English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 5 - 2018 | Page 49

15 QUESTIONS
6  SHOULD THE TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN EUROPE WORK
TOGETHER MORE?
Yes, because working together stimulates innovation. In ESTA we
encourage more cooperation in a wider context between transport
operators, crane hire companies, suppliers and the government.
7  HOW CAN WE KEEP DOWN THE TRANSPORT COSTS FOR
ABNORMAL TRANSPORT IN EUROPE?
Better harmonisation of the regulations in various countries could
significantly reduce transport costs. Wim Richie looked into this
and according to his calculations the savings run into hundreds of
millions of euros.
8  WHY DID YOU BECOME DIRECTOR OF ESTA?
Through my work at ESTA I hope to make the industry safer and
more efficient. In the crane industry we already achieved a great
deal. I will now place more emphasis on the abnormal road transport
sector.
9  HOW CAN WE MAKE FREIGHT TRAFFIC SAFER?
Short answer: better trained drivers. Perhaps there should be a
separate category on the driving licence for driving a large or heavy
goods vehicle.
10  WHAT IMPORTANT TREND OR DEVELOPMENT DO YOU
ENVISAGE FOR THE SPECIAL TRANSPORT SECTOR?
The influence of local politics – throughout Europe – is growing all
the time. With it the number of regulations grows too, for
instance where it concerns environmental zones.
11  WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?
Jan IJmker. The international expansion of Mammoet is
mainly due to him. A great guy.
12  IF YOU COULD CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PROFESSION,
WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
I used to do old-fashioned forging work at school. I wouldn’t
mind doing that. Traditional, beautiful craftsmanship.
13  HOW IMPORTANT ARE FAMILY BUSINESSES
FOR THE SECTOR?
Family businesses are the backbone of the industry.
Not all the decisions are made rationally, but in family
businesses the foundations are laid for many new innovative
developments.
14  WHICH ACHIEVEMENT ARE YOU PROUD OF?
In 2003 I joined Wagenborg. At that time it comprised seven
different companies, each with their own culture. It was my
ambition to turn it into one single company. After five years
of hard work we managed to make it one entity.
15  DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN A FEW WORDS
I love this profession.
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