COLOFON Hoeksche Zaken verschijnt jaarlijks in een oplage van 5.000 stuks en wordt gratis verspreid. 11de editie, 1e druk, voorjaar 2022 UITGEVER ZPRESS Media Group Amstelwijckweg 11 3316 BB, Dordrecht Telefoon: 078-6397070 www.zpress.nl info@zpress.nl FOTOGRAFIE Bianca de Bie REDACTIE Cynthia van der Waal (Schrijven is Blijven) Sandra Balzer Yara Overwater ADVERTENTIEVERKOOP Perry van Wijk Theo van Wijland Bas van Son VORMGEVING Natascha Smeels ZPRESS Studio DRUK Damen Drukkers © Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden gekopieerd en/-of verspreid zonder schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever. Slechts een niet commercieel privé gebruik is toegestaan in het kader van de wetgeving op auteursrecht. Aan deze publicatie kunnen geen rechten worden ontleend. INHOUD 8 Where there’s a will, there’s a way It all started with two barges that Hendrik Alblas purchased in 1896 to move goods between the city of Rotterdam and the village of ‘s-Gravendeel. Having purchased a barge named Lena I in 1912, we built our own barge, Lena II, in 1915. During the WWII, Lena II was requisitioned by Dutch military for storing landmines. Her sale in 1942 marked the end of our waterway transport service. We sometimes wonder how things might have turned out if we hadn’t sold our boats! The first major advance came in 1914, with the purchase of a 20-tonne motorised boat, which was skippered by Hendrik’s 16-year-old son Johannes, together with his 12-year-old brother Bas. The fleet expanded to eventually consist of around five vessels, some of them carrying 100 tonnes of cargo. At that time we were mainly transporting vegetables (to the city) and manufactured goods (to the countryside). This picture is believed to have been taken on 31 August 1946, on Queen Wilhelmina’s (the Queen of the Netherlands) birthday. The vehicle on the right is a Bedford van that was made for the British army and bought new from army surplus. On the left is a 1928 Studebaker passenger car which Hendrik Alblas converted into a truck by cutting off the rear of the body and adding a cargo floor with a cover, plus a second gearbox. During WWII, this converted vehicle was powered by a gas generator. To avoid it being requisitioned, it was disabled by removing and hiding the left rear wheel and axle shaft. Somehow during the course of events, the petrol pump got broken, which is why this picture shows a petrol tank placed on the roof of the driver’s cabin. On this date, road transporters held a protest against an attempt by the railways to acquire exclusive rights to good transportation. The banner on the Studebaker reads “2000 scheduled and courier services serve the farthest corners of our country”. A significant turning point came in 1932, with the purchase of our first van. This enabled Alblas to meet the increasing demand for fast, reliable transport. By 1938 the road fleet had expanded to 4 vehicles, which enabled us to serve a wider range of domestic destinations. In 1939 these were requisitioned by the Dutch army. Hendrik subsequently bought two more. Only to have them requisitioned by the Germans in 1943. Despite these setbacks, Alblas managed to acquire vehicles during WWII and continued to grow the business. Keeping cool while crossing borders Alblas was primarily a domestic carrier up till 1960, when its trucks started heading across the border into Germany and Switzerland. Their cargoes of onions, salsify and strawberries needed to stay cool. But with air conditioning not yet available, the only solution was to drive as fast as possible with the tarpaulin rolled up to catch the wind! 125 JAAR ALBLAS INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS 40 10 VRAGEN AAN BRILLENATELIER 18 12ONDERNEMEN IN EEN ‘ONS KENT ONS-KLIMAAT’ DAT SMAAKT NAAR MEER HOEKSCHE ZUIVEL HOEKSCHE ZAKEN 6
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