Nouwens Transport from Breda specialises in pharma deliveries
Service
Reliable deliveries of pharmaceuticals throughout Europe are the specialty of Nouwens Transport in Breda. A headache for the customers? Not a chance! Within their own company the Dutch ensure “pain-free” processes not least thanks to the MercedesServiceCard.
Eye-catching. Nouwens scores today with top-performing fleet and prestigious headquarters.
The USB stick with the presentation of Nouwens Transport is hidden inside a blue-and-white capsule. As a giveaway for their customers, the Dutch have arranged for the associated medicine boxes to be manufactured and also printed in their two corporate colours. There’s no question that at Nouwens Transport from Breda in the country’s south, there is much ado about pharmaceuticals and health care.
Just over five years ago, the company that was established in 1997 with just a single van acquired its first international customer in this industry sector. A half-dozen more major players have joined since then, according to Quality & Fleet Maintenance Manager Willem Bravenboer. “Today this sector accounts for 50 per cent of our sales revenue.” And it continues to generate growth: Nouwens now has a growing workforce of 85 to date. The vehicle fleet, currently consisting of 50 trucks and vans, 30 of which proudly sport the Mercedes star, is growing apace. Additional revenue generators are transportation of high-tech products, courier runs throughout Europe, and scheduled liner services for partial loads to the UK.
Skilled staff. Nouwens can rely on highly qualified personnel. Here driver Max Hoornick loads his truck at the pharmaceuticals warehouse.
Nouwens covers all of Europe on behalf of pharmaceutical companies and health care providers. “Generally we deliver finished products as direct consignments,” says Bravenboer. No matter where a trailer is to be unloaded, it will be opened remotely from the headquarters in Breda. Nouwens has the technology and equipment needed to spare their safety-oriented pharma customers any headaches.
And the company has very well trained drivers! Taking to the road in teams of two, they must observe a number of rules. When stopping at motorway services, for example, one person must always stay inside the vehicle. On the other hand, purchasing diesel while en route is made easy for these drivers. They just pull out their MercedesServiceCard, which lets them make cashless payments at over 39 000 service stations throughout Europe. The company can even get the value-added tax refunded when refuelling with this card. The basis for organising the refund is the invoice from the partner company UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA).
“Being a high-quality vehicle, the Actros just won’t let us down,” says Willem Bravenboer with a wink. And even if there is a technical problem on one of our runs, we know that with the MercedesServiceCard we can get service 24/7, and any repairs will be carried out quickly and in a straightforward manner.” It is another reason why Nouwens orders the card for every new truck from Mercedes-Benz. “We can now do this quite easily online, via the UTA exclusive section.”
The bottom line is that the MercedesServiceCard is an effective means for cutting unnecessary expenditure – which the Dutch can then invest in other projects. Like a state-of-the-art pharmaceuticals warehouse big enough for 2 500 pallets. It has full CCTV coverage and meets the strictest Facility Security Requirements (FSR) of Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA): Level A. “Prompted by a customer who constantly requires intermediate storage for their goods, we built the warehouse in 2015,” explains Willem Bravenboer. “And we’re happy to go the proverbial extra mile for our customers.” All the more so with the backing of the MercedesServiceCard!
Photos: Tom Roelecke
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