Reliable Teknikum dredging hose makes Aquamec’s Watermaster the most popular amphibious multipurpose dredger on the global market

Published in 2022

Finnish Watermaster dredges in more than 70 countries with Teknikum’s abrasive hoses

When viewed from a distance, the monster of a science fiction film made of green Lego blocks seems to be quivering on the banks of the Loimijoki River in Finland. The machine is a Watermaster amphibious dredger sold in more than 70 countries while developed and manufactured by Aquamec in Loimaa, Finland.

An essential part of the multi-purpose dredger is Teknikum’s custom-made dredging hose, suitable for soil with a very variable structure. The soil is sucked from the bottom of the river with pressure without any problems. By combining Finnish innovations, a global success product has been created, which competitors around the world strive to copy.

The hose of the dredger absorbs the soil it removes from the bottom of the river at varying temperatures, while in constant motion and withstanding sharp rocks.

“The boom is in constant motion and subject to torsional stresses. The hose sucks stone, gravel and all kinds of sharp material”, Mr. Harri Uusi-Rauva, Vice President of Aquamec Oy, presents a dredging machine and its suction hose.

Dredging and slurry hoses for extreme operating environments

In Siberia, dredging sites can have tens of minus degrees in Celsius and transportable soil on solid ice. In the heat of the tropics, the operating temperature can exceed over 50 degrees Celsius. The machine also has to endure the harsh handed operators.

“Just a week ago, we sent a machine to Martinique in the Caribbean, and in a moment the plane will leave for another exotic island, Tahiti, in French Polynesia in the middle of the Atlantic, with our machine, ” Mr. Uusi-Rauva tells.

“These go really far and everyone understands that a guy can’t fly there to fix the hose due to a small mistake. We have to get everything done right here at the factory. It must be so that the machine withstands the customer’s use and is virtually maintenance-free with its hose attachments”, Mr. Uusi-Rauva continues.

The dredging hose runs along the side of the Watermaster digging arm. In suction dredging, the hose must be robust but at the same time really flexible. Teknikum specializes in this kind of hose solutions, starting from rubber material development.

Long successful cooperation

“We have been doing these machines for 35 years and Teknikum has been involved since the beginning. We are very satisfied”, Mr. Uusi-Rauva praises.

The multi-purpose dredger is able to work the river bottom to a depth of six meters. It succeeds in suction dredging, digging, raking, breaking underwater hard ground and piling. The contractor only needs to invest in one piece of equipment and one operator. If conditions so require, the dredged soil can be sprayed already during dredging to a suitable discharge area hundreds of meters away.

Special hoses for machine builders – Teknikum’s expertise in display

Watermaster appreciates regular contact with Teknikum. The cooperation will improve the end product when Teknikun is able to transfer, for example, new material innovations and product development results from other sectors to hoses used in dredgers.

Teknikum’s special expertise is the custom-made manufacturing of slurry hoses and material transfer hoses for a wide range of work machines and equipment. For example, manufacturers of tractors and excavators have needs for machine-specific hoses. Many have also traveled by train that has its air brake hoses made by Teknikum.

“We have been doing these machines for 35 years and Teknikum has been involved since the beginning. We are very satisfied”, Mr. Uusi-Rauva praises the cooperation.

“We are happy to make customized hose solutions for our customers. Our expertise will be best displayed then”, says Mr. Markku Haaranen, Sales Manager at Teknikum.

“We have customer sites where the previous hose solution has had to be replaced every 3-4 months. Now the solution that we have designed and manufactured has been in the same use for six years. This, of course, brings huge maintenance savings and enables reliability of processes”, Mr. Haaranen explains.

“We usually end up developing long-term customer relationships”, Mr. Haaranen concludes.

READ MORE

• Teknikum material handling hoses
• Teknikum custom hoses
• Teknikum slurry hoses from stock

About Teknikum

Teknikum makes material handling hoses for demanding industries. Teknikum Group is a company with Finnish origin, specializing in the design and manufacturing of industrial rubber, plastics and foam products, with four plants in Finland, one plant in Hungary, a sales company in Germany and a sales office in Russia.  The Finnish Labor Association has awarded the Teknikum Group the “Made in Finland” Key Flag symbol for products manufactured in Finland. The company’s mission is o drive sustainability in polymer industry.

About Aquamec Oy

Watermaster is the world’s leading shallow water dredging solution manufactured by Finnish company Aquamec Oy, to which Teknikum supplies dredging hoses that are critical to the success of dredging and the durability and reliability of the equipment.

Aquamec is part of Lännen MCE group of companies. Besides Watermaster the group is known for the brand names Lännen and Lundberg. All these machines are made for demanding applications in environmental restoration, construction and maintenance fields.