DOLRE guardrails, a Walloon innovation exported around the world

Based in Farciennes, Desami has developed innovative guardrails for bridges. This Walloon innovation, developed with the help of the MecaTech cluster, quickly won over customers all over the world.

Did you know? The Walloon company Desami has developed innovative guardrails for engineering structures. An innovation that has won over customers all over the world, as far afield as Australia.

“Desami works in the metal guardrail sector along roads. Our business consists in developing innovative solutions. We then manage production and marketing. On the Belgian and French markets, we also take care of installation”, says David De Saedeleer, director of the holding company that groups Desami Belgium and Desami France, who welcomes us to his company's site in Farciennes.

In 2016, with the help of the MecaTech competitiveness cluster, Desami set out to develop innovative guardrails to equip bridges, known in the jargon as “structures d'art”, to current safety standards but at a lower cost. This is how the DOLRE project came into being.

“We realized that on existing bridges, old structures have to be reinforced to accommodate modern guardrails that meet today's safety standards. For example, reinforcement will cost 1,000 euros per metre, whereas the guardrail costs 200 euros per metre. So we need to invest 1,200 euros per metre. Our challenge was to develop a product that would transmit less stress to existing structures, while reinforcing safety standards. This inevitably means that the product is more complex, more technical and more expensive. But in the end, if the product costs twice as much, it will cost 400 euros. We save the 1000 euros of reinforcement, and the customer will pay 400 euros instead of 1200 euros. At that point, it becomes interesting for everyone. So we've been able to develop a technically advanced product,” sums up David De Saedeleer. On DOLRE guardrails, Desami has also added an aesthetic dimension that appeals to customers, while maintaining the safety standards required to restrain both cars and trucks.

Australia conquered

DOLRE's slides were an instant success. “We hadn't even finished the first development project when we were already marketing the product. Our initial target was France and Belgium. I had already mastered both markets. And that was fine, because there are a lot of roads and a lot of bridges. In the end, the project quickly caught on thanks to its overall performance, and installers from other countries came to see us. That's how we made our first contact with the Australians. At first, I didn't give them much thought. Australia's a long way away.  Then one day, the Australians arrived in Farciennes. We quickly realized that we understood each other's technical and commercial logic. So I agreed to go to Australia. It was great to see that the 'good ideas' we'd developed in our 'little Walloon region' were catching on on the other side of the world”, says David De Saedeleer.

DOLRE guardrails are installed in Sydney and Tasmania. Following this success, the Gulf States began to show an interest in Walloon innovation. “We received an order for three structures in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It's for King Salman Park, which is being built by King Salman. For this project, we're going for an excessively aesthetic look, with the addition of stainless steel mesh, LEDs, wood cladding... There's a high-end notion and an exciting challenge to be met,” explains David De Saedeleer.

Alongside these emblematic projects, DOLRE guardrails can also be seen in Wallonia, France, England and Italy. “In Puglia, we had a reference project on a historic structure. For the first time, we added LED lighting. It's not just for show. The aim of LED lighting is to provide operational illumination of the road and eliminate the need for light poles. This is very interesting from a road safety point of view, since by removing the pole, you eliminate an obstacle.”

Since the first variant of the DOLRE guardrail, the product has been under constant development. “Depending on customer needs, we develop the range and adapt the product,” he explains.

While Desami develops and markets the product, the slides are manufactured by a subcontractor. “The question came up. In the end, we decided that steel processing in the broadest sense of the term is a business managed by other companies that exist in Wallonia. In 2018, a major steel processor decided to leave the Walloon region. And there were quite a few subcontractors who found themselves with skills and machines but lacking work. It would have made no sense to invest in machinery and warehousing when all these things existed nearby,” sums up David De Saedeleer.

Although Desami's aim was to expand in Belgium and France, exports of guardrails now account for 50% of the company's sales.

Isabelle Anneet (AWEX)