Logistics service provider Van den Bosch will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary in October 2024. The Erp-based transport company was founded in 1964 by Ad van den Bosch. Starting off with just a single truck, he laid the foundations for today’s organisation. Six decades later, Van den Bosch has grown into a world player in intermodal bulk logistics, with branches in Europe, Africa and beyond.
With just one truck, the 27-year-old Ad van den Bosch started his own business on Hoogstraat road in Erp in 1964. At the wheel of this Volvo Titan, he drove to Rotterdam every day to collect flour for the bakers in Brabant. More trucks and the first employees soon followed. The variety of loads also continued to increase. In 1971, the company opened an office and garage on Hoogven road in Erp, where Van den Bosch is still located today.
Road, water and rail
“There was no clear strategy in the early years, yet the company grew rapidly”, says Peter van den Bosch, who took over the CEO role from his father in 1998. “My father seized every job opportunity and grew the business alongside those of his customers.” From the late 1980s onwards, the focus shifted increasingly to bulk logistics. This specialism took off in earnest at the turn of the century. “Since 2007, we have focused entirely on intermodal bulk logistics, always searching for the best combination of road, water and rail,” Van den Bosch continues. “In 2011, we transported more intermodally than by road for the first time. Our fleet now numbers over six thousand containers, and 95 per cent of our shipments are intermodal.”
Leading the way
In October 2024, Van den Bosch will be exactly sixty years old. CEO Rico Daandels is proud of this special milestone. “The way we have developed over the years reflect our continuous drive to stay ahead in a changing world. Van den Bosch has grown through our shared passion for logistics, our ambition and our innovative strength. And it is precisely these core values, so typical of Ad and Peter, that I still see every day. They are embedded in everything we do and make us who we are today: The Supply Changer in Bulk. I am proud to have been part of this for almost twenty years.”
Intermodal dry bulk logistics
This logistics service provider is not letting its sixtieth anniversary pass by unnoticed. In addition to inviting business associates and employees to an evening celebration, Van den Bosch is opening its own museum on 4 October at Bussele 30 in Erp. Here, the rich history of the company will come to life: from the pioneering early years to bulk logistics as a core activity and intermodal growth. A jubilee magazine about sixty years of Van den Bosch will also be published in October. Daandels concludes, “We are proud of our history. That’s why we will be taking a good look back over the past six decades in the museum and magazine. We will be doing this together with the people who have contributed to our journey. After all, you don’t just turn sixty years old overnight.”
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