Ewout van Wijk on the transition to electric
‘Don’t wait, just start’
If you drive onto the premises of E. van Wijk Logistics in the Dutch town of Giessen, you simply can’t miss it: the impressive row of 4300 kWh batteries that occupy a place of prominence in front of the main building. And if you had a drone, you would see that a large portion of the warehouse roofs are covered in solar panels. It is clear that at E. van Wijk Logistics they know we all need to approach the matter of energy resources differently. This is what makes the company the perfect candidate for DAF to carry out field tests with its electric trucks.
Sustainability has long been one of the core values at E. van Wijk Logistics. This becomes clear when you sit down to chat with CEO Ewout van Wijk. “We have been given temporary custody of the Earth,” he says, “and it is our responsibility to leave it in a healthy state for future generations. When you look around you, it’s obvious that we are polluting the Earth. And we have to do something about that.”
Ewout has put his words into action by exploring the possibility of using battery-electric trucks. “When I started discussing this with our customers, I soon saw that everyone shared my opinion. But the discussion often turned quickly to the obstacles, the difficulties. I see those things too, of course, and I can’t ignore them. But our focus is on the possibilities, on what we can do. That’s why I thought, we’re not going to wait until all these problems have been solved. We’ll make a start ourselves and bring our customers along on the journey. So that we can show them what the positive effects can be.”
Ten e-trucks
Hence the impressive row of batteries outside the front door of E. van Wijk Logistics, the hundreds of square metres of roof space covered in solar panels and Ewout’s decision to order ten electric DAFs. And, as already mentioned, their participation in the field testing of electric DAFs that gives customers the opportunity to try out the vehicles. So what does he make of the XF Electric?
“It has exceeded our expectations. We have created a business case on the basis of ten electric trucks that can be charged by the battery at our premises and the solar panels. Green energy, in other words. We set a range of 350 kilometres so that the truck can be charged again at our premises at the end of the day. In reality, the truck can cover 450 to 500 kilometres, which is far more than we had expected.”
Ewout van Wijk, CEO
A few weeks after this interview, E. van Wijk took delivery of two XD Electric field test vehicles, in addition to the XF Electric. Ewout rang to tell us how enthusiastic he is about the new trucks: ‘The progress that’s been made is amazing. We were already impressed by the first one but we can now see that major improvements have been made in a short space of time, especially with regard to the charging and driving qualities. It’s a really fabulous drive!’
E. van Wijk Logistics at a glance
- Head office in Giessen, North Brabant
- Proud family firm, established in 1948
- DAF customer since 1963
- 375 trucks
- 850 employees
- Two locations in the Netherlands, one in Ukraine, one in Poland, two in Romania
- Specialised in international transport from West to East
