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Case | ASP Handling
In conversation with Ann Govaerts of ASP Handling
With our innovative smart electric tugs, we make wheeled goods handling lighter, more efficient and easier for all industries. We do this together with our dealers, at home and abroad. One of these dealers is ASP Handling in Belgium. They were the first smart electric tug dealer outside our borders. Ann Govaerts, CEO of ASP Handling, shares her experience about this successful cooperation.
Over 30 years of experience in ergonomic material handling
ASP Handling has been a specialist in ergonomic material handling and internal transport equipment for more than 30 years. The family business was founded in 1988 by Ann Govaerts’ parents. She joined the company in 2005 and took over from her parents a few years later. “It started as a specialist in barrels handling, but our product range quickly expanded. Today we are the Belgian importer of a range of leading top-quality brands, including Movexx’s smart electric tugs” says Ann.
Immediately impressed
“I discovered the smart electric tugs at the Logistica exhibition in the Netherlands. My first thought was immediately ‘wow, these green machines are very ingenious’. We got into a conversation and shortly afterwards concluded the dealer agreement to sell the tugs in Belgium. With this, we became the first dealer of smart electric tugs outside the Netherlands,” says Ann. Almost twenty years later, ASP Handling is still a highly respected dealer, but not the only one anymore for a long time outside the Dutch borders.
A double win with smart electric tugs
“Pulling and dragging carts puts enormous strain on the body. So it is absolutely useful to use a smart electric tug when moving wheeled loads. And although ergonomics is very important to us and the endusers, managers who have to come up with budgets prefer to hear other arguments. On the one hand, of course, there is the absenteeism that is saved, but another big advantage is that efficiency is greatly increased. Someone who normally pulls one 300-kilo trolley can use a smart electric tug to create a train of several trolleys and move them at the same time. The capacity that one person can pull is increased, making work faster and more efficient. That is a double win” says Ann.
Our customers can no longer live without it
“The great thing about this product is that it can be used in any industry” says Ann. ASP Handling therefore supplies a variety of sectors from healthcare to heavy industry and retail. “It sometimes happens, especially in retail, that a tug falls off the tailgate and breaks down. Then we have to come immediately. If a machine is defective for a bit longer, customers ask to borrow our demo tug. We feel that this service is actually requested, because our customers cannot spare the tugs for a day. That is the best feedback we can get,” Ann says.
Serving the market even better together
Collaboration is essential for innovation, which is also true for the further development of smart electric tugs. “Henk van Vlastuin, former Movexx director, and my father spent many evenings together brainstorming on how they could make the smart electric tugs even better” indicates Ann. “For example, we received a lot of demand from companies in the pharmaceutical industry. This increasing demand from pharmaceutical companies formed the basis for the development of the cleanroom machines” continues Ann. “We enjoy Movexx’s innovativeness enormously. The tugs are constantly being further developed with valuable modifications. For us as a dealer, it is incredibly nice to be able to constantly offer new things. Our customers also greatly appreciate this continuous evolution. And for us it is a very nice added value. In addition to the top quality of the machines, of course.”
Top quality, excellent service and a great team
Ann describes working with Movexx as a lot of fun. “Movexx has a super cool team that we enjoy working with. There is another point that makes Movexx unique for us: the development of market demand. More and more transport is on wheels and the demand for electric tugs is increasing. This offers us many opportunities. And not only to us, but also to Movexx. We see that the market is really open to smart electric tugs” concludes Ann.
Interested in a partnership?