Cees van der Burg obituary

ITCO has recorded the death of Welfit Oddy’s principle shareholder C.M.J (Cees) van der Burg last month.
Cees van der Burg became CEO of the Burg family business in 1979 at the age of 29. The company’s history dates back to 1937 when the brothers Anton and Wim van der Burg founded ‘Burg’ in Pijnacker, the Netherlands. They started building farm wagons and developed a family business manufacturing transport equipment.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Burg continued to expand through the acquisition of a number of companies, including Holvrieka, Burgers, LAG Trailers, Eurotank Oy, WEW in Germany, and the South African tank container manufacturer, Welfit Oddy, in 1999.

Burg Industries employed over 4000 people

At its height, Burg Industries comprised 11 companies across two continents – employing over 4000 people.

After the sale of the majority of Burg Industries in 2007 to the CIMC Vehicles Group, Cees focused on building tank containers through the newly formed Buhold Group, comprising Welfit Oddy and WEW. The latter underwent a management buy-out in 2015, allowing Cees to focus on developing Welfit Oddy.

The company is now owned by his children, whose aim is to continue the family legacy and maintain a sustainable business through a formal Buhold Board structure. This ties in with the strategic succession plans that Cees had put in place, to ensure a sustainable business going forward, and to perpetuate his view as a steward to his employees.

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2022 issue of Bulk Distributor. view magazine