Dutch van der Peet, logistics and transportation solutions provider, introduces a new client in Canada. Harris Bakker co-owns Killoween Farms Ltd., a potato farm in Killoween, New Brunswick, Canada. So how did a potato grower from Canada find out about Van der Peet in the Netherlands?
For starters, Bakker is of Dutch origin. In 2000, as a six-year-old boy, he and his parents emigrated to New Brunswick where his parents had planned on turning an existing farm back into a thriving operation. Today, Bakker continues to work on his family’s potato farm.
“Because we come from Europe, often we still focus on what is happening there,” says Bakker. “For example, when we need something new for the farm, we check out what’s available in Europe. Such as a new belt trailer, for example. We had two belt trailers that had been built in Canada. One of them was due for replacement and most belt trailers sold in Canada are made of steel. I knew that aluminum is used much more often in Europe and of course that makes a big difference in weight.”
Bakker Googled ‘Europese bandlosser’ [European belt trailer] and Van der Peet’s website appeared.
So Bakker Googled ‘Europese bandlosser’ [European belt trailer] and Van der Peet’s website appeared among the top search results. “I contacted Van der Peet to see if we could purchase a belt trailer there," says Bakker. "Yes, that was possible, but Sven van der Peet did inform me that in Europe the chassis is completely different from that in Canada. Sven advised me to have a belt trailer built that would fit on a container chassis. This meant I had to have a container chassis built in Canada.”
So Van der Peet built the belt trailer body and arranged for its transport from the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium to the port of Halifax in the Province of Nova Scotia.
Van der Peet built the belt trailer body and arranged for its transport from Belgium to Nova Scotia.
Harris is extremely pleased with the finish of his belt trailer. “There are no hydraulics and no chains, and the entire drive is housed inside the drum. I believe I need to change the oil after 50,000 operating hours. And because the drum is entirely sealed, the drive stays perfectly clean.”
Then there are the belt trailer’s side walls, which are fully insulated-- not something you see in Canadian top loaders. Bakker also mentions the smooth finish of the belt trailer’s underside. “We had this specially done. This is very practical, especially in winter, because we deliver our potatoes to processors then as well. There’s lots of snow in the winter and the back roads are sprayed with salt and lots of sand. But thanks to the smooth underside finish our new belt trailer is easy to clean.
For more information:
Van der Peet
sales@vanderpeet.nl
www.vanderpeet.nl