'Specialized across Europe'

Neele-Vat Transport has traditionally been known as the Germany specialist of greater Rotterdam, but now runs its own scheduled services to almost every country in Europe. 'We have built up a wonderful European network and we employ specialists for all regions,' says director Peter Vinke. 'They speak the language of the destination country, which is a big advantage in many markets, and know exactly where you can or cannot get to with a particular vehicle. That concept has proved successful because in seven years our turnover has more than doubled.'

Neele-Vat, a family-owned company, is an all-round logistics service provider with over 900 employees and its own offices in England, Scotland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Moscow, Romania, and Finland. The transport division, which employs some 200 colleagues, has a growing turnover that runs toward 200 million euros. The transport division also includes the activities of UK specialist Mammoet Ferry Service and France specialist Oostvogels Hazeldonk.

Neele-Vat Neele-Vat operates as an “asset-light” organization. Vinke: “We have 75 trucks and over 500 trailers on our balance sheet, but we also work with a permanent group of approximately 260 contracted drivers. They are fully scheduled and managed by . They are also connected to us via telematics.” The group handles approximately 8,000 shipments per week, focusing on groupage, LTL, and full loads. “Germany remains our largest market, accounting for 18% of our volume, but our services to France, the Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe, in particular, are also developing exceptionally well.”

Port

The transport division of Neele-Vat was once founded with the Port of Rotterdam in mind, 'Port logistics is still very important to us; says Vinke, who further emphasizes above all the neutrality of the company. 'We enjoy working for our colleagues in the port and logistics industry and continue to see that as our core business. After all, transport to and from the port is a different business than normal distribution transport. Think of all the paperwork involved or the pressure of closing containers. Partly because of this focus on the port, Neele-Vat Transport works a lot for Rotterdam freight forwarders. 'But our customers are increasingly coming from all over the Netherlands,' Vinke emphasizes.

In recent years, Neele-Vat Transport has focused on the development of intermodal transport, aiming at the same time to offer CO2 reduction and cost-efficient services. Shortsea services to Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Russia are proving successful. Vinke: "Furthermore, we want to expand our position on the railroads. We have daily train services to Italy, but we are also looking at other markets. To further strengthen the intermodal position, we want to build a cross-dock operation on the RST terminal site. The big advantage is that it will allow us to transfer cargo into containers very efficiently. The crossdock center should be ready sometime in 2023 and will be an intersection of road, rail and water.

Brexit

The Brexit is a litmus test for many transport companies, and it is no different for Neele-Vat Transport. 'The Brexit gave and gives enormous pressure on our UK departments - at Mammoet Ferry Transport and Neele-Vat about 75 people work in the UK market,' says Vinke. 'We were and are fully prepared for the Brexit. Our systems are linked with all Port Community systems and our English agent. As a result, all customer information is available throughout the chain. That customs formalities, especially for recipients in the United Kingdom, still often go wrong is 'painful,' says Vinke. 'Despite the efforts made to inform customers about the new processes and formalities, you see that the chain is not prepared.' Still, Neele-Vat is convinced that it can continue to provide a good solution for UK transport. 'That will soon be done by specialists and become less of a commodity as it was before.'

Vinke sees a second challenge in the EU's mobility package. The new rules on driving and rest periods and cabotage, among other things, are designed to combat unfair competition while protecting drivers from social dumping. 'These are goals you can only endorse,' says Vinke. 'Really disruptive,' he says, will be the return obligation, every six weeks, of trucks to the country of registration. Carriers will accept return cargo at any price in order not to have to drive back empty, with all its CO2 emissions. This way, moreover, they will compete with intermodal transport.'

Visibility

A key challenge for 2021 will continue to be building transport visibility. 'Customers want real-time visibility and to know where the cargo is at any time,' says Vinke. 'But that is very complex. We work with hundreds of carriers and hundreds of different telematics providers. Linking all those systems means a huge efficiency gain, but we're going for that in the coming months.'

Neele-Vat has the ambition to grow further, for example through acquisitions of transporters and forwarders that fit the company's core values. In 2019, Neele-Vat Transport acquired Oostvogels, a family business specializing in distribution and warehousing. Mammoet Ferry Transport followed in 2020. Vinke: "We look for ways to thicken flows in the sweetspots of the market. We are looking for companies that fit with us, so we can strengthen ourselves in areas where we are already strong.'

source: https://www.nieuwsbladtransport.nl/