*Cooperation with Dutch family businesses confirmed
Two Dutch family businesses have continued their decades-long cooperation: VDL has delivered 10 new VDL Futuras to Kupers. The coach company is preparing for the upcoming travel season. “In terms of timing, this delivery could not have been better,” stated Ard Romers, Managing Director of VDL Bus & Coach Nederland.
The relationship between Kupers and VDL goes back a long way, and over the years Kupers has invested in more than 350 VDL buses and coaches. “A long-standing cooperation to be proud of,” conclude Romers and Bert Fonteijn, Managing Directors of Kupers Touringcars.
“After a difficult period, especially for the tourism sector, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” says Fonteijn. With this investment, Kupers is indicating that it is once again ready for the future. “After the travel restrictions we have experienced recently, we now see the market recovering. People remain mobile, have a need for flexibility and want to go on beautiful trips again. We are the market leader in the Eindhoven region and that is precisely why the relationship with VDL, as an Eindhoven-based organisation with its roots in the region, is so special. To us, delivering quality is the most important thing and VDL’s method of working fits in perfectly with that.”
Production started
“We see the coach market showing signs of recovery. This is a positive development. VDL Bus & Coach has recently restarted the production of coaches, allowing us to respond well to the needs and demands of the European market. The VDL Futura range has a proven track record of reliability and cost-effectiveness. In particular, the competitive cost per kilometre due to the low weight and high capacity is extremely important, especially at a time when the price of fuel is skyrocketing. The fuel-efficient Euro 6 powertrain is good for the bottom line and puts minimal strain on the environment.”
Luxury travel
The Futuras delivered to Kupers consist of two length variants: 8 Futuras FHD2-129 with 53+1+1 seats and 2 Futuras FHD2-139: one vehicle is equipped with 61+1+1 seats and the other with 57+1+1. All Futuras have extremely comfortable VDL Class 300 and 500 seats. This type of coach is ideally suited for luxury travel: comfort, safety, technology and design are perfectly matched. High-performance technology that has proven its worth over billions of kilometres, combined with economical, environmentally friendly and powerful engines, ensures maximum ‘Profit of Ownership’.
Kupers also opted for a complete design including refrigerators, coffee facilities, LCD screens and a USB connection at every seat. Various safety systems have also been chosen to ensure the safety of both the passenger and the driver.
Kupers Touringcars
Kupers was founded in 1931 and started out transporting workers to the various factories in Limburg and North Brabant. After the war, in 1945, the company was restarted and towards the 1960s and 1970s Kupers started to focus more on day trips and multi-day coach holidays throughout Europe. The partnership with De Jong Intra Vakanties dates back to 1978 and Kupers has held a 50% stake in De Jong Intra Vakanties since 2013. Furthermore,Kupers operates trips for its own label Van der Biesen Travel and works intensively with many other parties, including Arriva Personenvervoer (scheduled transport), FlixBus (international scheduled transport), DAF Trucks (employee transport) and various sports clubs such as PSV, Willem II, RKC and Fortuna Sittard.
In recent years, Kupers has made several acquisitions in order to create scale through geographical expansion and creating diversity within the work package by focusing on the local market. Kupers took over Litax Reizen from Reuver/Roermond in 2015, de Kruyff Touring cars from Eindhoven in 2017 and BBA Tours from Tilburg in 2018. Turnover has grown in recent years from around EUR 5 million in 2014 to EUR 18 million in 2019. Today, the fleet consists of over 85 units and the workforce of over 250 employees. Kupers attaches great value to delivering top quality and therefore invests between 4 and 5 million euros in new vehicles every year. 84 out of the total of 85 buses and coaches are therefore equipped with ultra-modern Euro 6 engines, which is unique in the industry. The vintage convertible bus is the only exception.
