In the 1980's, the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) started to dehumidify their equipment to protect it against the degrading effects of humidity. It was already common knowledge that humidity is a key factor in corrosion processes and the growth of mould. But when they realised that also more and more sophisticated (and expensive!) electronics suffer from humidity and was creating a giant increase in maintenance cost, it was time to do something about it.
Starting with Dry Air Protection for equipment in long term storage, soon the jump was made to also protect equipment that was "daily used". A lot of operational equipment still stands on the parking lot at the barracks for more then 85% of the time, suffering from the ambient humidity, especially during the (cooler) nights. Soldiers returning to their equipment in the morning would frequently find puddles of water on the floor of their armoured vehicles, a clear indication that humidity was taking its toll. Then, when starting up electronics systems on board, very often all kinds of system errors would occur which needed repair or other corrective action.
Munters were asked to help design solutions where within one minute vehicles could be hooked up to a Dry Air System (DAS). By simply connecting a flexible hose to an opening in the weapon system, dry air is blown inside the object and the damaging effects of moisture are eliminated. The result has been remarkable: less corrosion, less electronic malfunctions, less repairs, better availability and lower maintenance cost.
One crucial aspect was that the RNLA recognised that the Munters sorption technology was far superior over "refrigerant based" dehumidification. The ability to work under any climatic condition, even below 0° Celsius, with adequate moisture removal capacity, much lower life cycle cost and longer service life are the strong points of this technology.
The RNLA, being very satisfied with the partnership with Munters, asked us to be completely "system responsible", i.e. being fully responsible for the correct functioning of the DAS equipment, incl. all yearly maintenance on all dehumidification equipment and integration of DAS on each new type of vehicle. The RNLA has over 2000 Munters units. The bulk of which delivered almost 20 years ago has received a "mid-life" refurbishment and will see many more years of service, proving that the purchase of Munters was very effective and economic.
Currently, the RNLA is modernising parking areas on many of their barracks. The roof constructions in the parking area will harbour all of the latest vehicle types of the RNLA: Leopard 2A6, Pantzerhouwitser 2000, CV90NL, Fennek, Boxer and other vehicles. Munters are now installing more then 160 M200 dehumidifiers for all these different types of vehicles. A distribution system supplies dry air from each dehumidifier to 5 or 6 vehicles parked under the roof construction. After installation, Munters will support the RNLA with maintenance of the units, inspections and calibration of the sensors used in the control systems.
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