Nidrac: "Van Duuren swiftly founds the perfect solution for our transportation challenge"

“Our client Transavia asked us to deliver new baggage sizers to the gate at all destinations in Europe,” says Luc Nieuwland, co-owner of metalworking company Nidrac. With a smile, he adds, “But how do you approach that? Fortunately, Van Duuren quickly came up with a perfect custom solution.” 

Baggage sizers for hand luggage are present at every airport. If a bag doesn’t fit in this metal frame, the traveler must check it into the hold. “Transavia recently changed the standard dimensions for hand luggage,” explains Luc Nieuwland. Alongside his cousin Lennard, he is director and co-owner of Nidrac, specializing in products made from sheet and wire steel. “We were tasked with installing baggage sizers with the new dimensions at Transavia airports across Europe and beyond. Van Duuren delivered the sizers to over a hundred destinations.” 

Customs
Transavia’s request was challenging because the baggage sizers had to be delivered behind customs at the gate. Other carriers couldn’t provide a solution for the ‘customs problem’. A tip from a friend led the co-owner of Nidrac to Van Duuren. Luc: “The name wasn’t entirely new to us, as Van Duuren had helped us with deliveries for HEMA before. Once again, the lines of communication were short. I got in touch with Ed and Jay, who immediately got to work on our request. We weren’t just a number like with other parties; we were a customer. That helpfulness was exactly what we needed at that time.” 

Local Partners
Together with Ed Kooijman, account manager Jay Termaat devised the delivery schedule for Nidrac. “Ed, as a seasoned sales executive, has close ties with all partners in our European transport network”, Jay reflects. “We took the time to coordinate this assignment meticulously with them. Our local carriers ensured that a handler received the baggage sizer behind customs and then delivered it to the gate after customs clearance. This process went smoothly at all Transavia locations.” Luc Nieuwland is more than satisfied with the service. “A couple of times, I even had to slightly delay a delivery because Transavia wasn’t ready yet.” 

Warehouse
Van Duuren collected all the sizers from Nidrac in Alkmaar. In the warehouse in Vianen, warehouse staff sealed and labeled the metal racks for transport. “From my office, I could see the pallets from Nidrac neatly lined up in halls three and four of our warehouse. Sorted by destination, and sometimes even a trailer full,” says Jeroen van Duuren. “It was a complex logistics operation, especially because the sizers had to go to many different destinations, from Oslo to the Canary Islands. It’s truly remarkable that our colleagues pulled this off.” 

If a similar project arises in the future, family-owned Nidrac will certainly turn to family-owned Van Duuren again, assures Luc. “Coincidentally, I spoke with my contact at Transavia last week. There are plans for new information boards at the gate. Who knows, maybe we’ll make the rounds of airports again soon.”