Miracle cure for condemned levees

As a child, Jos Karsten walked the Markermeer dike. Now he is director of JLD Contracting, an Edam-based SME company working on a so-called "JLD dike stabilizer," a plastic pin that reinforces dikes so that they once again meet safety requirements.
Simulated dike breach
The promises of the dike stabilizer are almost too good to be true, agrees Karsten (49). But so far, all research results from tests in an artificial dike in Purmerend are positive. The stabilizer strengthens a dike on the inside. The pin is inserted within minutes with a small machine and is made of a special type of flexible plastic. Karsten: "A dike must be able to move.
The ultimate test will follow in April, when a dike breach will be simulated. Karsten, who collaborates with knowledge institute Deltares and Antea Group, among others, hopes that his stabilizer will receive a statement at the end of this year from ENW, the institute that draws up the calculation rules for the safety of dikes. With this declaration, water boards will not have to conduct additional research if they want to use the stabilizer
Export plans
Expectations are high. Rijkswaterstaat thinks that in two years 2000 kilometers of dikes will be rejected in a new test. 'If we can do 10% of all Dutch dikes, I will have accomplished a great mission in my life.' Export plans for Europe, Asia and the United States are also ready. Afraid of competition, the entrepreneur is not. Patents should protect the invention, which has been worked on for more than seven years.
Karsten can't wait to start working with real dikes. As an entrepreneur, he keeps his distance from the political discussions about the Markermeer dike. But, he says, "I very much want to do a piece of the dike. It's still my dike.'