Interview of Arie Hiddingh, GALJOEN - in the Netherlands Industrial Property Office
22 november 2004
Arie Hiddingh
- Function
entrepreneur and inventor - Most important innovative development
fire-resistant survival suit - Motivation in his job
safety - On innovation in the Netherlands
innovation is not the same as job creation - Wish for NIPO
more support to start-up businesses by NIPO
Save Lives, then extinguish fires
"I have thirty years' experience of diving, developing from diver to diving instructor. My last job was as chief instructor at the navy's diving and demolition school. A request from the Enkhuizen fire service prompted me to look for a fire-resistant survival suit. From the moment they board a burning ship from a fire-float, the firefighters have to wear survival suits. This is because of the water temperature. On average, the water temperature is below 15°C. If you fall in the water wearing just your ordinary clothes, you only have ten minutes to live (depending on factors such as personal attributes, fitness and subcutaneous fat). Of course, when firefighters arrive at a burning ship they want to save people as fast as possible without having to get changed first into fireproof clothing."
Existing Material, New Application
"I set out to find whether there was a fire-resistant survival suit available anywhere in the world. I could not find anything, so I looked further to see what has been developed in this field. That is how I came across Nomex Goretex Polyglal, a trilaminate. This is a very thin material that is fire-resistant on the outside. This formed the basis for the development of the fire-resistant survival suit. What I did was to combine the different applications. It is an innovation; the material already existed, but the application is entirely new. It has attracted a great deal of interest. This includes interest from abroad, but for the time being I am staving this off. Because if I want to take my invention abroad, I will need sufficient financial resources to do so."
Safety, Water and Fire
"As a diver, I have always been brought up to consider safety. It really annoys me when people venture out in the early part of the year in a small sailboat, wearing clothing that is totally inadequate for personal safety simply because they will not shell out for something better. People underestimate the danger of hypothermia, and yet that is the main killer when accidents happen at sea or anywhere on water. Safety is my motivation. I have tested the suit myself, as you would expect of a diver. I jumped into the water from a height of five metres to see how the survival suit performed.
I commissioned a 'notified body' to do the fire test. Under the auspices of the Port Authority, we visited a ship on which they can increase the heat. Wearing the suit, somebody went below; the temperature on board was 245°C. The fire-resistant survival suit is of the same standard as a firefighter's suit.
Innovation, Subsidy and Employment
"A student doing work experience carried out market research for me, checked the patent literature and looked for possible subsidies for innovation. The application was rejected the first time, but the second application is being processed now. I also made enquiries with the Ministry of Economic Affairs because they want to keep as much technical expertise as possible 'in house'. However, I have had no response from them, in terms of support, for this project. What I miss most, as an entrepreneur wishing to start a business, is financial support for a good idea. The company that manufactures my suits wanted to relocate the entire production to Poland. I was not happy with that idea, and would not agree to it. Now I have taken full control of production. Of course, this means additional investment."
Wish for the NIPO
"A good strategy is what I would wish for the NIPO. More support is needed, especially for budding entrepreneurs who want to apply for a patent and do not know exactly how to go about things. Also, I wish that the NIPO would show you how to spread the financial risk."
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