English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 6 - 2019 | Page 5

INTRODUCTION “Without technical talent we won’t get anywhere” Last year the economy was in full flow and at Nooteboom we noticed this as we almost doubled the numbers in our order book. In order to manage this growth we are currently investing heavily in our organisation and are engaged in an unprecedented innovation and professionalization campaign. We focus on cutting-edge innovative technology but also on the people who can maximise the potential of that technology. HARD AND SOFT INNOVATION You can read about the hard and soft side of innovation in this new edition of Giants on the Road. We want to tell you more about our new and extended components hall where we have installed the new welding robot, press brakes and laser cutting machine. In the coming years we will continue to work to achieve an even higher level of quality of our vehicles and shorter lead times. But regardless of all the technological and process innovations: without technical talent we won’t get anywhere. It’s true that we set the bar high, but last year we managed – due to our reputation as an employer – to attract many highly qualified talents. Also, the new Nooteboom Academy was launched. Within this training programme we offer a unique package of specific courses for drivers in special transport. The drivers learn all about our trailers and are awarded with important Code 95 hours. It also offers significant advantages for our customers. They are able to offer their employees interesting training courses, whilst the Academy also contributes to lower running costs and increased safety. But we do even more for our customers. For instance, at the end of last year we introduced NoVAB 3.0, our completely new, web-based axle load calculation programme. This is a significant step forward in our digital service provision, which fits in perfectly with our ambition to constantly improve the ‘customer journey’, i.e. making life easy for our customers. In the coming years we will continue to invest in making our production even more efficient and flexible and – we must not forget – to design new, innovative trailers that get you there. That’s why later this year we will again show you some important product innovations. Because especially in these days of constant innovation: to stand still is to go backwards. I look forward to meeting you in person at the coming BAUMA in Munich. I hope to see you there at our stand FN721-10! MARINKA NOOTEBOOM, MANAGING DIRECTOR 5