The biggest change the company made last year was the construction of its new office, explains Visser. They tackle something different every year and in 2022 it was the turn of the company’s office, which used to be little more than a glorified shed at the centre of the site. The large, new building is now located directly at the entrance. It looks much neater and more professional and it is more sustainable too. The wood used in its construction, for example, was sourced from excess stocks and demolished buildings, including an old bank. Furthermore, the office is weaning itself off gas and will soon be generating its own electricity. “Heating bills will soon be a thing of the past, because I have ordered 144 solar panels.” Clearly, the entrepreneur is preparing his company for the coming years, assuming that legislation and regulations for car companies will become even more stringent. For example, he expects he will have to charge his forklift trucks with sustainably generated electricity in future. “Of course, with so many solar panels, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“We tackle something every year, and in 2022 it was the turn of the office, which used to be nothing more than a kind of shack in the middle of the site.”
Sebastiaan Visser, owner car dismantling company Rooie Ben
Worldwide sales
Visser is also readying his company for the dismantling of more and more hybrid and fully electric cars. “Two of our dismantlers have already followed the ‘Safe dismantling of e-vehicles’ training course given by ARN and Innovam,” he says. During the past few years the company has also accelerated the digitalisation of its processes. “We had to adapt a little when the corona crisis broke out, but since then we’ve wasted no time in developing a webshop and joining a variety of platforms that offer parts for sale. We now sell our parts all over the world.”
Circular economy
Visser applauds the steps the industry is currently taking towards a circular economy. For example, to comply with revised European legislation and regulations, new cars are expected to contain much more recycled materials. And more and more used original parts are being offered as alternatives to new ones. “What we do – remove parts from end-of-life vehicles so that they can be reused – is about as sustainable as it gets. Many sectors would do well to follow our lead!”