Botrans deploys Scania to transport cattle feed

To that end, the truck also received two PTOs for both a hydraulic pump and an air compressor. It is also the first Scania within the two companies to be ordered with integrated stand cooling. 

R. Vos Transports and Botrans Bulk have had a good reputation in loose bulk and bulk transport for the animal feed industry for many years. The company works internationally with a concentration on Northwest Europe. "We take care of both the transport of raw materials to the cattle feed plants and transport of the ready-to-use cattle feed to the agricultural companies," says Rick Vos, of Vos Transporten.

As the son of the director, Rick participates fully in the company to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. It will also be up to him to take the company forward soon. "That is a challenge, to say the least, because depending on the nitrogen measures, for example, we do not rule out a further shrinking market. Anyway, we are already seeing a shift where smaller farms are stopping. But at the same time we see the larger ones growing more and more. That's where most of the innovation is. And we will have to go along with that," Rick outlines. "Fortunately, Scania is an innovative brand so as a carrier we hope to have support from that soon."

At Vos, most vehicles have one job and the trailer that goes with it usually stays behind the same tractor. "But this new Scania is going to do several jobs within Botrans," Rick explains. "For example, it has to be able to drive lime for chicken feed from its producer to the factory that makes the actual chicken feed. Those are full loads so for that we have bulk trailers with one compartment. But we also have tipper trailers that we can fill from the top and blow the product into a silo, and bulk trailers with multiple compartments that we go to the farms with. That's why this Scania has two PTOs so we can both lift hydraulically and blow with the compressor. That makes the vehicle multifunctional."

Vos' repeated choice of Scania is due to the brand's good TCO and short lines of communication with the dealer in Veghel. "In addition, Scania is a valued vehicle among our drivers. And they also have input when choosing a new truck. That input is important to us. Because first of all, they are professionals who you want to retain. In addition, we are a family business, which creates a slightly different bond with your employees. And ultimately they have to work and live with it. Because many of the guys are away from home for a few days every week anyway." That is also the reason why Vos has now had a stand cooling system fitted ex-factory for the first time. Because a well-equipped driver, is a safe driver. "Furthermore, light and visibility is of course very important in our work," Rick says. "Most of the work lights we put on the trailers. But we also gave this car an LED package and two extra wide beams in the step. And furthermore, we can connect three cameras."

Fuel consumption is also important at Vos. Although with us that is not yet the easiest thing to tackle. The problem is that we have a lot of relatively short trips with heavily loaded trucks and a lot of PTO hours. It does make a difference that Scania can now filter out those PTO hours, which gives a better picture. Within what is usual with us, Scania is doing well. But there is always room for improvement."

Vos drives around seven to eight years or a million kilometers with a truck. "Until now we have been doing most of the maintenance ourselves, but gradually we are also going more and more on maintenance contracts. That also has to do with Scania's ever-increasing connectivity," Rick says. "That goes beyond just the weekly printouts on vehicle and driver performance. What Scania does well is that the dealer can also read the vehicle remotely. The other day one of our drivers got a malfunction in the dashboard. The dealer read out the computer and was able to reassure him immediately that it allowed him to continue driving safely. That prevents panic and the next day they had the sensor, because that's what it was, in place and everything was back in working order in no time."