An interview with Peter and Sjef Boekestijn
Boekestijn Transport Service from Mill (The Netherlands) has long since ceased to be an ordinary Dutch transport company. That became clear this autumn, when the trucking activities were given a new brandname: Egala. More than just a new name — it marks a turning point in the existence of the family business, say outgoing CEO Peter Boekestijn and his successor Sjef Boekestijn. TTM.nl visited the family company in Poznań.
Boekestijn Transport was founded in 1994 by brothers Arno and Peter Boekestijn, starting in a bedroom with a single computer. The first trucks followed soon after, along with expansion into Eastern Europe. With locations in Poland, Germany, Ireland, England, Belgium, Romania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Sweden, the company grew into a specialist in niche markets such as high value, fashion, pharma, and trucking. Important milestones included the acquisitions of R&W Fashion Transport (2007) and European Trucking (2020). A low point was the sudden death of Arno in 2019. Meanwhile, trucking became the company’s largest pillar. In 2025, this led to a formal split: Boekestijn Transport Service and Egala, together employing 2,600 people.
.webp)
Your company has now been split into Boekestijn Transport Service and Egala. What is the difference?
Peter Boekestijn:
“Boekestijn remains a transport company in the classic sense. We plan trips and serve our own customers. Egala focuses purely on trucking: providing capacity, drivers, and trucks to transport companies or shippers. Egala is a service provider for other logistics players.”
Sjef Boekestijn:
“Trucking has grown enormously in recent years. Egala now represents around 90 percent of our activities, with 1,500 trucks. Boekestijn Transport uses about a hundred of those. That way, we are our own customer and test lab. Transport remains independent, while Egala focuses on innovation, data, and growth. We even have a dedicated department for that here: Faster & Better.”
Is Egala really new? The name sounds familiar…
Sjef:
“Formally, yes. We first tested the brand in England, with a hundred trucks in the new branding. That worked well, so in September we rolled out Egala across Europe.”
Peter:
“The new name was also necessary. ‘Boekestijn’ is difficult to pronounce outside the Netherlands — from Boyekistie to Bökestien. Egala is short, international, and stands for energy, equality, and cooperation.”
Egala has ten locations in Europe. What does that network look like?
“No branches, support hubs,” Sjef replies. “They are not full offices with planners, but hubs for recruitment, training, or local sales. For example, we have two locations in Germany, mainly as parking and service areas, and small offices in Ireland and England. In Moldova, we have a larger office where many administrative tasks are also centralized.”
Peter:
“All operational management happens here in Poznań (Poland), from what we call the control tower. Legally, the headquarters are still in the Netherlands, but day-to-day management happens here. From our control tower, around twelve teams of eight employees each manage 120 trucks. They are fully responsible for those trucks. We work according to Eckart Wintzen’s cell model: small, self-managing teams that grow and then split. And it works. People feel ownership. When Egala grows, the workload per person doesn’t increase — we simply add another table with eight employees. That way, the organization remains manageable, even when operating 1,500 trucks or more.”
A fleet of 1,500 trucks. Does that also mean 1,500 drivers?
Peter:
“Even more — we have over 2,600 employees. At Egala, we calculate more than one and a half drivers per truck. We promise our customers availability 365 days a year.”
Sjef:
“About ten percent of our people work in offices; the rest are drivers. We also employ more than fifteen recruiters and twenty trainers. That says something about where our focus lies: people first.”
People First was also emphasized during the launch of Egala. How do you put that into practice?
Peter:
“By taking good care of our people. We’ve been certified as a Great Place to Work for four years now. That judgment comes from our own employees — last year, 650 people completed the survey.”
Sjef:
“Three-quarters of our new drivers come via referrals: Tell a Friend program. That only works if people are proud of their employer. Of course, we offer a referral bonus, but satisfaction is the foundation.”
Peter:
“We also feel a moral obligation. The sector has had a bad reputation for too long: white license plates, poor facilities. We show that it can be done differently. Our drivers get safe parking facilities, medical care for their families, and help with private issues. When the war in Ukraine broke out, we did everything we could to support our people and their families.”
How important is technology for Egala?
Sjef:
“Technology is essential. We built our own software system — our own TMS, but as a trucking management system. We started in 2017 with an external partner from Eindhoven who had never done anything in transport before. That allowed us to think completely from scratch. The system contains our company philosophy. It guides workflows, controls trucks, and safeguards data. It is the backbone of everything related to digitization and AI. Because it’s our own database, we can analyze and predict much better than companies using standard software. The foundation for AI is already there. Our system is built on clean, consistent data, which makes it easy to apply AI models — for planning, fuel consumption, maintenance, or personnel management.”
Peter:
“We also handle communication with customers in our own way. All communication runs through our own system. But customers can choose their preferred channel — email, WhatsApp, Teams, phone. On our side, it all comes together in one system. That keeps things manageable and transparent.”
When talking about innovation, sustainability also comes into play. Are you already driving e-trucks?
Peter:
“We’ve been operating electric trucks for 2.5 years now. During our event in September, we unveiled two new Mercedes eActros trucks, which are now running dedicated routes for a customer. New units have already been ordered. Of course, the share is still small, but we want to learn — charging, planning, data management. We are active members of the European Clean Trucking Alliance, where we share knowledge with other carriers.”
What can Egala offer companies that are hesitant about switching to electric?
Peter:
“A great deal. In the Netherlands, but also across Europe, we see companies running into limits - both in the energy transition and in business succession, for example. Then operating asset-light becomes an option. That’s truly a solution for smaller carriers. No own trucks, no transition to e-trucks, no fleet worries — just focusing on transport performance. That is the essence of what we can offer with Egala.”
Business succession—let’s talk about that. Sjef, you recently became CEO. What will you do differently from Peter?
Sjef:
“I don’t think it’s about doing things differently, but about building further. Peter leaves behind a mature organization with Egala. We will continue to develop it with a focus on people and digitalization.”
Peter looks at Sjef:
“Sjef joined us in 2012 as a young guy. He found his footing in Poland and built the trucking division from scratch. He knows the organization inside and out — the people, the customers, the systems, and the processes. So continuity is assured.”
And Sjef, what about the family legacy and the influence of your father, Arno Boekestijn?
Sjef:
“It’s tangible every day. My father started in 1994 in an attic room with one phone and one computer. He followed his own course, and I can — and want to — do the same. We want to grow, but not at the expense of our culture. Egala may be a new name, but the values are old and familiar.”
Peter, you are handing over the baton. What will you do after January 2026?
“I’ll remain involved for the time being, but more at a distance, as a member of the Supervisory Board. There are still plenty of projects I want to support, but I hand over day-to-day management to Sjef with complete confidence.”
And what does the future look like? What is the horizon for Egala?
Sjef:
“We want to continue growing, but in a controlled way — no growth for growth’s sake. Our strength lies in the quality of our services, our people, and our technology. We are looking at further locations in Western Europe and will continue investing in sustainability.
3,000 trucks by 2030? That has been mentioned, but it’s not a hard target in itself. We truly aim for Faster & Better, always with people at the center. Because trucking is ultimately not about trucks, but about trust.”
TEXT: Arjan Velthoven
PHOTOS: Pawel Wojtaszek
Author: Arjan Velthoven
Publication date — 11 December 2025, Source: TTM.nl magazine
