Katun: ”If something’s not clear, the people at Van Duuren get right on to things”
Van Duuren and Katun have been working together for more than fifteen years. Since last year this collabration has become much closer with Van Duuren’s daily departures to Italy, says Albert Jan Nette of Katun. ‘Unexpectedly, our regular transport company for this destination was unable to make our deliveries any more because of damage to their warehouse. Van Duuren helped us swiftly. They took the transport over within one day.’
Katun develops toners, cartridges and printer parts and is active worldwide. ‘Just like Van Duuren, the Taiwanese company is a family business’, relates Albert Jan Nette, import and export manager at the printer parts wholesaler.
Tight transit times
Van Duuren collects consignments daily for Katun, primarily with their final destination in Italy. ‘These deliveries are a nice challenge for us, because of the tight transit times’, says Khalid El Youzghi, account manager at Van Duuren and direct contact person for Katun. ‘We deliver the goods within 48 hours at Katun’s regular clients, as agreed.’
As a rule, the delivery schedule is achieved, is Albert Jan’s experience. ‘Last year there were some problems with our network in Italy. For example, there was uncertainty about the arrival some consignments. I have to say that Van Duuren handled the situation well. The personnel got right on to things and by setting the network up differently ensured that the deliveries were in order. For us that was really fine.’
Quick reaction
The first contacts between Van Duuren and Katun date back some fifteen years. At that time, most of the goods transported were for Sweden. The collaboration intensified when pallets were left at Katun’s regular transporter. As the result of damage at the warehouse it was impossible for that company to transport the goods to Italy. Albert Jan remembers as if it was yesterday. ‘I was told on the Tuesday or Wednesday that the goods were stuck there, and on the Thursday Van Duuren had begun to take over this transport. That is what I call a quick reaction.’
Removal
He does not rule out that in the future Van Duuren will take over the transport to other southern European countries. However, these plans will remain “on a back burner” until the removal of Katun in June to the new location in Tiel is arranged, says Albert Jan. ‘Internally we are still deciding which company is to carry out the move. It is an option that we ask Van Duuren to do this job for us.’ If Katun does choose Van Duuren, the planning staff in Vianen will be ready for Albert Jan, says Jeroen van Duuren. ‘We have the logistical expertise in house to plan seamlessly the deployment of the 125 trucks that will be needed for such a removal alongside our other activities.’
And after the removal? ‘On their request we can offer the service we now provide for Italy on the same footing as for countries such as Spain en Portugal’, assures Khalid when asked. ‘We are always ready to serve Katun in the same way as it applies to all our other clients.”
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