IMPACD Boats is producing boats, but really, the entire business has been set up to address the waste problem to ultimately enable recycling at the end of a product’s lifecycle. “We have so many raw materials around the world that we call waste, which is really unnecessary because we can simply reuse them,” Marieke under scores the importance of their efforts.
And thus, in an effort to advance overall sustainability, IMPACD Boats is setting the right example by 3D printing boats from recycled materials, followed by a sustainable construction process. “We are actually a shipyard that uses 3D printing technology to manufacture its boats. Normally, this is done in a much more traditional way: with molds, even some handwork, and materials like wood, polyester, and aluminum,” she says.
“We use recycled plastic waste instead, the type that you would find on your kitchen counter. We heat it and then print it into boats. We then finish them completely, keeping innovation and sustainability top of mind until the end, including for example sustainable fabrics and recyclable floors,” she describes their production process.
Up front
“There is almost no waste within the production process either,” she adds. “What bothered us about the boating industry: when we buy a refrigerator or freezer, we pay a disposal fee, which we think is perfectly normal because it has to be recycled. But then we buy a boat, which is eight times as big, and we have no plan for how to dispose of it at the end of its use. It has to be incinerated or buried somewhere in Asia. That's not right: we need to organize things up front so that it can be recycled in the end.”
To take their mission to the next level, they have now taken on the challenge of bringing to life an innovation center that will target the boating industry as a whole. Marieke: “At our 8,000m² location, we are building the new IMPACD Centre, with in-house production and innovation processes where we work together with partners on 3D-printedboats and circular production solutions for the maritime sector as a whole.”
“We only have one world. The world doesn't need us so much, but we need nature and everything else to stay healthy. If we all took better care of the world, we would be much happier and healthier. It’s a missed opportunity that many people don't realize that you can really make a difference in small ways,” she emphasizes.
The same motions
IMPACD Boats participated in the 2022 BeStart program when they were only in their first year and had only just become operational. Marieke: “It turned out to be a great time for us to get started. When you run your own startup, you naturally have to do everything with your own small team, which is not necessarily strategically oriented. BeStart helped a lot with that by guiding us through our first steps. It was great to get to know all those people and get help with the things we encountered in the early stages. For us, it turned out the be the right program at the right time.”
It also helped thei refforts to be surrounded by other likeminded starting entrepreneurs. “Being closely connected to ten other starting companies, who are on the same path, helped us to take a critical look at our own plans and operations. There is so much going on in a startup company, so it was very useful to realize that we were all going through more or less the same motions and learn from each other vicariously,” she says. “Being part of BeStart really helped us.”
Serious commitment
“When you join BeStart, you know that you will be working on your business rather than in it, ”she emphasizes that value that the program brought to their business. “You will make a serious commitment and choose to make time to focus on the bigger picture. It allows you to put the issues of the day on hold for a moment, which really helps you to move forward. Once you’ve done that, it’s far easier to pick up speed because you have a far clearer picture of where you’re actually heading.”
“To us, it feels really good to be working on our mission that has proven to be far bigger than just the boats that we produce,” Marieke underlines the wider relevance of their work. “I think it's very important that what you do is more than just a commercial venture. The big difference is that it contributes to the world,that it's good for people, for the world, for raw materials. That's what drives us.”
