Warehouse and offices in one place

Within a year of starting, Dutch company occupies new building

Freshclusive's story reads like a fairytale. On April 1, 2022, Paul Schockman, his brother Henri, and brothers Robbert and Ruud Krul started this Dutch import and export company. Less than a year later, they moved into their new building in Aalsmeer. With the recent relocation of its warehouse operations, both warehouse and the office are now in one place.

Robbert and Ruud Krul, and Paul and Henri Schockman.

The 16-strong warehouse team, too, loves the new building. For the past year, they had to commute daily to Eindhoven in North Brabant. "In these times, when people prefer to work close to home, our staff drove more than 120km one way every day. That shows tremendous commitment, and we're very grateful for that. We're also glad that from now on, everything's closer to home for everyone," explains Paul.

Taking the new building into use
"We all come from this region. When we heard no occupant had been found for this new building, we quickly reached out. Thus, we could brainstorm about the design at an early stage and make the building truly ours."

Last week, the warehouse was still empty.

"From the start, we divided the tasks so Robbert, Ruud, and Henri could fully focus on the commercial side, and I could take responsibility for the rest. That was no mean feat with this new building because I had to decide on everything - from the inspection carts to the doorknobs. We're, thus, pleased we can move in and are enormously pleased with the result," Paul says proudly.

Sustainable, efficient space
The new building has a refrigerated, 4.500m2 warehouse with eight docks and a 300m2 office area. "With the 1,200 solar panels, we're more than energy-neutral, as we'll generate more than 450,000 kWh annually and expect to use only about 250,000 kWh. We have no gas connection. Thanks to the highly insulative sandwich panel, we lose less cold air too."

The locker room

"Our parking lot has enough charging docks for electric vehicles. There's also plenty of greenery on and around the building; we've planted trees and laid a hedge. We want to take care of both flora and fauna. We'll have bird nests and bee hives on the property in the future, too," adds Paul.

Good prospects
Paul is optimistic about this year's sales. "We have a wide range, extensive global network, and support from various partners. Our entire team's positive commitment drives us, too. We're, thus, greatly anticipating the rest of 2023. It will be a good year. We're a far-off destinations specialist."

"So, we go all over the world, from the US and Canada to the Middle East, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Maldives and Seychelles. Transport capacity is increasing for most places, giving us more opportunities to serve our customers correctly. And from now on, everything's arranged in one place, from our new location,' Paul concludes.