Can you imagine? Diving center De Beldert started in 1996 on the lake of the same name in a cowshed of 5 by 8 meters with a loft where the compressor was located, and a loft with rental materials. And if you look now, it is a modern full-service dive center with all the facilities and conveniences that come with it!

Gerard van der Heijden can still remember the cowshed at the old farm that he bought in 1996. Trading was already in his blood then and he knew all too well what it was like to work in a dive shop – his father also owned a dive shop. But the entrepreneur has not stood still. Anyone who has been diving for a while knows that there are the necessary steps between the cowshed and the current center. Also with regard to the diving lake. “When we came here,” says Gerard, “it was a sand quarry with beautiful aquatic plants. We lowered the wall slightly and placed a platform – then that was an old pallet.”

That's different now! In recent years he has built a completely new building with a large shopping area and the necessary facilities for divers, such as toilets (clean!) and a changing room under a canopy. There are two diving jetties: a large new jetty for recreational divers, and a separate jetty for technical divers who 'need more time'. At the bottom of the recreational lake are platforms (ideal for training) and there are an airplane cockpit (placed by diving club Gagnan), a cutter, a sailboat, a car and more. The lake is suitable for divers, whatever level they are and what kind of dives they do.

Gerard does not sit still… he is always looking for opportunities. He sells diving equipment from the major brands, but also imports and distributes a number of brands himself, such as Artic, Problue, DTD, Kwark and Dive Pro. He also has a large presence on the internet with the web shops techduikshop.nl, scubaduikshop.nl and divelampen.nl.

In 2020, Diving Center De Beldert will be back at Duikvaker after a few years of absence. Not without reason, says Gerard: “We simply have beautiful products for good prices. The Kwark undersuits, for example, which are not inferior to major brands in terms of quality, and the Artic dry suits – for less than 1300 euros you can already have a tailor-made dry suit.” At Duikvaker, he can reach an even larger group of divers with these products than he already does in his diving center.

Gerard is proud of Diving Center De Beldert: “We are really a diving center for every diver, technical and recreational, and also for snorkelers. With us you will find a large range with a good price/quality ratio and, last but not least, a large stock.” Thanks to its central location near Tiel, divers from all over the country know where to find De Beldert.

Would you like to take a look yourself – under water or in the shop? Check the opening times for the store and for the diving lake at www.beldert.nl.