Dutch transport business owner Dirk Veldhuis, who died in 2021, used to say ‘standing still is backward’. His daughter Natasha has taken it to heart. He and co-owner Mario Grote – who joined the company in May 2022, after years in the transport business – run Veldhuis Logistics, which now has 30 permanent trucks and a large pool of charterers. “We just keep on growing and expect this trend to continue this year as well,” begins Natasha.
“Travelling in winter is usually a bit difficult. That’s especially true this year because the weather just won’t break. Still, we can’t complain. The season hasn’t really started, and yet we don’t have any idle trucks.” She cites things like communication as reasons for charters’ growth. “We work very hard for our charters and make sure All is well with us. Same goes for our customers. Whether we need to provide the transport of one pallet or ten loads, almost anything is possible,” explains Natasha.
Veldhuis Logistics focuses primarily on the transport of fruits and vegetables from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, France, Denmark and the United Kingdom. “Since Brexit, transport to England has become much more difficult. Not every driver can enter that country. There is a whole heap of paperwork involved.” However, Veldhuis did not set up any special Brexit department. “The five of us do the administration, so we do it all together,” says Natasha.
“There have been some changes in the transport rates. I think we can still keep the growth fairly contained for our customers. But we had to do something about them, though. Otherwise, you can’t survive.” LNG, electric driving, or hydrogen development are not yet an option for the transportation company. “We had a charter with a large project to run on gas, but high gas prices made made it unprofitable,” Veldhuis says.
There is still a lot of competition in the transportation market. “Recently, a large European service provider launched another operation in Poland. You see that in the market. Nevertheless, we think we can continue to differentiate ourselves. Many companies lack the experience or they are too large and therefore too cumbersome, which means they cannot. work efficiently. Our experience means we know what companies need and we can really lighten them , as we should.”
Attracting drivers remains a challenge. “It is not hard to buy a vehicle, but you must have drivers. We used to have many Ukrainian drivers, but of course, since the war, most have returned to Ukraine. It remains challenging, but we are not complaining. Could. 30 trailers within four years, there’s no reason not to. We’ve stuck to our father’s motto,” concluded Natasha.
for more information:
Natasha Waldhuis
Veldhuis Logistics
32 Mayor de Josselin de Jonglan
3042 NH, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0) 228 752 275
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.veldhuislogistics.com
