Project Versailles

27 September 2023

In the end, money has to be made – it’s as simple as that. Without business, no Ritra; without Ritra, no team. But we make no secret of the fact that we like to do more than just transport from A to B (or Z). The difference mainly lies in how we do it. Provide good service? Of course. Explain in detail? Sure. But we’d much rather go one step further. Our colleague John, a familiar face at Ritra’s Schiphol office for years, talks about a unique project that also went a step further.

John at a glance

John Bouwmeester has been working here for over 18 years: he has been a familiar face at Ritra Schiphol since 2005. Sporty and the proud father of a grown-up son, John is known as a committed employee with a substantial network. It’s no coincidence that his responsibilities include maintaining contacts with the aviation industry association, ACN.

John is also a great advocate of improvement and digitalisation. Together with ICT specialist Theo, he has scrutinised various processes in the past year with the goal of (further) digitalising them. He is keen to pass on his knowledge and expertise to the younger generation and has therefore already taken many interns under his wing. John is particularly intrigued by the more ‘difficult’ projects and their intensive supervision. Together with the customer, he likes to look a little further for the very best result.

Just one phone call

It was a day like any other. A call (or an email) comes in on the central number. After a short conversation, this person is transferred to the employee who has the right expertise to get the job done. And so just one phone call from the Rotterdam office to the Schiphol office ensures that you suddenly have a particularly nice project on your desk. And not exactly a standard job…

John says:

“At the end of July, we were approached via the Rotterdam office to provide a quote for air freight of a bronze statue to Brazil.

Brigitte Boss Sculptures in Ermelo had been commissioned to make a bronze statue of a foal, called Versailles.

It had to be individually packed at an angle in a crate to fit in the plane. We applied extra “fragile” tape.

After many adjustments in the documentation, we got the green light from the local customs clearance agent in Brazil. So all our joint efforts and time paid off.

It flew without a hitch via Madrid to Rio De Janeiro, where the owner could exhibit it.”

All’s well that ends well

This is a photo of the bronze foal Versailles, after arrival and installation in Brazil:

The lovely feedback and wonderful cake we received from the customer afterwards make us very proud. Brigitte & Arnoudt:

It was our first time working with you. The recipients were very happy with your patience and extra efforts with the documents!

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with ‘satisfied’. But we would much rather hear that our customers are ‘happy’. Would you also rather be happy than satisfied with your air freight forwarder? Then contact our team at Schiphol. Rob, John, Jordi, Mike, Jessey and Karina will be happy to help!

Curious about the work of artist Brigitte Boss? On her website you will find many more of her beautiful works.