English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 5 - 2018 | Page 25
TRANSPORT SEGMENTS
IS MAINTENANCE CARRIED OUT IN-HOUSE?
Erwin: “We take care of the minor maintenance procedures ourselves,
such as changing tyres, greasing and changing the oil. For the rest of the
maintenance and repairs we go to the supplier. There will be more space
for maintenance in the new building, but we are transport operators
first. We are happy to leave the maintenance of our specialised fleet to
mechanics who know the vehicles inside and out.”
COMPETITION FROM OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES?
Erwin: “Hardly any. The competition doesn’t come from Eastern Europe
and not even from the Netherlands or France. The only colleagues who
transport access platforms are small businesses and self-employed driv-
ers. A handful of these self-employed drivers drive for us.”
ALL EXEPTIONAL IS A FAMILY BUSINESS
Erwin: “All Exeptional is a family business twice over. My two brothers
and my sister have different positions within the company - as has
Kristof ’s brother. But perhaps more importantly: we can count on all
our employees. Their commitment, flexibility and service are what
‘All Exeptional’ stands for. Our company culture is characterised by a
no-nonsense mentality, no blah blah blah but work hard.”
PLANS FOR THE COMING YEARS?
Erwin: “We have plenty to go on with just now. First of all we have to
complete the move to our new premises. We have much more space
there. More office space, more storage space, more space for mainte-
nance and better parking for the vehicles in our fleet. First we are going
to convert part of the building. Then we are going to replace a number
of trailers and expand our heavy vehicle fleet. All Exeptional will experi-
ence many changes this year.”
Only 50% of the abnormal transport business can be learned. The other
half is passion for the profession. Erwin and Kristof have this passion
for abnormal transport in spades. In addition to working in the office
they regularly hit the road themselves, to help with heavy loads and they
also do the escorting.” ■
WORKING AT HEIGHT
Working at height is considered to be one of the most dangerous
kinds of work. Due to the introduction of clear legislation,
working at height has become much safer in recent years. In 2001
the European Directive 2001/45/EG came into force, aimed at
minimising the number of accidents when using ladders, steps
and scaffolding. Subsequently the directive was included in the
legislation of several EU member states. In practice the directive
means that only for very small jobs a ladder may be used. In all
other cases scaffolding or an access platform must be used.
THE WORLD MARKET
Worldwide almost 90,000 access platforms were sold in 2016.
More than 42 % of these are scissor lifts and other types,
including hydraulic telescopic lifts, come to 58% of the market.
Internationally access platforms are referred to as AWPs
(acronym for Aerial Work Platform). The currently favourable
economic outlook will further increase the sales of AWPs.
Between 2016 and 2026 worldwide sales are expected to rise by
approx. 6.5 %.
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