Company profile
We offer intermodal transport of bulk liquid and powder materials by tank
container. We specialize in combined transport using a variety of road, rail and
sea combinations across Europe.
Our fleet, currently 850 tank containers, is managed by our offices in Zeebrugge
(BE), Manchester (UK), Tarragona (SP) and Novara (IT).
We operate third party tank containers as well. We undertake trucking, shipping,
railing, logistic planning, cleaning, repair and maintenance of customer owned
tank container fleets.
Our aim is to continuously improve our quality, keep safety as a prime target
and develop long term relationships with our customers.
Facts & Figures
- Branch offices in Belgium, UK, Spain and Italy
- Central maintenance center in Zeebrugge Belgium
- Over 850 high quality tank containers
- Different types of transport (chemical/edible - liquid/powder)
- Various volumes from 7500 litres up to 35.000 litres
- Safety & Quality service
- Custom built equipment
- pan-European coverage
- 45 dedicated staff members
- Over 35 years of transport experience
- Modern IT Infrastructure (Digital planning, custom made ERP, ...)
- Established in 1976
Our vision of the future
Huktra NV plans further development in Europe, based upon the quality of its
equipment and systems, and the commitment of its people.
The fleet size has reached over 850 units and is still growing.
Consequent investments in our IT-Infrastructure and implementation of quality orientated audit programs protect the existing high-quality and cost-effective service
level.
These efforts have been rewarded with the ISO 9002 certificate since 1992, now evolved into the 9002:2000 certificate
and by passing the SQAS audit several times with excellent results. Huktra was also the
first intermodal tank container operator to obtain the GMP certificate.
Prime attention is, and will always be given to quality and open communication
with the customer at all levels. Safety before profitability - always!
As a transport company, nobody can ever offer the perfect, never failing service
package.
Huktra isn't able to make trains run faster, or avoid unexpected
traffic jams, but in return puts all its efforts into offering quick and quality
communication, and fulfilling customer's requirements.
Company History
Huktra NV was established in 1976 by Roland Van Poucke as a small forwarding
company, located in the port of Zeebrugge (Belgium).
Huktra's core business at that time was international
forwarding. During those initial years, Huktra acquired some tank containers.
This type of equipment was new and unique at the time.
Tank containers formed an interesting alternative towards sending driver
accompanied vehicles across the channel. They were ideal in size and weight for
both liquid and powder products, allowing new increased net weights to be
carried.
The office
was situated in the port of Zeebrugge, a modern, dynamic European
port with fluent Intermodal connections between rail and shipping systems. The
outer port, partially built on land gained from the sea, is round the clock
accessible to all modes of modern and fast traffic.
Zeebrugge's swift cross channel operations prove to be an asset for Huktra's
transport operations.
From 1982 on, Huktra started building and buying new containers for the further
expansion of their tank container fleet. During the mid-eighties, Huktra
targeted its efforts mainly on Benelux. In 1989, the company experienced an
explosive growth when Huktra bought large amounts of tank containers and
expanded its activities to mainland Europe. In correlation with this expansion,
Huktra started to use the intermodal rail network to improve the
level of quality service towards its customers.
Very quickly, Huktra developed a regular transport system between the Benelux
and Italy, carrying all types of chemicals and edibles back and forth. The
combination of the rail advantages with the Huktra system produced a successful
business, and resulted in the founding of Huktra's first subsidiary in
Novara, Italy
In mid 1992, Huktra moved into a new office complex, located in the
Transportzone Zeebrugge, Belgium. The complex is owned by Huktra, and expresses the
ambition of further growth, through an always improving service-package and a
distinctive quality approach.
Managed from its new office, Huktra continued its successful business
with Italy, and started a similar system towards Spain. It allowed Huktra once
again to widen its service to multinational chemical customers and traders in
the edible market. The system developed gradually and showed the same success as
the Italian route. As a next logical step, by 1994, Huktra established an office
in Tarragona, Spain
In 1996, Huktra reorganized its activities in the UK. The unavoidable separation
with Huktra UK Ltd in Widnes gave the company the
opportunity to set up its own office in Manchester, UK. These changes made it
possible for Huktra to provide the same high quality and reliable service to
customers all over Europe. At the same time, on the operational side, Huktra
engaged into two long-term partnerships with high-quality local hauliers, who
both carry the ISO 9002 certification, similar to Huktra's own certification
standard.
In 2008, Huktra acquired a
new site for its Maintenance center situated in Brugge.
Huktra remains a private company to this day, with offices in Zeebrugge (Belgium), Novara (Italy), Manchester (UK) and Tarragona (Spain).
The company now owns and operates an ever-growing fleet of tank containers, and is involved in transport of chemicals as well as edibles (liquid and powder form).