If you are someone with an eye for abnormal road transport in Europe, then you should know Nooteboom Trailers, the front-runner in the field in the European market offering solutions for transport of goods with payloads from 20 up to 140 tonnes. One of the most innovative and efficient transport solution providers with an excellent price/quality ratio, Nooteboom has an answer to virtually any transport problem that customers bring to its table, which has seen it bag the tag of ‘Trendsetters in Trailers’.
We find out more about the company and its plans for developing markets like India from Mr. Johan Nieuwenhuis, Export Manager, Nooteboom, after an extensive interaction with him.
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To begin with, please take us through Nooteboom’s history and your growth since inception.
Nooteboom Trailers was founded in 1881, so almost 135 years in the field. We started in special transport around 1953 and have become a leading European company in trailers for special transport and heavy haulage. We have an excellent reputation with respect to major innovations in special transport trailers and are well known for the high quality of our products and services.
Nooteboom has been a renowned brand when it comes to trailers and semi-trailers. Could you share details about the complete product range you offer?
We offer trailers for special transport up to 180 tons payload. We experts in special transport for driving on normal roads with speeds of 80 km/hour. Our product range covers semi low-loaders, low-loaders, telescopic flatbed trailers and specialized trailers. The most important segments in which our trailers are used are wind energy, construction (road), access platforms, boats, crane-loaded goods, crane, steel/concrete sector, etc.
What advantages does Nooteboom offer when it comes to hydraulic trailers and semi-trailers? Why do customers prefer your products over others available in the market?
Nooteboom enjoys high reputation and is well known for its very high quality product and service. Nooteboom is also responsible for the most important innovations in the market for special transport. Some examples in the last decade are the SWC Super Wing Carrier, MWT Mega Windmill Transport, EURO-PX lowloaders and the MULTI-PX semi-lowloaders. Nooteboom trailers are also very popular in the second-hand market where they fetch the highest prices. This is due to our quality and functionality.
Where are your trailers produced? Would you be able to share details on your manufacturing capacity. How many trailers did you build in 2014?
All our trailers are manufactured at our headquarters at Wijchen, Holland. As for the number of trailers we produce, we do not share this information as it is confidential for our company. Besides new trailers, we are also one of the biggest suppliers of second-hand trailers which we ship worldwide.
What are your plans for the Indian market and your views about developing markets like India which are increasingly adopting advanced products and transportation techniques like yours?
Nooteboom sells trailers worldwide with the main focus on the European market. So if we have chances to sell our trailers in India we do, but normally we are then focused on the bigger companies. For the coming years our policy will not change. But for some sectors we see very good possibilities for our trailers in India as, for instance, for projects relating to the wind energy sector. We see that also in other continents that we have there a very strong position. An example of that was a many million contract for the delivery of all kinds of trailers to ALE for windmill projects in South Africa.
How is your focus when it comes to technology and R&D? Do you have any interesting new developments to share?
For Nooteboom R&D and innovation is one of the most important aspects to be successful in trailers for special transport and heavy haulage. Nooteboom invests a lot of time and money in this to stay ahead of the competition. At the end of this year on the RAI show Amsterdam we will launch a breaking news innovation. We keep it a secret till October, and then we will spread the news. We have learned from the past that many of our innovations have been copied or tried to be copied. So we will keep it a secret as long as possible.
How is the current market trend in Europe? Are you increasingly focusing on the non-European market for growth? What are your major plans for the current year and which are your focus markets for the future?
With our program of new and used trailers we are a company with worldwide operations. Our main focus will stay the European market because there we see the best opportunities for our company. But we always keep our eyes open to see which continents and countries outside Europe will have much potential. And if India will develop this way, we will for sure intensify our activities in the country.
