Portena Logistics with its Head Quarters in Heerenveen has recently taken delivery of four BE-Combi 3500PLUS combinations in addition to its fleet of 150 heavy trucks. The BE-Combinations combine the best vehicle characteristics of a standard Van and a heavy truck, says Ron Kleinsmit, Managing Director of Portena.
Portena Logistics is an all-round logistical service provider for more than 1.500 customers in the field of groceries, dairy products and general cargo. In addition, Portena offers extensive warehouse facilities. Portena has always been a major player in bicycle logistics, especially in this field of logistics, changes are noticeable. More and more smaller shops in the cities as well as home deliveries are an important part of the daily routes of the drivers. This means less volume of goods and more stops per day. Historically, Portena is a heavy truck operation but these trucks are less suitable for this kind of work and therefore they had to find a new and smaller solution.
During its search for alternatives, Portena found BE-Combi Systems. One of the products, the 3500PLUS System, perfectly fits the need for a smaller vehicle with enough capacity and payload. Just in a couple of months, the BE-Combinations proved to be a perfect alternative for the heavier trucks at lower operational costs.
Another important advantage of the BE-Combinations is the actual availability of drivers with a C-license. The driver shortage in the market is noticeable and is becoming a serious problem. Since the BE-Combinations can be operated with a BE-Driver License, a substantial amount of new drivers and retired drivers are recruited in full- and part time employment.
Together with Truck dealer LVS and bodybuilder IJntema, Portena has chosen for the Renault Master in combination with a light weight body with a double loading floor. This allows Portena to transport the bicycles in two “layers” for maximum capacity. The body is executed with a 1.000 kilo tail lift for easy loading and unloading in case pallets are transported.
