With just one truck, the 27-year-old Ad van den Bosch started his own business on Hoogstraat road in Erp in 1964.
At the wheel of this Volvo Titan, he drove to Rotterdam every day to collect flour for the bakers in Brabant.
More trucks and the first employees soon followed. The variety of loads also continued to increase. In 1971, the company opened an office and garage on Hoogven road in Erp, where Van den Bosch is still located today.
“There was no clear strategy in the early years, yet the company grew rapidly,” said Peter van den Bosch, who took over the CEO role from his father in 1998.
“My father seized every job opportunity and grew the business alongside those of his customers.” From the late 1980s onwards, the focus shifted increasingly to bulk logistics. This specialism took off in earnest at the turn of the century.
“Since 2007, we have focused entirely on intermodal bulk logistics, always searching for the best combination of road, water and rail,” Van den Bosch continues. “In 2011, we transported more intermodally than by road for the first time. Our fleet now numbers over 6,000 containers, and 95 per cent of our shipments are intermodal.”