Interview with early user Dolmans Landscaping Group

Five leading companies will soon be the first to use the RECO eTrac. Who are they, what do they do to reduce their CO2 emissions and why do they choose the RECO eTrac? We ask the companies to answer these questions. This time, we speak with Fred Lameijer, head of facility management at Dolmans Landscaping Group.

About Dolmans Landscaping Group

‘Samen beter voor buiten' ('Improving the environment together') is the slogan of landscaping company Dolmans Landscaping Group. This family business, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last month, was founded by Limburg landscaper Hub Dolmans. In 1961 he started a one-man business in the small shed behind his house on the Kerkplein in Bunde. Thanks to his enterprising attitude, his clientele grew rapidly. Lameijer: "Hub was a true innovator, investing in new developments and specialisms. For example, he was the first to bring the Hydroseeder to the Netherlands. To pick up the machine from the manufacturer, Hub travelled to America in person."

Entrepreneurial Spirit

That entrepreneurial spirit has remained, even after Dolmans' son-in-law Erwin Janssen took over the company in 1996 and further expanded the organisation. Now, in 2021 Dolmans Landscaping Group has 13 locations and more than 900 employees in the Netherlands and Belgium. Together they take care of the design, construction and maintenance of green spaces and associated civil engineering projects for municipalities, institutions, housing corporations, businesses, recreational parks and private parties. The activities vary from the maintenance of municipal parks and the construction of playgrounds or paving, to the control of invasive exotic species such as Japanese knotweed. Dolmans has been a customer of Jean Heybroek for several years. Lameijer: "We were looking for a party that could offer us not only good machines but also extra support. Jean Heybroek is a reliable partner with a wide range of products. In addition to this, they offer professional aftercare. For the service of the machines we opted for their special maintenance plans."

Social commitment

Fred Lameijer has been working for Dolmans Landscaping Group since 2007. As assistant manager of the Sociale Werkvoorziening Hoogeveen, he was personally involved in setting up Dolmans Landscaping Noord in Beilen. This involved the indefinite secondment of 120 SW employees to Dolmans. According to Lameijer this shows the social commitment of Dolmans, which has made corporate social responsibility an integral part of its business operations. Lameijer: 'We are very conscious of the responsibility we have for our living environment. In addition to doing our utmost to protect the environment, we want to offer people who have difficulty finding work the opportunity to use and develop their talents. We are nationally recognised for this with the PSO 30+ certificate. The good thing is that you usually see that people can achieve more if they are given the right tools and the chance to work together in a regular team."

Electrification

Dolmans is fully committed to CO2 reduction and has drawn up a strategic plan for this. Lameijer: "Our target is to reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5% annually and by 12.5% in 2023 compared to 2018. We score 5 on the performance ladder and have amply achieved our targets to date. To achieve this, we buy in electricity from 100% Dutch wind, invest in sustainable equipment and for the rest we make as much use as possible of fuels that emit less CO2, such as HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil - ed.)." In 2014 Dolmans started using the first electric machines. Lameijer: "As a first step, we replaced small tools such as hedge trimmers, brush cutters and chainsaws with battery-powered tools. That is also a lot less stressful for our employees: they no longer suffer from exhaust fumes in their faces and they don't have to stand all day with a heavy and vibrating machine in their hands." There are more advantages. Lameijer: "If you crank up a motorised hedge trimmer at seven o'clock in the morning in the summer, you become very popular! With the battery version you only hear the sound of the shears. A nice additional benefit is the cost reduction."

Sharpener

Part of the fleet is now also electric. Lameijer proudly talks about the eCrafter commercial vehicles. On Dolmans' initiative these were modified by the manufacturer so that they could be used to transport materials. Lameijer: "The first electric Crafters were built for use by parcel services, which of course was of no use to us. We said: 'Put the flex in it, take the back off and turn it into a tipping body'. At first, everyone was sceptical, so we had to go to a lot of trouble to make it happen. Now everyone is wildly enthusiastic and this vehicle is being offered by Volkswagen throughout Europe."

RECO eTrac

For the purchase of large equipment such as tool carriers, Dolmans' policy is 'electric, unless'. Participation as an early user of the RECO eTrac was therefore self-evident. Lameijer: "We are very enthusiastic about this electric tool carrier. We were allowed to test the prototype in Amsterdam. Our guys were very enthusiastic about the machine and saw many opportunities for it. They will therefore be the first to use the RECO eTrac here, including for brushing and maintaining pavements on behalf of the City of Amsterdam. When they signed this agreement, the Municipality of Amsterdam and Dolmans Wieringen Prins jointly expressed their ambition to move as quickly as possible to zero-emission working. This electric tool carrier can take over many tasks from traditional machines that currently run on diesel or HVO. With the deployment of this machine we are taking another big step in the right direction.”