Persbericht
EBM - 2006

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR GOODS

Today, transport and logistics providers have to do much more than just bring goods from one place to another. As flexibility and international delivery “just-in-time” have become standard, the carriers have to convince with comprehensive logistic solutions that provide customers with added value and give them a competitive advantage. Timmermans transport & logistics BV from Diessen in the Netherlands is a traditional family enterprise that over the years has developed from a mere deliverer into an innovative transport and logistics specialist covering the complete logistics chain.

Timmermans runs its own fleet of vehickels

“Transportation is only one part of our logistical approach,” explains Managing Director Henriëtte Timmermans - van Alphen, who took over the business after the death of her husband some years ago.

A strategic partner
“In addition to the transport of the goods we provide distribution, warehousing and value added logistics as well as secondments and declarations and clearances for the customs. We do not see ourselves as a mere carrier, we see ourselves as our customers’ strategic partner.” Altogether, Timmermans runs its own vehicle fleet of 54 lorries of which 40 are big trucks and 14 are estate cars. “We have invested much in our fleet in recent years and have acquired 43 new vehicles,” says Ms Timmermans – van Alphen. “Now, we are able to guarantee state-ofthe- art technology, the highest level of safety and 100% delivery rates.”

Renowned customers
Timmermans is active for companies of all sectors, from industry, trade and commerce. For the Kwantum trade chain, which is one of the biggest retail store chains in the Netherlands with a network of more than 100 shops the company holds storage capacities of 18,000m2 and supplies all its branches nationwide. Other reference customers are the paper and cardboard manufacturers Kappa and FLP, a US-American multi-level marketing group. Timmermans primarily targets retail stores, paper, cardboard and home decoration companies.

A long history
In 2003, Timmermans transport & logistics BV celebrated its 70th anniversary. In its beginnings, the company focused on transports for agricultural companies. Later, the focus shifted into more industrial business fields. Philips and Kappa were the two first big clients of the company. In order to generate more capacities, Timmermans established a second location in Etten-Leur, near Breda, with a storage area of 30,000m2. In 1995, the company started building a production facility in Poland, that commenced working in 1996. “There is much potential for us in Poland,” explains Ms Timmermans - van Alphen. “Today, we have three locations in Poland, of which one is near Warsaw and employs around 120 people there. In the beginning, it was difficult for us to find employees. Therefore, we opened up our own personal agency Axell. First, we only recruited people for our own needs. Later, we also started recruiting for other companies.”

An international outlook
The Netherlands, Benelux, France and Poland are the most important business countries for the company. “We have been one of the first companies of our branch with activities in Poland,” says Ms Timmermans - van Alphen. “In addition to that, we were one of the first companies to be ISO certified.” Today, Timmermans is also HACCP approved. With altogether 130 people on the payroll in the Netherlands of which 60 are drivers, the company generates a solid double-digit turnover. Despite growing competition Ms Timmermans - van Alphen is positive about the future. “We expect much for the future from China. We will see a further significant increase of goods that have to be transported from China to Europe. This is going to open up many new market chances.” In order to consolidate its position in the Netherlands and in Poland, Timmermans is going to widen its customer portfolio, too.