It was a challenging time, because Leipzig was still developing after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I had to live there for two years and could only see my wife occasionally. And back then, project managers had three roles (project, construction and integration), not one.

One day, a visitor from The Netherlands arrived on site. I was surprised – as I wasn’t expecting anyone – and I had never met this gentleman before. Without introducing himself, he explained that he was from Vanderlande and asked if he could look at the system.

During the tour, the mystery guest stopped suddenly and asked if only some of the equipment had been supplied by Vanderlande. I confirmed that all the conveyors were from our company.

He then disagreed, because there was no branding visible and stressed the importance of this by saying: “The first thing they did when they stepped on to the moon was to put a flag in the ground…”

Towards the end, he revealed that he was none other than Rein… van der Lande! The owner of Vanderlande! I was shocked and even thought he might be joking. However, my VIP guest explained that he wanted to complete the tour.

He enjoyed the experience, continued to visit me regularly and always kept in personal contact – even after he had sold the company. This is typical of my experiences with Vanderlande and a good example of the trust-based culture that exists within the company.

More memories

I visited more than 60 countries in 25 years 

Rene Veldink, Netherlands

In the 25 years that I have worked at Vanderlande now, the company has grown from 800 to almost 10,000…

We don’t only talk the talk, we walk the walk

Shainu Varghese, India

From the moment I walked through the door of the Vanderlande office, I felt like I was part of a…

We won the project because we adhered to Vanderlande’s core values

Hong Wang, China

I still remember the first project I worked on in Vanderlande. Although the project value was less than one million…

Vanderlande cares about its employees and the community

LaTonya Williams, United States

What I like about working at Vanderlande is the independence to express and execute new ideas. I had an idea…

Working with people around the world in a time before Microsoft Teams

Vincent Kwaks, Netherlands

Throughout the years, I did a lot of projects at Vanderlande. But one stands out for me: London Heathrow Airport….

First team Vanderlande Spain

Felipe, Spain

I would like to share a photo of the first team of Vanderlande Spain. The photo is taken in the…

Looking back at the grand première of the Vanderlande 75 documentary

On Monday 3 June the grand première of our Vanderlande 75 documentary – “In a world of technology, a belief…

My second home!

Namdeo Sakore, India

For over six years, I’ve been engaged with Vanderlande, serving as a Team Leader. What particularly resonates with me about…

Teamwork!

Robbert Faas, Netherlands

After I recently (re)joined Vanderlande, I realized that I have to make a contribution to the 75 year stories! This…

My transition from customer to supplier seemed surreal

Ehab Lashkar, Saudi Arabia

When Ehab Lashkar was celebrating the completion of one of the largest Vanderlande baggage handling systems (BHS), little did he…