Some productive days in Madrid

Water; our life on earth depends on it. And the scarcity of clean water is one of the most urgent challenges we face as humanity. Combating drought, outdated infrastructure (leaks) and the smarter use of 'big data' was therefore a central theme at the WEX Global , which was held in Madrid from 4 to 6 March. As a 'country partner', the Netherlands stood out with an 'NL-Lounge' at the event and, led by the WaterAlliance, there was a trade mission with 12 Dutch companies. With promising results.

“The WEX Global is truly a great event,” says Juliette Douglas-Overzee , Business Developer of the Water Alliance . She supervised the mission together with Steven van Rossum (Program WTEX10). “Nobody comes here just to be seen; We are working very hard here to forge collaborations in order to meet the challenges beyond today," says Douglas.

The WEX Global means: two to three days packed with plenary sessions, parallel sessions, round table discussions, matchmaking and of course further networking during lunches and dinners. And all this with a group of approximately 200 people from more than 40 different countries, all active within the water sector. An event with great results, according to Douglas.

Inquiries show that Dutch entrepreneurs indeed look back with satisfaction on the event in Madrid. Take Robbert Lodewijks . His company HULO.ai helps water managers to save millions of liters of water by using software to achieve faster detection than was usual. “In the Netherlands, about five percent of the water is lost,” says Lodewijks. “And that's already millions of liters of water. But in England about thirty percent is already leaking and leakage is also a major problem in Southern European countries. We have a solution for that.”

According to the entrepreneur, being present at WEX Global is an absolute necessity for his company. “We look back on it with great satisfaction. Thanks to the NL-Lounge and the guidance of the Water Alliance, we came into contact with people we would otherwise never meet. We made about twenty meaningful contacts in two days time.”

“It was a very successful edition,” says Juliette Douglas in conclusion. “Probably also because various companies attend the event every year. That will now pay off. Coos Wessels from CirTec B.V. , for example, told me that due to the repetitive nature he builds more intensive ties with clients and that the result is that concrete assignments are received or partnerships are created.”

Her words were confirmed by most companies. A large majority indicated that they wanted to be part of the party again next year.

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