- Tankceu

c o n t e n t s
Nr. 4
May 2008
New members, building
bridges and up to Istanbul!
by Henk Hofman
01 Introduction
01 Introduction
02 Internal issues
02 New members
04 Enrique Soravilla
05 Member in the picture
05 Eugène Schnebelen
06 Chemical division
06 Georg Buchner
07 Wauters
09 Samat
10 Meetings
12 Meeting Istanbul
13 Food division
13 Albert Keijzer
15 Tankal
16 FoodTankers
17 Laabs
18 Dekker
19 Meetings
21 Sponsors
21 CleanerGlobe
22 Standfast
23 Colophon
We are pleased and proud
that four new members – all
companies with very high
quality standards - have
recently joined our group:
DUARTE from Portugal,
SAR and RODELLA from
Italy and DE VRIES from
the Netherlands. The fact
that
these
companies
have joined us not only
represents an enrichment
of our organisation, but
also a responsibility for us
all. Many of us have been
members for a very long
time and I am therefore sure
that the new members will
be able to count on their
Tankceu colleagues, and that
the possibilities for mutual
cooperation and assistance
will be seized upon.
As described so characteristically by a journalist in the
German magazine Gefährliche
Ladung (Dangerous Cargo),
Tankceu’s basic principle
was and is “building bridges
in Europe”, and in so doing
obtaining mutual advantages.
It is therefore symbolic that
this year we have chosen
ISTANBUL as the location for
our organisation’s general
meeting, a place that is
known as the bridgehead
between Europe and Asia.
In addition to this symbolism,
Istanbul is also a place that,
logistically speaking, plays
a very important role. Its
importance is certain to
increase in a world where
globalisation can no longer
be stopped. It will therefore
be extremely interesting
to hear more from our two
speakers, one representing
an international hauliers’
organisation
and
one
a director of a logistics
company, about logistics in
Turkey.
We hope to begin to open up
new horizons through this
meeting, a meeting where
practically all of the members
will be represented, which,
once again, is indicative
of their involvement and
commitment.
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i s s u e s
2
tankceunews
Tankceu welcomes 4 new members!
by Henk Hofman
On 1st December 2007 the following companies joined the chemical and food grade divisions, thus helping to strengthen Tankceu’s
position in southern Europe:
TRANSPORTES PAULO DUARTE
SAR TRASPORTI
Ameal (near Lisbon) in Portugal
Ravenna in Italy
Transportes Paulo Duarte (TPD) is a familyowned company, founded in 1946 by the father of the current C.E.O., José Paulo Duarte.
The company’s core business is domestic
and international road transport, in both
food grade and chemical liquids. TPD has
warehousing facilities in Lisbon and the
fleet consists of 400 trucks and 350 semitrailers.
Branch offices are located in Oporto, Pinhão
and Alverca in Portugal, and in Huelva and
Badajoz in Spain.
The company fulfils all quality and safety
standards required to operate in the food
and chemical branches.
SAR Trasporti was founded in 1956. Since
1974 it has been a cooperative grouping
several small owner-driver transport companies. Franco Fogli is the general manager
and takes all the day-to-day practical decisions.
The core business is the domestic road
transport of food grade liquids, together with
the international road transport of chemical
liquids. In addition they also have vehicles
available for container trucking.
SAR’s objective is to develop intermodal
transport and international food activities.
SAR has a cleaning station in Ravenna.
Its fleet consists of 105 trucks and 125 semitrailers, and again, the company meets all
quality and safety standards required to operate in the chemical and food branches.
For further information:
phone : + 351 261 910 509
e-mail : geral@tpduarte.pt
www.transportespauloduarte.pt
(under construction)
For further information:
phone : +39 335 76 53 554
e-mail : fogli.franco@sartrasporti.net
www.sartrasporti.net
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i n t e r n a l
i s s u e s
3
tankceunews
March 2008, the Tankceu chemical division
welcomed an ambitious and ”young” transport company, namely:
Finally, on 1st July 2008, the Tankceu food
grade division will welcome:
RODELLA TRASPORTI
Castel Goffredo (Mantova) in Italy
Rodella Trasporti has operated in the food
grade transport sector since the 1960s.
Since 1989 the company has been managed
by Bruno Rodella, and the fleet has developed to incorporate road and intermodal
equipment for dealing with products that require special handling.
DE VRIES TRANSPORT GROUP
Veendam in the Netherlands
The origins of this company are in Jonker
Veendam (one of Tankceu’s co-founders!),
which was taken over by Vos Logistics. DE
VRIES TRANSPORT GROUP was founded
following a recent management buy-out by
Edwin de Vries, and on 1st March this new
company joined Tankceu.
The C.E.O. is Edwin de Vries.
The company’s core business is domestic
and international road tank (liquid chemicals), silo and general cargo transports.
Other activities include transport by rail,
warehousing and forwarding. The company
has rail terminals in Veendam (NL) and Rostock (D).
The fleet consists of 27 trucks and 48 semitrailers, with 150 units operational in silo
and cargo transport.
For further information:
phone : +31 598 657 242
e-mail: tkeizer@devriestransportgroup.com
www.devriestransportgroup.com
The company’s core business includes domestic road transport in the food and chemical fields, plus the intermodal transport of
food grade and chemical products (traffic
flows are in Western Europe, the Mediterranean and the Gulf area).
A new operating centre, situated in Medole
(Mantova), will open by July 2008, offering
the following services:
• cleaning-station with 2 lanes (food and
non-hazardous products)
• parking area
• warehousing
• comfort facilities and services for
drivers and vehicles
Fleet:
• 32 trucks and lorries
• 25 road tankers for foodstuffs
• 15 road tankers for chemicals
• 20 chassis for tank containers and
swap bodies
• 180 tank containers (24,000 – 35,000 l
capacity).
Main traffic flows are to France, Belgium,
the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland.
For further information:
phone : +39 0376 770167
e-mail: brodella@rodellatrasporti.it
www.rodellatrasporti.it
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i n t e r n a l
i s s u e s
4
tankceunews
2008: A difficult year
by Enrique Soravilla
After a period of high cargo
volumes, signs started to
appear on the horizon as
early as the beginning of
last year that leaner times
were ahead. Unfortunately
this situation has intensified
in the first quarter of the
current year, resulting in a
reduction in work that has
coincided with a phase of
expansion in many transport
companies.
With their high numbers
of loads, our customers
encouraged us to develop our
fleet so that we could carry
out their work. They even
accepted rate increases, and
this stimulated us to increase
our capacity, thinking that
the situation would remain
points. We should also
establish a rates formula
that automatically takes into
account rises in the cost
of fuel, which, according to
predications will continue in
no small measure this year.
Finally, we need to reduce
payment terms to a minimum
and lobby our respective
governments not to add to
our problems by increasingly
levying taxes and applying
Right now, as good business sanctions. The same goes for
people, we have to cope driving bans for ADR goods.
with what we hope will only
be a temporary situation If we make progress on
without losing our heads. all the points that I have
The only way of increasing briefly touched upon here, I
the volume of cargo offered think that we will be able to
to us is to reduce our rates maintain our presence in the
and this, given how inflexible marketplace and look with
our cost base is, could lead confidence to a better future.
to a situation in which the
more work we get, the worse
things become.
the same. Unfortunately,
during this period, fuel,
labour costs and legislation
have all placed an increasing
burden upon us, resulting
in a negative effect on our
turnover and productivity.
Our scope of activity has
also been limited, as these
costs alone represent a large
percentage of our overall
costs.
I believe that the moment
has come to stop accepting
our customers’ regressive
conditions, and to tailor our
offers to more closely reflect
working time legislation,
and to firmly reclaim the
costs incurred from waiting
at loading and unloading
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m e m b e r
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t h e
p i c t u r e
5
tankceunews
Eugène Schnebelen
Blondel - Eugène Schnebelen
Eugène Schnebelen heads
BLONDEL SAS, which is
based in Alsace. He represents the BRUN-INVEST
Group
within
Tankceu’s
chemical division, and he has
already told you a little about
his activities in the region, of
which he is very proud.
Another source of pride for
our friend is his small family
vineyard that is located in the
RANGEN de THANN terroir,
and which holds the “Grand
Cru” classification. Indeed,
Alsace possesses 51 “Grand
Cru” terroirs, and le RANGEN
is one of the most prestigious
in the southern part of the
province.
Notwithstanding
its modest size (20 hectares
in all), the vineyard, with its
95% slopes, is amongst the
steepest. Facing south-south
west, its location is perfect
for viniculture and the stony
soil produces magnificent
grapes.
Cru” appellation. Despite
the strong will to produce
exceptional wines, the difficult growing conditions mean
that production volumes are a
meagre 3,000 litres per hectare.
The history of grape growing
here dates back as far as
the 13th century with the
presence of the nuns of
Basel and the activity was
further developed by the
Habsburgs, who consumed
all of Thann’s famous wine at
court in Vienna.
Eugène
produces
his
wine himself and sells it
to insiders who are lucky
enough to be on his waiting
list… Nevertheless, he invites
you to visit his vineyard one
of these days to taste his
wines and enable him to
share his appreciation of his
beautiful vineyard with you.
Eugène is also President of
THANN’s “Syndicat Viticole”
(Viniculturists’ Association),
which counts some of the
most famous winegrowers in
Alsace among its members.
Since childhood, Eugène has
worked in the approx. 6,000
square foot vineyard during
his leisure time (on Saturdays
and Sundays). This involves a
number of chores including
planting, pruning, binding,
phytosanitary care and harvesting. The grape varieties
grown include RIESLING,
PINOT GRIS and GEWÜRZTRAMINER and only these
varieties carry the “Grand
For him, wine is not a
“hazardous product”, provided
that it is consumed “in
moderation”!
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c h e m i c a l
d i v i d i o n
6
tankceunews
Georg Buchner
company developements
by Armin Buchner
The company was founded
by Georg Buchner in 1963.
Before then he had trained as
a brewer and had then taken
over his parents’ restaurant
and inn. As his children
could not bear the smell of
the restaurant, he bought
himself a truck and initially
drove short-distance trips to
construction sites.
After buying his first tank
truck in 1968 he very quickly
recognised that there was
considerable
potential
in transporting goods to
and from Eastern Europe.
Commercial
relationships
were developed with the
state-run export and import
companies, and we became
familiar with the way that
business was done in these
countries, just as our trucks
and drivers became well
known at the borders.
Today we have 30 tank trucks
predominantly operating to
Eastern and South-Eastern
Europe. We cover many
countries, ranging from
Poland in the north to all
of the former Yugoslavian
countries and even as far
south as Greece and Turkey.
We also have regular runs to
Spain. Over the years we have
built up partnerships with
many businesses, hauliers
and forwarders.
In
2000
we
founded
subsidiaries in Slovenia
and Serbia, and in 2004 in
Slovakia. We now have our
own vehicles stationed in
these locations, and also
have a partnership of many
years standing with the
Albatros Group, a forwarding
company based in Istanbul
that deals with the customs’
formalities for our tankers.
Two years ago we installed an
on-board computer tracking
system designed by Danish
company Comlog into our
trucks. This means that our
planners are able to get on
with the job of planning, safe
in the knowledge that they
can locate our trucks at all
times.
As of May this year we will
commence trucking tank
containers from the terminal
in Nuremberg and additional
tank trucks will come on
stream in April. The company
is continuing to develop!
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7
tankceunews
Wauters Tanktransport
c h e m i c a l
d i v i d i o n
by Geert de Backer
Paul Stuyck
a Wauters “monument”
Nowadays, working for a
single employer for 31 years
is something of a rarity. One
thing is sure - Paul Stuyck
has contributed to making
Wauters
Tanktransport
great. Those who know him
have learnt to appreciate his
passion, cheerfully born his
obstinacy and – above all –
have eagerly benefited from
his knowledge and many
years’ experience in the field
of transport. It has been an
honour and pleasure for me
to know Paul in the last few
months leading up to his
Christoph Rombout
retirement. He loved to tell
stories about nice moments
at
work,
extraordinary
situations and a few “daring”
plans that he put into place
with Pierre Wauters. His
eyes sparkled talking about
these moments. At the end
of December Paul left the
(his) company; Pierre, Paul
and Etienne Wauters threw
a party for him to celebrate
his retirement, which many
of his colleagues attended
to say goodbye. He told me
that he was going to enjoy
life to the utmost. And he is
absolutely right to do so!
Changes in the operations
division
With the retirement of Paul
Stuyck and the long-term
incapacity of Eddy Veldeman,
Wauters Tanktransport has
been obliged to look for
new planners. Frederick
Van Raemdonck (28) and
dispatcher Marc Van Hauwe
(52) have thus joined the team.
They have been employed in
the Road Transport division,
where at this moment they
are doing a great job and
providing excellent support
to the new team leader,
Christoph Rombout. The
previous team leader, Geert
Van Den Abbeele, has become
team leader of Logistics
Services. Recently Jelle
Van Valckenborgh was also
brought in to reinforce the
Intermodal Transport team;
at present he is still a trainee,
and will also spend some
time working in the technical
division in order to gain the
necessary experience. In view
of its recent growth, Wauters
Tanktransport is still looking
for enthusiastic planners.
Marc Van Hauwe
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c h e m i c a l
d i v i s i o n
8
tankceunews
Quality Operations & Driver
vision.
At the end of 2007 Geert De
Backer (39) was recruited
by Wauters Tanktransport
to train both office staff and
drivers. Training courses
covering subjects such as
acrylic acid, MDI/TDI, driving
and rest hours and several
other areas (BBS, on-board
computer etc.) will further
professionalize the quality
of the services that Wauters
provides. For this purpose
Geert trained with Arkema
in St. Avold / France and also
attended the Isopa course in
Brussels.
In addition he also carries
out
general
check-ups
of all aspects related to
safety, including monitoring
ADR-safety
equipment
and explaining its use, and
tracking driving and rest
hours and fuel consumption.
Several awareness-raising
campaigns have also been
launched within Wauters
Tanktransport.
One example is the ‘BE ALERT’
campaign, which proved to
be a big success. Geert is
responsible for guiding new
drivers – domestic as well as
international - and training
and preparing them for the
hard work that is the order of
the day in transport.
Good prospects for Wauters
Tanktransport
Notwithstanding decreasing
buying power worldwide,
a
weak
dollar
and
correspondingly high fuel
prices, plus the competition,
Wauters Tanktransport as a
prominent haulage company
- today more than ever – holds
a strong position in the field
of chemical transport. New
customers, new equipment,
new staff and new systems to
computerize the company’s
processes
will
further
strengthen this position in
the field. The company has
made a large investment in
on-board computers, and
the new IT package is certain
to lead to better customer
service, better control and
assistance for drivers and
improved planning followup. Thanks to this totally
new approach the future
looks very bright for Wauters
Tanktransport.
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c h e m i c a l
d i v i s i o n
9
tankceunews
Samat TIREDNESS
SAFETY campaign
by Eric Locqueneux
Tiredness at the wheel is a leading cause of
accidents in every sector of the population.
This issue goes to the heart of our business;
we are especially aware of it and know that
vigilance is essential. Our company’s latest
tiredness safety campaign is being conducted
in this vein.
Tiredness is a killer
Tiredness is a killer both on and off the
road. Do you know how many catastrophes
there have been in which problems caused
by tiredness were a factor? Chernobyl, the
Challenger space shuttle, the Exxon Valdez
oil slick... contrary to popular opinion, on the
roads in France, and across the population
as a whole, tiredness kills more people than
alcohol. It is responsible for over 20% of
motorway accidents.
The safety contributor relay
This module was presented to instructors
at the company’s annual Safety Seminar.
It covers every aspect of driver tiredness:
general observations, the size of the problem
among drivers, the causes of tiredness,
myths about fighting tiredness, effective
measures, emergency rests, an effective
long-term strategy.
It will also be presented to drivers and other
departments in the group.
To overcome tiredness, it is essential to
recognise it properly and to know yourself
well.
This is an issue where everyone must take
responsibility for themselves. And, if he
needs to, every driver should know that he
can count on his colleagues and superiors.
A warning from the Samat Group
On the strength of these facts, the Samat
Group has always promoted awareness.
A number of campaigns earlier this year
provided an opportunity to emphasise the
issue:
- A poster campaign - deliberately shocking,
it shows how essential it is to rest before
driving.
- Descriptive cards - display this visual and
explain tiredness, the risks associated
with it, its signs, ways of dealing with it etc.
- A training module (text, photos and video).
At the heart of the tiredness training module
Some useful principles
• I know myself and I can recognise the signs of tiredness
• I don’t trust received ideas:
a bit of fresh air or turning
up the radio do not stop
drowsiness.
• I have a healthy lifestyle.
• If I stop to have a rest, I choose
somewhere quiet and safe.
• I make sure that my family
and those around me
respect my rest time.
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c h e m i c a l
d i v i s i o n
10
tankceunews
Tankceu Meetings - Chemical Division
Paris for the planners and Haarlem for the CEOs
by Petra Jongejan
Paris, 10th November 2007
A hotel in the central area
of the Opéra district was
chosen as the base for this
planners’ meeting. With 36
people representing all the
member companies, it was
good to see that the number
of participants at this
meeting clearly exceeded
that of previous meetings.
The special guest that day
was Mr. Alphonse Laffont,
the CEO of SAMAT.
One main item on the agenda
was the interest that several
haulage companies - Rodella,
De Vries, SAR and Paulo
Duarte - have shown in our
organisation. Presentations
were given about each of
these candidate members,
and it was clear that many
of the Tankceu planners
were already familiar with
them. Next, one planner
from each member gave a
PowerPoint
presentation
with updated information
about their fleet, traffic and
developments within the
company. A brochure was
collated containing all of
these presentations and
handed out to the planners.
Henk Hofman told the
planners about the latest
edition of TankceuNews and
the new Tankceu website. A
few minutes were dedicated
to explaining about an article
published in the ECTA home
magazine, in which Mr. Paul
Wauters commented on the
Tankceu case study that
was carried out by Antwerp
University.
This
study
concerned the emergency
system, Tankceu Service Net
or TSN. He underlined the
importance for members of
having access to this kind of
emergency network.
Other recurring items on the
agenda were the exchange of
cargo and capacity between
the members, use of the email system and an update
of the list of subcontractors
that are used most often.
After lunch the participants
were divided in to smaller
groups to discuss items
such as daily cooperation,
experience with electronic
tachometers, working with
foreign drivers and other
issues that they proposed
themselves. The discussions
were lively and there certainly
seemed to be no lack of
subjects.
After the meeting a guide
accompanied our group and
explained about the history
of the buildings we passed on
the way to the Hôtel de Ville:
the Opéra, Les Passages
(historic covered shopping
galleries), the Louvre, and
the Palais Royal. Afterwards
we took the Métro to the Gare
de Lyon, where – by now very
hungry - we arrived at our
restaurant for the evening,
the famous “Train Bleu”. This
impressive building took us
back to the luxurious, Orient
Express-style train travel of
the 19th century, creating that
atmosphere with its frescoes,
chandeliers and leather
seats, and not forgetting
the food, which was truly
“magnifique”!
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c h e m i c a l
d i v i s i o n
11
tankceunews
Haarlem, 5th December 2007 gave a presentation of their
businesses. The members
For their general meeting, were also brought up to date
the CEOs of the chemical about the visit from the Board
division met up in the Carlton of Wekta, a Polish haulage
Square Hotel in Haarlem. company, and the interest in
The evening before they Tankceu of Rodella Trasporti
walked through the beautiful and De Vries Transport
historical centre of Haarlem Group.
to their restaurant for the Another important item on the
evening, which was located agenda was the opportunity
in a restored pawnbroker’s afforded to each member
shop dating back to 1530. company to comment on
The atmosphere was quite the developments that had
special, not to mention taken place in their company
the food, which was really regarding their fleets, staff,
IT and the market.
exquisite.
At the meeting Henk Hofman Henk Hofman reported to
welcomed Franco Foglio of those present about the
SAR Trasporti, and José Paulo planners’ meeting held in
Duarte and Frederico Assis November and showed them
of Transportes Paulo Duarte; the ECTA article about the
both companies joined both Antwerp University case study
the chemical and the food on the Tankceu Service Net
grade divisions of Tankceu (TSN) emergency system. He
on 1st December. They each also told the members about
contacts made with Shieer
and Cleaner Globe. Both of
these companies claim to
reduce fuel consumption
in trucks by adding their
products to the fuel. Henk
Hofman has spoken to
some companies testing the
products, including Dekker,
about their experiences, but
as yet no clear results are
available.
Other guests on this day were
Messrs. Tracy and De Graaf
from Standfast
(www.standfastcorp.com), an
Australian based company
that has developed safety
equipment to prevent staff
from falling from heights
(e.g. from the top of a tank).
They gave an interesting
presentation
and
Mr.
Tracy brought some of the
equipment with him to show
the members how it worked.
Before closing the meeting
Henk Hofman assumed the
role of Saint Nicholas, whose
feast day it was, and handed
a gift out to everyone in the
form of a catalogue for the
Frans Hals Museum, which
was located only a short walk
away from our hotel.
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m e e t i n g
i s t a n b u l
12
tankceunews
Tankceu meeting in Istanbul
by Petra Jongejan
Tankceu’s annual joint meeting will be held
in Istanbul on 23rd May. An early Tankceu
brochure described our organisation as
“cooperation without boundaries”, so for
this meeting we have decided to push the
boundaries! Istanbul, which more than any
other city represents both Europe and Asia,
seemed like the ideal choice, offering a
perfect mix of work and personal interest.
Some important items on the meeting’s
agenda include:
• the possibilities for improving
Tankceu’s coverage in Europe,
• the market,
• the integration of new members,
• developments in the member
companies and
• cooperation in the form of cargo
exchange.
Mr. Kaan Kulga (from Gokbil) and Alper Özel
(of UND, the Turkish international hauliers’
association) have accepted our invitation to
give a presentation to provide us with a better
insight into the Turkish logistics market and
the current situation regarding the transport
of chemical and food grade products by road
tanker and tank container.
A guided excursion to the Princess Islands is
planned for the participants’ partners, after
which, in the evening, we will all go to a special
restaurant to taste the culinary delights of
Istanbul. The next morning a guided walking
tour of the city is planned, during which we
will visit the Topkapi Palace, Aya Sophia, the
Blue Mosque and the underground Cisterna
Basilica. An exciting trip that will very soon
be reality!
The Aya Sofia mosque
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f o o d
d i v i s i o n
13
tankceunews
Albert Keijzer
still on the move
Mr. J. Keijzer with his family
60 years with the company Change of staff
for J. Keijzer!
After a period of more than
nd
January 2
2008 saw a 30 years in our company,
special start to the New Year Mr. Hans Klerk (Financial
for Mr. J. Keijzer. It was this Director) retired on 31st
day 60 years ago that Mr. December 2007. During 2007
Keijzer joined the company Albert Keijzer searched for a
that his father founded in successor, which they found
1920. Initially he worked as in Mr. Peter Brunekreef.
a driver, later as the planner Peter joined the company in
and from 1979 was Managing August 2007 after working
Director of the company.
for almost 6½ years as the
A moment to celebrate with financial manager of a major
his family and staff!
Dutch travel organisation
Congratulations to Mr. Keijzer! (Sudtours). He is responsible
for the financial management
of Albert Keijzer, as well as for
calculating and negotiating
rates for our customers.
Mr. Hans Klerk
Peter Brunekreef (Financial Manager)
In addition, Albert Keijzer
has added a new planner to
the team. Said Arslan started
work with the company on
3rd March 2008. Previously,
Said worked as a planner
for Hegeman Huissen. He
will be responsible for the
planning of our silo and
volume transports in 2008,
together with Henk Buys,
who will retire at the end of
this year.
Henk Buys and Said Arslan
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f o o d
d i v i s i o n
14
tankceunews
IT
After a period of selecting
and testing a few planning
systems, in combination with
new on-board computers
in
our
trucks,
Albert
Keijzer is now switching its
planning to Visual Planner.
This
Groeneveld/Greencat
software programme is
being used more and more
by our planning staff and we
aim to move to paperless
planning within the next few
months. In order to reach
our goal we are installing
new on-board computers in
all of our trucks during this
period so that in the second
half of this year planning of
and communication with
our drivers will be fully
automated.
New dedicated equipment
for Suiker Unie
In December 2007 Albert
Keijzer
succeeded
in
reaching an agreement with
Suiker Unie for the transport
of sugar to its customers in
The Netherlands. Keijzer
was already carrying out
transports for the CSM Sugar
division, a company bought
by Suiker Unie in 2007.
These transports are done
with a dedicated fleet and so
therefore the trucks and silos
are not in the well-known
colours of Albert Keijzer but
in “Suiker Unie Blue”. This
represents a change for us,
but we are delighted to be
one of Suiker Unie’s preferred
business partners.
Office restructuring
Our company isn’t just
concentrating its investment
on the on-road fleet; we are
also taking care of the staff in
our office in Zaandam! Over
the past 6 months the office
has been partly renovated
and refurnished. After a
short break we will continue
and renovate the main office
in which our planning staff
and some of the accounting
staff work. When this project
is finished we can all be
“always on the move” for our
customers.
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tankceunews
Tank-Aliment - Solazo’s food division
by Elena Soravilla
In
2000,
Tank-Aliment
(TANKAL) was founded by
two transport companies,
Transportes Carlos from
Tarragona,
a
specialist
in refrigerated transport,
and the tanker operator
Transportes Solazo, with
each holding a 50% stake in
the new business.
It
was
decided
that
Transportes Carlos would
take care of the day-to-day
management of the company
in order to keep the chemical
and food grade sides of the
operation separate, and for
seven years this is the way in
which the company was run.
After this period and in
consideration of the fact that
the business’ performance
was not as had been expected,
last year the decision was
taken by the shareholders
to allow Solazo to acquire
all of the company’s shares
and to take over operational biggest problem is finding
back loads to Spain from
control.
these destinations. To help
The company’s fleet includes solve this problem, we are
fourteen stainless steel units considering upgrading our
with four compartments each fleet to include the latest
and capacities of around technical equipment, such as
30.000 to 32.000 l. Most of water heating systems and
the trucks are equipped with electric pumps. This would
allow us to make maximum
a compressor.
use of our capacity and also
Since the beginning of this load special products such as
year we have been reviewing chocolate and glucose from
our customer base and routes central Europe to Spain and
with the aim of optimising thus achieve a better balance
the work and looking for of traffic.
new customers for whom
we can transport products We hope that we will be
such as fruit juice or olive oil able to quickly implement
on a regular basis, together Solazo’s standards across the
with other products that are company, after which it will
traditionally produced in our be the right time to increase
our capacity and take steps
region.
towards joining Tankceu Food
At the present time Tankal’s as a real member.
main routes are long distance,
running from Catalonia into
Italy, France, Benelux and
the United Kingdom. The
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f o o d
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tankceunews
News from FoodTankers
by Thomas Petterson
FoodTankers is a Swedishbased transport company,
100% focussed on bulk liquid
food stuffs. FoodTankers
has branch offices in
Poland, Hungary and the
Netherlands. Today the
company
operates
with
110 trucks, 130 trailers
and 10 road trains. All of
the trailers and half of
the trucks are owned by
FoodTankers; the remaining
trucks are operated by longterm subcontractors from
Sweden, Denmark, Estonia,
Latvia, Poland and Hungary.
The company’s own fleet is
mostly operated from the
Polish and Hungarian branch
offices, but planned centrally
in Sweden so that a good
overview can be achieved
and to ensure optimum
productivity. Administration,
such as dealing with
drivers, is done locally, but
order processing, including
invoicing, is centralised.
European marketing is based
in the Netherlands, but most
of the Nordic customers are
handled from Sweden.
Half of the fleet operates in
the Nordic countries and the
other half in Central, Eastern
and Western Europe.
Since
March
2008
FoodTankers
has
been
owned by Imperial Logistics
International GmbH located
in Duisburg, Germany. As a
result of this, FoodTankers
and its Tankceu colleague
Laabs have now become
sister companies with the
intention of intensifying
the collaboration beyond
normal cooperation, whilst
respecting the independence
of both companies.
FoodTankers has a strong
belief in the possibilities
offered by modern IT systems
and is currently involved
in three very interesting
transport related projects:
• The oldest project has
the purpose of instantly
measuring the efficiency of
the planners by showing the
actual profit margin of all
planned routes, separately
or all together. This makes
it possible to post-calculate
profit margins for separate
markets, customers and
even destinations and lines.
• Project number two
concerns more traditional
on-board computers with
GPS positioning, navigation,
performance measurement
and order handling including
messages, all linked to
the office by GPRS and the
internet. Using this system
we will, for example, be able
to control delivery accuracy,
use geo-fencing to avoid
driving extra distances and
will also be warned if there
is a risk of delay, and much
more.
• Project number three is the
most interesting one. The aim
of the project is to optimise
planning by using advanced
mathematical algorithms to
reduce the distance needed
(or cost) to fulfil customers’
demands. In other words,
the planning, which today
is done by the planners,
will in future be done by an
advanced computer system
to allow planners to dedicate
more time to customers and
the really tricky planning
situations.
In this sense our goal is
to make all our processes
as lean as possible and to
focus on existing and new
customers.
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tankceunews
Laabs food department
Staff changes
by Thomas Mollin
Marcel Nowojski
is 24 years old and started
work with us on 02.01.2008.
Prior to this, Marcel was
a planner with Spedition
Löffler.
Direct phone number:
+49 5121 762245
Thorsten Nitsche
is 41 years old and previously
worked for Spedition Eggers
as a tank planner. Thorsten
started work with us on
04.02.2008.
Direct phone number:
+49 5121 762247
Scott Nicholson
is 29 years old and has been
with our company since
03.03.2008 as a planner in
the food grade department.
Scott has been a tanker
driver for 2 years.
Direct phone number:
+49 5121 762249
Brigitte Rosenbaum left the
company of her own volition
as of 31.12.2007.
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tankceunews
Dekker - staff change
by Wim de Vos
As you may already know,
Jan van der Jagt left the
Dekker Group on 1st April this
year. Through this article we
would like to thank Jan for
his efforts and engagement
towards Dekker and Tankceu
and wish him every success
in his future career.
It is up to me to step into his
shoes and, so, by way of an
introduction, here is a little
bit about me: My name is
Wim de Vos, I am 47 years
old, and a married father of
three children.
In my spare time I often play
tennis, go mountain bike
riding (in the polders, where,
by the way, there isn’t a
mountain in sight!) and take
the dog for a walk.
I have worked in the liquid
chemical
transportation
business for almost 20 years.
Some of you might recognise
my name from my previous
jobs working for Van der Laan
Transport and Den Hartogh
Liquid Logistics, when I was
in touch with many hauliers.
Anyway… as of 1st April I have
been working for Dekker
Transport. In the short time
that I have spent with the
firm, I have been introduced
to a dynamic company that
is involved in a number of
different and complementary
activities.Amongotherservices,
warehousing,
processing,
packaging and transporting all
kind of foodstuff products are
the mainstays of economic
activity at the IJsseldijk in
Ouderkerk aan den IJssel.
The company has branch
offices in Dendermonde and
Poland, and is also involved in
a joint project with Maastank
in Rotterdam-Botlek.
For me, all of this is a new
world that I need to become
acquainted with as quickly as
possible.
Fortunately I have plenty of
qualified colleagues available
to advise and assist me.
I also hope to build up a
good
relationship
with
my new colleagues within
Tankceu, because with good
cooperation we can face the
future with confidence.
As I am convinced that
personal contact is the
basis for mutual trust, I
look forward to meeting you
soon!
Wim de Vos
Tel: +31 180 681946
Fax: +31 180 681129
e-mail:
w.devos@dekkergroep.com
www.dekkergroep.com
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tankceunews
Tankceu Meetings - Food Grade Division
Haarlem for the CEOs and Paris for the planners
by Petra Jongejan
Haarlem, 11th March 2008
On the evening before the
meeting the food division
CEOs followed more or
less the same itinerary
as their colleagues did
last December, but ended
up in the Madame Marlie
restaurant which is situated
in Haarlem’s main square.
In the restaurant our group
took over an entire floor with
a beautiful view of the square
and friendly waiters who
served delicious food and
wine, which all made up for
the rain a bit.
Next day during the meeting
Edwin de Vries of De Vries
Transport
Group
was
welcomed as the “newest”
member of the chemical
division,
having
joined
Tankceu on 1st March. He
was given the opportunity to
present the company to his
new colleagues in the food
grade division. In addition,
SAR Trasporti and Paulo
Duarte also presented the
activities of their companies,
after which the current
members
updated
one
another about developments
in their own businesses,
such as changes of staff,
the introduction of on-board
computers and planned
investments in their fleets.
Messrs.
Rodella
and
Romanò of the company
Rodella, which is located
near Mantova in Italy,
came to Haarlem to give
a presentation about their
company and to emphasize
their interest in becoming a
member of Tankceu’s food
grade division. Afterwards
the members unanimously
voted in favour of Rodella’s
candidature.
Messrs. Tracy and De
Graaf of Standfast (www.
standfastcorp.com) returned
to give their presentation
again and Mr. Tracy again
demonstrated how their
equipment, which is designed
to prevent people from falling
from heights, works.
At the end of the meeting
Saint Nicholas made a late
comeback and presented the
participants at this meeting
with a Frans Hals book too.
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tankceunews
Paris, 29th March 2008
Enthusiasm for the meeting
was also high in the food grade
division, with, again, more
planners than ever before
taking part. The agenda
covered many items that also
appeared in the chemical
division planners’ meeting,
such as exchanges of cargo
and capacity, use of the email system and an update
of the list of subcontractors
that are used most often by
the members. In addition,
each company, including
our new members, SAR
and Duarte, gave an update
about their traffic, fleets
and other developments. A
brochure summarising all
of these updates was made
and distributed among the
participants.
Henk Hofman introduced
the Rodella Company, which
will join the Tankceu food
grade division on 1st July and
provided the members with
some basic and practical
details about them. After
lunch the participants were
once again divided in to
smaller groups to discuss
daily cooperation, experience
with electronic tachometers
and other issues of interest.
The advantage of talking in
smaller groups was obvious,
as everybody was able to
participate and no one was
left out of the discussions.
A recurring comment was
that the increased trust and
a sense of belonging to one
“family” that has built up over
the last few years has led to
more openness towards one
another.
After the meeting a guide took
us from our hotel, which was
just across from the Folies
Bergère, to the splendid
Marais quarter, pointing out
lots of interesting details on
the way. After the success of
Le Train Bleu in November
last year, what else could we
do but take the food grade
division planners to this
impressive monument of
railway history and good food
too?
f o o d
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s p o n s o r
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tankceunews
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18-02-2008
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s p o n s o r
22
cboxcom.eu
tankceunews
Get home safely
TRAM is a total new and innovative safety system preventing truck drivers from falls when working at height on trailers, containers and sites.
By providing a secure handhold and a strong anchor point, the TRAM ensures that the user is safe under all circumstances while he can still
freely move and execute his job properly. Are you as concerned about the safety of your people as we are? Contact David Eltherington or
John de Graaf for a free TRAM demonstration or visit our website www.standfastcorp.eu - The best way to get home safely.
Belasis Hall Technology Park I Billingham TS23 4AE I United Kingdom I Ph: +44(0) 113 8155507 I de@standfastcorp.com
Concordiaweg 149-151 I PO BOX 2047 I 4200 BA Gorinchem I The Netherlands I Ph: +31(0) 183 645 005 I jdg@standfastcorp.com
Adv. a4 standfast.indd 1
09-05-2008 09:06:07
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c o l o p h o n
23
tankceunews
Colophon
Editorial team
General Editor:
Henk Hofman, Tel.: +31 10 218 48 79, hofman@tankceu.com
Editorial Secretary:
Petra Jongejan, Tel.: +31 10 418 05 22, tankceu@tankceu.com
With thanks to
CleanerGlobe/We want less and Standfast
Production
Buro Solo Rotterdam (NL)
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