‘MOVING BOXES WON’T GET YOU FAR, YOU HAVE TO ADD VALUE’

Ewout Riteco (52) and Wilco Keijzer (37) were united by their passion for technology. More precisely, technology for measuring and controlling water and gas quality. Their company is named Qsenz (“the Q stands for quality, Senz for sensors”). They are based on the island of Texel, the largest of the five Dutch Wadden Islands, where both entrepreneurs were born and raised. “Once an islander, always an islander.”

Riteco and Keijzer worked for the water division of a Dutch company that was forced to pull the plug around ten years ago. The bankruptcy was mainly due to the company’s lossmaking petrochemical branch. “The water division, on the other hand, was very profitable”, says Riteco. “We were able to relaunch that, which is how Qsenz was born.” He speaks partly on behalf of his associate, Keijzer, who had to forgo the interview in favour of business pursuits.

The company the two islanders run specializes in supplying, installing and maintaining water and gas analysis equipment. Their sensors measure wastewater, surface water and drinking water streams, among others. “They pretty much replace the laboratory samples of old. The big difference is that you sometimes have to wait several days for lab results, while our sensors can give you a status update within a minute.” In addition to water sensors and analyzers, Qsenz supplies gas analysis and gas detection equipment.

Impressive work

The duo’s business adventure began with the purchase and sale of sensors. ‘Moving boxes’, as Riteco calls it, lasted all of one week. “We quickly learned that you have to add value, and as a newcomer, you have to prove yourself twice over in this market. It takes more than just delivering a sensor. You have to offer a comprehensive solution followed by good service. Bear in mind that the sensors provide data around the clock, and processes are managed according to that data. These sensors cannot be out of commission for days for any reason. You have to respond quickly and effectively.” Qsenz has also profiled itself as a developer since 2022, with the introduction of a clever piece of in-house innovation at Aqua Nederland: ‘the missing link in sludge line optimization’—the SOLiSENZ. The innovative product is the result of a successful collaboration with GMB and Royal HaskoningDHV at the Utrecht wastewater treatment plant. After a year and a half of collaboration and experimentation, the business partners made a breakthrough in the sludge line: a reliable dry matter sensor in the centrate. “We want to market the innovation abroad”, says Riteco. “That’s one of the reasons we joined the Water Alliance.”

Contribution

Riteco says that the appeal of his profession goes beyond working with technology. “What makes it equally fun and interesting is that the work takes you to all sorts of places, both in the Netherlands and abroad. One minute, you are installing monitoring stations around Schiphol Airport or at a dairy factory or beer brewery, and the next, you’re on a UN mission in Mali.

Mali? What were you doing there?

“We delivered systems to measure water flows to utilize the limited water from the local well more efficiently. The availability and quality of drinking water is an important topic. It’s nice to be able to contribute towards solving the problem.