CIRCULAR CAUSE
Climate change influences the work of water managers. Water levels and periods of draught switch rapidly and complicate active management. How can these challenges be managed? To answer this, in 2018 Nortek sent its clients a ”needs questionnaire”. Asking questions provides you with answers. It turned out that there was a huge need for more data, basically maintenance-free stations and cheaper management solutions that take up less time.
”In a series of internal conversations, we then decided that the time had come to change the beacons. We chose to develop a new data collection standard for measuring data related to the current: easier to install, more sustainable and focused on uninterrupted and safe transport of water data”, explains Kamminga.
The project was named ‘River Insight’, a name that relates to the ambition to enlarge the knowledge of water systems even further. Thanks to presentations at trade fairs and demonstration projects, the product and service concept became visible to Dutch water managers and the first tenders were won – a development that has increased rapidly over the past few years.
RIVER INSIGHT AS THE NEW FLOW STANDARD
The Netherlands is a water-based country. Every day water authorities, port managements and other water directors lead traffic on the inland waters, guarantee water safety or provide a secure natural environment and effective agriculture. Under these circumstances, guaranteeing a continuous stream of topical water data is critical.
River Insight helps to secure this stream of knowledge. As supplier of a reliable service concept and service product, we help water managers further on their way. Moreover, we measure more and more. In the western part of the Netherlands, we measure the salt level, and because of our modern sensor technology, we measure quick current variations on canals.
We measure everywhere. In the Hoofdvaart of Haarlemmermeer, close to our new office in Hoofddorp, there is a River Insight discharge measurement station. This is one of many locations where our team provides immediate current measurements that make it easier to manage the area. This enables us to complete the image.
The Water Authority Vallei en Veluwe now knows how the water streams down from the Hoge Veluwe and runs through their area. Water authorities have a better insight into the necessary water intake of the Hollandsche IJssel and know exactly when the surplus of water at Katwijk and Spaarndam needs to be drained away.
Progress begins with: better knowledge of running water. This is the certain effect of a circular data collection process that provides a full-service solution for our clients: inventive, reliable and extremely fast.
