Van den Ban – A Total Tyre Supplier

Van den Ban came to Brityrex with new products – and with news of the company’s expansion plans and how they can serve their UK customers.

The most significant of Van den Ban’s new products to be shown at Brityrex was the new range of SUV sport tyres from their exclusive private brand Novex. As Michael Noorland, a member of the company’s UK sales team, explained, this range signals Van den Ban’s first venture into the 4×4 market with Novex, and it fills a gap the company identified in its product range. Designed with smaller 4×4 vehicles in mind, the Novex SUV Speed range will be available in a total of 16 sizes between 15 and 20-inch and in speed ratings from H to W. The first product in the SUV Speed range to be released onto the market is the sports-oriented 255/55VR18, which will most likely be available from late May 2007. The remainder of the range will be available from the end of July.

The new Novex range forms part of the Van den Ban goal of being a total tyre suppler. As Mr. Noorland explained, the company believes it important to provide products for every budget and requirement. In addition to offering private brands such as Novex and Flamingo and a full range of budget priced tyres, Van den Ban also view the top “A” brands as being an important part of their UK market structure. Therefore, amongst their stock of some 900,000 tyres are products from esteemed brands such as Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Pirelli.

A tyre inventory of this size requires considerable space, and to accommodate the quantity of tyres the company handles Van den Ban have begun work on a new warehouse complex at their existing base in Hellevoetsluis. Completion of this new complex is timetabled for early 2008, and when finished it will be one of the largest independent European warehouse facilities, taking up an area of 24,000 square metres and possessing capacity for up to 1.5 million tyres. In addition to this facility work is progressing on a new 20,000 square metre container terminal.

The company’s coastal location southwest of Rotterdam means that the UK is in easy reach. Therefore Van den Ban are able to offer a direct weekly delivery service to the mainland UK, and customers can in most cases be assured of next week delivery by placing their orders any time up until 3pm Friday. Within the mainland UK Van den Ban operate their own fleet of trucks, and as the delivered tyres are kept in a central location it is a practical proposition for each driver to deliver four or five trailer loads each week, with the savings gained by having delivery vehicles constantly in action passed onto the customer.

With the company’s website upgraded in 2007 to accommodate online ordering, placing orders has never been easier. But for those who prefer the human touch Van den Ban operate an international call centre from the headquarters in the Netherlands, with specialists dealing with one particular national market talking with customers in their own language.