Sanitary facilities of the highest quality

Sanitary facilities are extremely important for camping guests, and having your own private unit is gaining in appreciation. That’s why Laurens Heerdink, owner of Camping De Witte Berg, and his brother-in-law Marco Pikkemaat, SFI’s owner, came up with the idea of developing luxury private sanitary facilities on demand and in accordance with their own ideas and insights. ‘I want the highest quality for my campsite, and we couldn’t find the unit I wanted in the existing market,’ recalls Laurens. ‘So what you can’t buy, you build. We wanted to develop something fine, a spacious unit that’s easy to clean, with a luxurious look and feel, and that is both durable and high-quality. That’s why cooperating with SABA also matches our character well.’

From refrigerated truck to luxury bathroom unit

Marco Pikkemaat developed the units by drawing on his extensive experience in the bodywork and transport sector, based on an insulated superstructure. Just as with refrigerated trucks, he included insulated walls, floors and roof panels. This has the benefit that the SFI units block heat in summer but are also winter-proof. That means they can be used year-round. Again as with refrigerated trucks, the walls are coated on the interior with a smooth white gelcoat that is impact-resistant, has a fine gloss and is easy to clean. The entire interior bonds together in three different colors, making the unit completely watertight from the inside. Marco’s experience in bodywork construction quickly established his preference for using SABA’s products. ‘I really appreciated their advice and putting our heads together on how best we could bond the units together during construction, for a long service life. A perfect collaboration!’ says Marco.

SABA as a sparring partner

The unit adheres together by fitting the panels at the ends, with a groove that is bonded all the way around. The insulated bottom plate is bonded into a fully galvanised steel frame, which is also the foundation of the superstructure. On the outside, walls with polyester corner profiles are bonded with Sabatack® 750. This delivers an elastic bond that ensures a durable union from the moment of installation, protecting against all weather influences during the unit’s long service life. Various seals were achieved with Sabatack® 780, such as the roof glands and roof windows. For the interior, Sabaseal was used to seal everything in the bathroom. ‘A lot of sealant goes into a unit, so it has to be good sealant. It also has to be sustainable, because we want to supply durable units. SABA worked with us on the details, and we looked critically at the drawings together. SABA was a partner in discussing the possibilities and offering advice,’ notes Marco.

The future of SFI Units

The units have been developed with an eye to the future. The luxurious and durable units have been designed to last at least 25 to 30 years. The first 20 SFI private sanitary units have now been installed at Laurens’ 5-star campsite De Witte Berg in Ootmarsum in the east of the Netherlands. SFI Units will sell the private sanitary units to recreation and holiday parks in a range of variants. The first deliveries have occurred, and reactions have been very positive. Units can be supplied as a shell, where the campsite owner still has to carry out some of the work, or as a ready-made product. For more information or if you are interested, please contact SFI Units at info@sfi-nl.eu.