English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 3 - 2016 | Page 41
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Trailer Service Zwijndrecht
EXTENSIVE
SERVICE PACKAGE
A new Nooteboom semi-trailer is going to have a tough and demanding
life. During that long life everyone, irrespective of the brand, can call on
Nooteboom for service, repairs, advice or refurbishment. By keeping all
the costs under control during the lifetime of the trailer, Nooteboom can
guarantee the lowest costs per kilometre. Over the past six years Trailer
Service Zwijndrecht has become an important facility in the service
organisation of Nooteboom.
FROM PRODUCTION TO SERVICE
Willem Thijssen (39) is as branch manager responsible for all the service and repairs activities in Zwijndrecht. Willem joined Nooteboom
straightaway after finishing his studies at the MTS technical college
18 years ago. He held various positions within Nooteboom and for a
number of years he was responsible for the production of the OSDS
semi low-loaders. In 2010 he made the career change from production
to service. He was offered the opportunity to start up a new service
centre in the Rotterdam area. With success, because the service facility
in Zwijndrecht has experienced spectacular growth during the past few
years.
WHY ZWIJNDRECHT?
Willem: “In 2010 the decision was made to set up a service branch in the
Rotterdam region. Looking for a suitable location we ended up at Scania
Zwijndrecht, who were about to move to Alblasserdam. Zwijndrecht is
ideal because the location is exactly halfway between Amsterdam and
Antwerp and it is easy to get to from the A16. In this area there are many
large and smaller companies that carry out abnormal transports. The
service facility in Zwijndrecht turned out to be a resounding success.
What started out as a workshop with one single mechanic has grown in
six years into a dynamic business with 9 mechanics, led by team leader
Kees van der Meij. With the latest expansion we now have at our disposal
six service stations and an APK-street with a brake analyser. We intend
to expand the capacity even further. We are actively looking to recruit
more mechanics.”
MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Willem: “Several of our customers want to know the exact costs of
their transport. One way to achieve this is to enter into a maintenance
contract. With the wide variety of vehicles and applications in special
transport it is not easy to offer a standard solution. Our maintenance
contracts are tailor-made and based on a careful analysis of the vehicle’s
utilisation. The maintenance contract gives an insight into the costs in
the coming years without any unpleasant surprises. Several of our customers in the access platform sector are using this service already. In order
to give them the best possible service we have an access platform semi
low-loader at our disposal that they can ‘borrow’.”
PARTS COLLECTION
Willem: “Due to the increase in service activities in Zwijndrecht our
stock of parts is now also much more extensive. There is a daily shuttle
service between Wijchen and Zwijndrecht to keep stocks replenished.
Our customers have the option of collecting the parts in Zwijndrecht.
Ordering in Wijchen and collecting in Zwijndrecht is no problem. For
fleet owners who have their own workshop we sell many parts over
the counter, and we include advice on how to carry out the repairs if
required.”
SALES AND DELIVERY OF NEW TRAILERS
Willem: “As of 1 January 2016 the Zwijndrecht branch has added sales
of the Nooteboom SMART programme to the scope of its activities.
These are mainly OSDS and MCOS 3-axle and 4-axle semi low-loaders
with self-tracking or hydraulically steered axles, as well as ASD drawbar
semi low-loaders. Various vehicles can be delivered