Petit Forestier Vlaanderen growing 10% yearly
"Our fleet in Europe consists of around 44,000 trucks, in Belgium that is around 600. We offer refrigerated trucks with a long term option, and we are the only company with the focus on this niche group," says Björn. "We can offer rental periods from per day, week or monthly basis. They can also be hired long term, for years, which about 80% of our customers do. Most customers who rent long term, also choose to have their logo's added. What separates us from our competitors is that many also offer ordinary trucks. We only offer the refrigerated type. Next to refrigerated trucks and containers we also supply refrigeration cabinets. These can be hired for short periods, such as when a company wants to do a promotion of products at a retailer and needs them. We offer a total concept and continuous service. Technically price is naturally more expensive, than if you were to buy your own truck and maintain it, but we take everything out of your hands and we would arrange a replacement if you had a breakdown."
Fruit and vegetable sector
Petit Forestier have three target groups: Fish, Meat and Fruit & Vegetables. "It is surprising that fish and meat are always transported in refrigerated containers but it is not often the case with fruit & veg. In the Netherlands, Wallonia and France this is less, but we see many examples in Flanders where companies do not use refrigerated trucks, or they do have it but as the cooling is broken they just carry on driving for a couple of days without it. In the winter the fruit & veg sector often don't use cooling even though it should still be used for delicate products such as lettuce. We also offer, particularly for the fruit & veg sector, different options such as warming in the winter and other specifications to the wishes of clients. We can tailor to specific sectors but for a large extent the fruit & veg sector is similar to other sectors like fish and meat. Ensuring a constant temperature is maintained is all that is important."
New services
"Our company is constantly evolving to make it as easy as possible for the customer to save time. New for this year is a track and trace system for temperature recording. A company can follow all the details. It is also possible to mount a display in the car and send commands to the driver. Everything can be effectively tracked and managed. We are testing this new track and trace system with our clients and we are continuing to develop it further. We also want to exchange data with the client so that we can arrange maintenance. At the moment we inform the client on kilometres travelled and other information. In the future we would like this to be fully automatic. Through a link in our ERP system everything would be communicated and we could follow all maintenance automatically. What is also in the planning - but for later next year - is the installation of a fault/diagnosis reporting method via the system. The plan is that we can see what is going on remotely and immediately know if we need to send a replacement car or make other arrangements. Purely time saving of course but this is something for the future."
Crisis
As a company in Flanders, we see a yearly growth of 10% so we cannot complain, but it is definitely more difficult than usual. 'The crisis, in nearly all sectors, lies in margins and pressure on people gets them frustrated with all the requirements their products must meet. Therefore, it is often more difficult to convince that this is the right solution for the customer. Many think that it is expensive to rent and come up with the fact that a fleet is cheaper under their own management. That is true, but for the higher price we offer a total concept. Interestingly the fruit & veg sector spends a lot on packaging, and the fact that good products get to the customer is more important than how the cold chain is managed."Developments
"Nowadays customers are more open to our concept. Development in comparison to before is that there is now a lot of price pressure. Before people were willing to pay for this service but now this decision and margins are more considered. On the other side we also have more costs and we are working on developments which all have to be paid for. It is a challenge to get to the same price level. We could also look the other way as people are happy with the service because we take all the logistics out of their hands. Customers want to do what they are good at and are 'tired' of also having to run the cars. That's where we come in. We will care for the optimal condition of fresh products. It has lots of value but the client must decide. We see it though: once a company has switched, they stay switched and they only see the benefits."
For more information:
Petit Forestier
Björn Vlassenbroeck
Schaarbeekstraat 26C
9120 Beveren-Waas (Melsele)
Tel : +32 32 60 88 88
Fax : +32 32 60 88 89
www.petitforestier.be