Safety: Our first responsibility
At Liquin, safety is always our first priority. For our colleagues, contractors, visitors and everyone in the vicinity of our terminals. We are highly aware of the risks involved in working with chemical substances. That’s why every day we strive for ‘Goal Zero’: no accidents, no leakages. This applies to both personal safety and the safety of our processes so that everyone arrives home safely at the end of the day and the surrounding area remains unaffected by our activities.
Needless to say, we comply with all local and international legislation and regulations. But we don’t stop there. Together with our clients and partners, we develop a shared safety culture throughout the entire chain. We are actively committed to initiatives that contribute to a safe sector.
Safety at Liquin also means social safety: a work environment where you can be yourself and feel free to express yourself.
An environment where we encourage each other – and our visitors – to bring out the best out in ourselves.
How do we do that?
We continuously discuss risks, improvement opportunities and innovations. For example, using robots to carry out tank inspections. We currently use robots in 40% of tanks undergoing maintenance. This makes the work safer, more efficient and reduces risks like entering enclosed spaces.
In addition, we use eight safety fundamentals: essential processes within our operations, each with a fixed set of safety rules. These fundamentals are incorporated into our trainings, procedures and way of working. They form the basis of our safety culture and as a result, who we are.
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Product transfer
When transferring liquid products – to and from ships, freight trucks, trains or pipelines – everything depends on control and precision. Many of these products are flammable or harmful to people and the environment. That’s why we incorporate technical and organisational protections to minimise risks and prevent leakages. Safety begins with good preparation and careful implementation.
Management of Change
Every change to our installations, processes or organisation is carefully mapped out. With Management of Change, we assess the risks of a change in advance and ensure that appropriate measures are taken. In this way, we maintain a high level of safety even when circumstances change. No change without a plan, no plan without a risk analysis.
Work permits
Internal and external parties work at our terminals on a daily basis. A work permit system ensures that work is carried out safely and according to clear agreements. A permit details what should happen, how it happens and what measures are necessary. As a result, we prevent risks like fire hazard during hot work. Safe working starts with clear agreements.
Lock-out / Tag-out (LOTO)
For maintenance or inspection of equipment, we always make sure that energy sources are safely shut down. Through Lock-out / Tag-out, we lock and tag installations so that they are disconnected, depressurised and product-free before they are worked on. In this way, we prevent machines starting accidentally or hazardous materials being released during the work.
Entering enclosed spaces
Spaces like tanks or wagons are often difficult to access and poorly ventilated. They can contain dangerous fumes or quickly become unsafe during an accident. That’s why strict procedures are applied before anyone enters an enclosed space. This may be for activities like gas measurements, mandatory inspections and rescue equipment. Safe in, safe out.
Working at height
Risk of falling is one of the most common hazards in the industry. With this fundamental, we ensure that working at height always takes place under safe conditions. We keep a close eye on weather conditions, use fixed platforms or fall protection, and make clear risk assessments. This ensures that anyone working at height comes down safely.
Excavations
Digging at a terminal requires care. Whether it concerns cables and pipelines or risk of collapse: with excavations we take extra measures to protect employees and the surrounding area. We only start work when the plan has been finalised and the risks have been assessed. We also take into account possible soil contamination. Safe digging isn’t optional, it’s a pre-requisite.
Motorised vehicles
Transport equipment like forklift trucks and terminal tractors involve their own risks. That’s why there are clear instructions for the use of motorised vehicles. They are regularly tested and drivers are well trained. We ensure clear routes, safe speeds and a culture of alertness. As a result, we keep paths safe for everyone on the premises.
Sustainability:
building the
future
Liquin wants to be a good neighbour – for the people around us and the world in which we operate. We recognise the urgency of climate change and take active responsibility. We do this in two ways:
By playing a role in the energy transition and investing in it, as a logistic partner in the storage of sustainable products like bioethanol, HVO and SAF.
By reducing our own ecological footprint and structurally limiting our environmental impact.
Since 2021, we have taken significant steps to reduce our CO₂ emissions with the ambition of achieving a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. We already reached this goal in 2024. At the same time, we monitor all emissions, including those from Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs), as well as water and soil.
A great example: our wastewater from TTR and Chemiehaven used to be processed externally. We have now laid an underground link between our terminals as a result of which all wastewater is treated centrally at our Botlek terminal. This gives us control over the water quality and ensures that anything we discharge complies with the highest standards.
In addition, our terminals run entirely on green energy and we have installed a large number of solar panels on our roofs. Furthermore, together with our neighbours, we are investigating how we can smartly use each other’s residual flows, like excess steam or heat. This is how, step by step, we build a sustainable infrastructure for the future.
Guaranteeing and improving quality
We strive for the highest quality in everything we do. For this, we use an integrated management system in which all our processes come together. In this way, we guarantee quality and continuously improve.
Our processes are tested by external parties. We have an ISO 9001 certificate, comply with ISO 14001 standards and are ISCC-certified. We also offer reliable solutions in terms of product quality: we can heat products and store them in nitrogen when this is necessary to maintain product quality.
In the meantime, we are actively working to implement ISO 27001 for cybersecurity. We highly value information security and aim to meet the highest standards in this area in order to make our processes and systems future-ready.