“This is going to bring about a total transformation of the market,” warns Willem Blom. Soon, together with his business partner Eduard Aubri, he will launch SaniSkid—a modular system of prefabricated pipes designed to significantly simplify in-home installation. Its development came about by chance.
SaniSkid is a system of factory-prefabricated modules—detachable and reusable—that house the plumbing for homes. They are placed in front of the wall and connected to one another, or even used as a wall in the middle of a home. This completely standardizes the installation of plumbing.
Click system
“Because everything is prefabricated in the modules, there’s nothing left for an installer to connect on the construction site,” says Blom. “There’s a shortage of installers, so this comes at just the right time. All that’s needed is assembly staff, because the modules are connected to each other using a click-together system.”
According to Blom, using these modules also leads to significantly lower failure costs, because everything needed is already there and in the right place. It saves time, and there’s also much less waste from the pipes. “They no longer need to be cut to size on-site; that’s done at the factory, where we ensure everything is done as efficiently as possible. Plus, the pipes can no longer be stolen from the construction site. That’s a real problem with copper pipes.”
Convenience, maintenance, and circularity
There are modules for the toilet—with the tank already built in—for the shower, for the sink, and for the kitchen. “And if you place the kitchen on the opposite side of the house from the bathroom, you can connect them to the same module, which saves a lot of space.”
On top of that, maintenance is also very easy, because it’s always completely clear where the pipes are located. “And here’s the great thing: for a small additional fee, you can have the skids made future-proof by having piping installed in advance for rainwater and showerwater collection—for flushing the toilet, for example. Circular water use is also becoming increasingly well-known here in the Netherlands.”
And don’t forget about circularity, he continues. “During demolition, the modules can be removed intact and reused elsewhere. They come with a materials passport, so you always know what’s been used in them, where it came from, and how much CO2 was emitted during production.”
Austrian “thinking in blocks”
The SaniSkid will be introduced this coming September at the Prefab Fair in Den Bosch. A previous edition of that fair played a major role in the system’s development. That’s where Willem Blom and Eduard Aubri met in 2022. “That’s where the love began,” says Blom, not without a touch of drama.
Aubri had brought the idea for the modules back from Austria. He had gone there due to personal circumstances and had set up an installation company there. But construction in Austria is very different from that in the Netherlands. “Because they have a very long frost-free period there, they’re forced to build much faster than here,” says Aubri. “So they rely much more on prefabricated components. Prefabricated piping is already commonplace there.”
Because of the coronavirus, he returned to the Netherlands and left his business behind. “It felt like I was back in the Stone Age here. In Austria, people think in terms of blocks; we’re not used to that here.”
The plan was to return to Austria quickly, but things turned out differently. Here in the Netherlands, he found his calling, and he put his experience with modular construction to use to design and manufacture thermal energy storage skids. He then secured a contract from Eneco to install thermal energy storage systems in an apartment building. The project was scheduled to take about 5 to 6 months; he completed it in four weeks. In the meantime, in addition to Eneco, he has also secured Vattenfall, Essent, and Heymans as clients, and he’s far too busy here in the Netherlands to even consider returning to Austria.
Actually, no time
Back to the Prefab Fair in 2022. Eduard was there representing his company, ERA Prefabsystems, showcasing thermal energy storage skids and a prototype of the SaniSkid; Willem was walking around as a visitor. At the time, he was a sales representative for a manufacturer of plumbing fixtures. For a Van Valk hotel, he was in contact with a modular builder who was tasked with delivering a complete hotel room. He was supposed to meet that builder at the trade show. “If I hadn’t been there on his behalf, I wouldn’t have been in Den Bosch at all,” says Blom. “That’s where I ran into Eduard with his skid. I was watching… that’s easy, I thought! You just set that thing down and you’re done. I saw possibilities for stackable construction, for repeatability, and for creating more usable space.”
Actually, Eduard was far too busy with his thermal energy storage modules to devote much development time to the Saniskids. “But Willem’s unwarranted interest made me work on them more,” he says, “even though I really didn’t have any time for it at all.”
All hell is about to break loose
The SaniSkid has now been fully developed, and the system is ready for production. To that end, Willem and Eduard founded SaniSkid BV, and a new factory is currently being built in Brummen. Immediately after the construction industry’s summer break, in August, the first SaniSkids will roll off the assembly line there. They will then introduce the system at the Prefab Fair in Den Bosch. The circle is complete.
Willem predicts that this will have a major impact on the market. “When people see what this can mean for a large construction project, all hell will break loose,” he concludes.
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