Stolwijk, 8 May 2025 - Today, Cosun Beet Company and logistics provider Zijderlaan officially took their first electric truck into operation. In doing so, the companies are taking an important step together in making their transport more sustainable. This joint initiative contributes to lower CO2 emissions and offers valuable insights of electric transport in practice for the future.
From today, the electric truck, a DAF XF Electric, will operate on the shuttle route between Cosun Beet Company's Specialty Factory Roosendaal and Zijderlaan's distribution center in Puttershoek. The route between the two locations covers 53 kilometers, making it perfect for the electric truck. Taking into account the load factor, the truck reaches a range of about 300 kilometers. This allows it to be used for all daily trips without recharging during the day.
The shuttle transport between Roosendaal, where liquid sugars such as syrup are made, and Puttershoek, the location that includes Zijderlaan's warehouse with packaging materials and fully automated distribution center (DC), is an essential part of Cosun Beet Company's supply chain. Zijderlaan has been handling logistics at the DC, Dutch distribution and thus transport between the two sites for many years. The switch to electric transport reduces the environmental impact without affecting chain reliability.
Simone van Egmond, Manager Supply Chain, Cosun Beet Company: ‘Zijderlaan delivers the required packaging in Roosendaal every day and then drives back with the packed products to the distribution center in Puttershoek. This is a well-streamlined, efficient and now therefore sustainable process.’
Annually, the truck covers about 60,000 kilometers, saving an estimated 72 tonnes of CO2 per year. This was an important motivation for Cosun Beet Company and Zijderlaan, both of which attach great importance to sustainability and are actively committed to achieving the goals set out in the Climate Agreement, also with a view to the future. The companies see electrification of transport as a promising development and want this project to gain valuable practical experience for possible future upscaling.
Cooperation plays a key role in this sustainable route: Cosun Beet Company facilitates the charging infrastructure, while Zijderlaan invests in the truck itself. Leo Lokker, Commercial Director of Zijderlaan: ‘To take steps towards sustainability within the logistics chain, cooperation is essential. We are proud to commit to this project with Cosun Beet Company, as one of our key customers, and look forward to the great results we will achieve together.’
Bram Fetter, COO of Cosun Beet Company, also emphasises the importance of cooperation: ‘Innovation plays a crucial role in our organisation. It enables us to achieve CO2 reductions, optimise processes and expand our porfolio. Through valuable collaborations like this, we increase our innovative strength and can achieve much more. In this case, that is in transport, but this is also how we work with growers and food producers on innovations in agriculture and plant-based nutrition. Together, we are working on a future-proof chain.’
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About Cosun Beet Company
Cosun Beet Company is part of Royal Cosun, a cooperative of about 8,000 sugar beet growers in the Netherlands. With about 850 employees, we are one of the most efficient sugar producers. Besides developing, producing and selling sugar and sugar specialities, components of the sugar beet are processed into products for food, animal feed and green energy, among others. Maximum use is made of the beet's various components. Corporate sustainability is woven into our strategy, for customers, growers and employees alike.
About Zijderlaan
Within the Benelux, Zijderlaan is a professional player in the transport and logistics services. They relieve their clients throughout the entire logistics chain. Within the transport sector they specialize in loose bulk, general cargo, container and bulk transport. Zijderlaan also provides storage, transshipment and various VAL activities from their warehouses in Stolwijk, Puttershoek and Dinteloord.
Family-business Zijderlaan has been Continuously in Motion for 88 years and has been managed by the third generation since 2022. Sustainability and innovation are key pillars within the organisation. In 2023, Zijderlaan achieved both the 2nd Lean & Green Star Award and the award for most innovative SME in the Top 100 Logistics Service Providers 2023.
Rotterdam/Stolwijk, June 1st, 2023
One year of using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO): a saving of 730 tons of CO2 emissions. That, in short, is what agricultural commodity supplier Cefetra and logistics service provider Zijderlaan have achieved together by choosing this alternative, fossil-free fuel in 2022. They are proud of that! The success was not a one-time action, because in 2023 Zijderlaan will continue to fill up with HVO for all of Cefetra's shipments driven within the Netherlands. That amounts to some 230,000 liters per year.
Cefetra looks back very positively on the first year of extended cooperation with Zijderlaan and the use of HVO. Ruben Kraaijeveld, Operations Manager Cefetra B.V.: "It has further strengthened the awareness and urgency of the sustainable path we are on. Our customers appreciate this initiative and the pioneering role we are taking in the sector. We have stood for this for 35 years and look forward to continuing to follow this path in the future together with our customers, suppliers and employees and achieve great goals."
Leo Lokker, Commercial & Operations Director at logistics service provider Zijderlaan: "We greatly appreciate the fact that Cefetra was the first to dare to take the step to go full HVO. Together, as sustainability ambassadors, we hope to motivate other companies to make structural changes in their organizations and thus improve their carbon footprint.
Intensifying our sustainable cooperation is very important for the logistics energy transition. The choice of HVO nicely reflects our joint ambition to excel in sustainability."
"Cefetra has always been at the forefront when it comes to sustainability," explains Sandra Kraaij, Sustainability Manager at Cefetra B.V.. "We think it is important to consider what further steps we can take to make transport and the products we supply more sustainable. We like to do this in cooperation with other stakeholders, in this case with Zijderlaan. We are proud to have achieved a CO2 reduction together and continue to look at how we can optimize transport even further."
"The sustainability theme fits well within the culture of our family business," says Sabine Zijderlaan, Managing Director. "We think it is important to invest in a sustainable future. Not only for our business operations, but precisely for the preservation of a healthy and beautiful living environment."
Zijderlaan continues: "We never achieve great sustainability results alone. Organization-wide, we pay continuous attention to this. From the driver's capabilities to the purchase of new vehicles with fuel-efficient engines. We also constantly bring the sustainability discussion to the attention of our clients. Reducing CO2 emissions can be achieved in many different ways, as long as together you are open to it and willing to invest. This can be done financially, for example by paying a surcharge for HVO, through research into optimization opportunities within the chain, by looking at various modes of transport or by engaging a sustainability consultant. Anything is possible!"
Cefetra is convinced that Zijderlaan is a good partner to continue to follow developments for making road transport more sustainable and to take the next steps together in the future. Kraaij: "There are still many challenges on the road to electrically or hydrogen powered trucks for heavy transport. Until that happens, we will continue to use HVO to make our transport more sustainable.
Lokker: "We see HVO as the most important measure during the transition to the possible new energy carriers. We can quickly reduce a lot of CO2 with it. However, we do need the support and commitment of our clients for this. We aim to drive 25% of our total volumes on HVO by 2025."
Zijderlaan recently earned the 2nd Lean & Green Star Award for their sustainable efforts. Maik Backx, Sustainability Consultant: "This great recognition shows that we are actively working on many fronts to reduce CO2 emissions, with the long-term goal of offering our services in transport and logistics emission-free."
Supplying agricultural commodities is Cefetra's core business. With 125 years of experience, they are the market leader within the Benelux. Efficient supply chains and logistics make it possible to deliver products from suppliers to their customers in Europe. Cefetra's office is in Rotterdam and they are part of the German BayWa Group.
For more than 15 years, Cefetra has been proactively involved in internal and external initiatives to make its chains more sustainable. This includes involvement in the Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS), as well as the development and implementation of the self-developed CRS standard for further sustainable soybean cultivation in South America. They are also working to improve the traceability and transparency of often complex chains. Cefetra does this in cooperation with suppliers, farmers and NGOs. But they are also looking for opportunities to make their logistical processes more sustainable. This includes the partnership with Zijderlaan, with whom Cefetra has been running all Dutch trucking on HVO since January 2022.
Within the Benelux, Zijderlaan is a professional player in the transport and logistics services. They relieve their clients throughout the entire logistics chain. Within the transport sector they specialize in loose bulk, general cargo, container and bulk transport. Zijderlaan also provides storage, transshipment and various VAL activities from their warehouses in Stolwijk, Steenbergen and Puttershoek.
Zijderlaan is a family business, founded in 1937 and managed by the third generation. Sustainability has been high on the agenda as one of its core values for many years. Logistic transport flows, gas, energy and diesel oil consumption (the footprint) are continuously analyzed in order to optimize and reduce CO2 emissions wherever possible. Zijderlaan is "Continuously Green in Motion".
Rotterdam/Stolwijk, January 20th, 2022 - Agricultural raw materials supplier Cefetra and logistics service provider Zijderlaan are going a step further in their sustainable cooperation. As of January 1st, 2022, Cefetra will choose the fossil-free fuel HVO100 for all cargoes driven within the Netherlands. This change will immediately result in a CO2 reduction of between 80 and 90%. An important and sustainable development in the logistics energy transition.
Ruben Kraaijeveld, Operations Manager at Cefetra B.V.: "Cefetra is a pioneer in the field of sustainability and is therefore holding discussions with many stakeholders to determine how we can further improve the sustainability of our products, services and processes. Together with Zijderlaan we have drawn up objectives that correspond with the strategy of both companies. Part of this is making our transport more sustainable, with the choice of HVO diesel at Zijderlaan now being a major step."
Sabine Zijderlaan, Managing Director of Zijderlaan said, "Cefetra is our first client to switch completely to HVO. Also, within Zijderlaan we continuously steer towards CO2 reduction and compensation. One of the options available to our clients is to opt for HVO. This fossil-free fuel immediately results in a CO2 reduction of up to 90%, viewed 'Well-to-Wheel'. A very nice score during the transition to completely emission-free heavy road transport. Whether hydrogen or electric are the future, we and our customers will follow the developments in sustainability closely. In the meantime, we remain actively committed to improving our footprint as much as possible and to achieving common environmental goals together with our customers."
"A major advantage of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is that it can be used immediately," explains Maik Backx, sustainability consultant at Zijderlaan. "The fuel is suitable for every Euro 5 and 6 diesel engine without having to make any modifications. HVO has a similar chemical composition as fossil diesel, but without impurities. Also, the lower emission of harmful emissions such as particulates, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and PAHs is better for local air quality and for the engine."
On an annual basis, Zijderlaan drives some 500,000 kilometers for all Cefetra's cargoes in the Netherlands. "The price of HVO is considerably higher than fossil diesel, but we are prepared to invest in it," says Ted Swinkels, general manager of Cefetra B.V. "It's nice to see that the trucks of Zijderlaan transport our protein-rich flour, derived from oilseeds, as cargo and at the same time fill up this alternative fuel, derived from the same oilseed. Our goal is to be completely climate neutral by 2030. This will enable us to take an important step in making transport and therefore our business operations more sustainable." Sabine Zijderlaan: "In addition to HVO, we continue to look together for other sustainable optimization opportunities. Through current and intensive data exchange, for example, we calculate the most efficient use of our materials and planning. We hope that many will follow our example within transport and logistics on the way to a CO2-neutral society."
Supplying raw materials for the animal feed sector is our core business. With our 120 years of experience, we are the market leader within the Benelux. Our efficient supply chains and logistics allow us to deliver products from suppliers to our customers in Europe. Our office is in Rotterdam and we are part of the German BayWa Group.
Within the Benelux we are a professional player in the transport and logistics services. We relieve our clients of the burden of the entire logistics chain. Within the transport sector we specialize in loose bulk, general cargo, container and bulk transport. We also provide storage, transshipment and various VAL activities from our DCs in Stolwijk, Steenbergen and Puttershoek. We are a family business, run by the third generation. In 2022 we exist 85 years.
Nijverheidsweg 10, 2821 AT Stolwijk
Postbus 2, 2820 AA Stolwijk
Nijverheidsweg 10
2821 AT Stolwijk
Postbus 2, 2820 AA Stolwijk
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