The biggest car park provider in Belgium – and one of the largest in Europe – now relies on a British invention to clear up floods, leaks and spills.
Interparking has 70 car parks in Belgium – man of them multi-storeys – providing 42,777 spaces.
The Belgium Government now insists that car park companies have something to absorb anything that gets onto the car park surface. This can range from floodwater through to fuel.
The company now has 400 FloodSax sandless sandbags which it is distributing to its car parks around the country. FloodSax’s Belgian representative Adel Oueslati said: “I did a demonstration which showed just how effective FloodSax can be in halting floodwater and absorbing leaks and spills and the company decided this was the way forward to make sure they abided by the legislation.” Interparking has received 161 European Standard Parking Awards and its car parks are usually at the heart of public transport networks. It also has car parks in many other European countries including Germany, Spain, Austria, France, Italy and the Netherlands. FloodSax resemble large pillowcases and are lightweight, weighing just 200 grams (7 ounces) before they come into contact with water. They will then absorb leaks and spills, simply soaking them up.
If they need to be used as ‘sandless sandbags’ then add water to them and the gelling polymer inside transforms them into ‘sandbags’ weighing 20 kilos (44lbs). They are then tough enough to stop torrential floodwater getting into homes and businesses.