Rotterdam Operations

In operation since 1962, our facility is located in the Botlek area of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is one of the largest open sea access harbors in the world and has direct links into the European canals, truck roads, and rail networks. At this site, we load, store, pack, and deliver industrial borates.
U.S. Borax Rotterdam shipping and packing facility

Site capabilities

Once the Rotterdam site receives borates from our Wilmington port, ships are unloaded using two cranes. The refined borates are transferred to our storage silos using either a conveyor or a dense phase system. Rotterdam handles three refined borate products:

The total storage capacity in silos is approximately 70,000 tons. We can transfer product via trucks, road tankers, railcars, and barges throughout Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East.

Our customer-centric packaging is paramount to our logistics and supply chain commitment. The team at our Rotterdam site places a significant emphasis on accommodating the diverse needs of our customers. One notable aspect of this approach is packaging product in 25kg PE (polyethylene) bags and Big Bags of various weights and configurations, including flat-bottom, safe-release systems, and conical bottoms.

Diverse packaging options from Rotterdam offer benefits to both suppliers and customers:

  • Enhanced product protection: The right packaging choice ensures that products remain intact and undamaged during transit.
  • Efficient handling: Different configurations of Big Bags cater to the specific needs of customers, making loading and unloading operations more efficient.
  • Customer satisfaction: We're a long-term partner and are committed to meeting customer needs.

Multi-skilled team

The employees at Rotterdam are cross-trained for a variety of site jobs. From loading to fork-lift operations to health and safety, members of the team can pick up tasks from each other.

It’s this cohesive workforce that understands what it takes to do the job and do it safely. We’re proud that our Rotterdam team has had 17 years without a lost time incident.

Community

As part of our community engagement in Rotterdam, we have a long-term relationship with Dalton Barendrecht, a local technical high school. Students between 13 and 14 years old receive an annual, real world technical project related to our operations. We focus on topics related to product handling and storage as part of our specific logistics and harbor activities. We also spend time discussing safety, health, environment, quality, and risk control. Our team members provide information and support throughout the project.

In addition, we also support EIC Mainport Rotterdam, an educational information center focused on the Port of Rotterdam. The center organizes excursions and other activities to introduce schoolchildren and university students to the port and the numerous career opportunities the port offers. This helps them better understand which education or professional direction they can choose.

Environmental stewardship

Our facility has become home to a family of kestrels—a species of falcons. These birds breed yearly on site, making their nests atop our silos and facility roofs. As part of our daily operations, we monitor these birds and other wildlife to ensure they can flourish.
 
Technicians at Rotterdam regularly monitor groundwater and dust filters for performance. We also check the soil to ensure our good housekeeping measures are effective.
 
Kestrels at Borax Rotterdam

Building Nests and Taking Flight: Kestrels at Borax Rotterdam

Learn more  ›

Location

Welplaatweg 104
3197KS Rotterdam (Botlek)
Netherlands
Coudekerque Map

U.S. Borax, part of Rio Tinto, is a global leader in the supply and science of borates—naturally-occurring minerals containing boron and other elements. We are 1,000 people serving 650 customers with more than 1,800 delivery locations globally. We supply around 30% of the world’s need for refined borates from our world-class mine in Boron, California, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.  Learn more about Rio Tinto.

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