History
The foundation for the current De Rijke Group was laid in 1945. In that year our founder, Mr. Cees de Rijke bought the first truck from the American army. At the beginning the activities were mainly focused on the transport of milk and cattle in the region around Spijkenisse and Rotterdam, which was the main area of operations during those first years.
Along with the increase of rolling stock and human capital, the area of operations then expanded into a wider circle and the first assignments for destinations abroad followed soon after. De Rijke enjoyed consistent growth and by 1950 the company was already operating fifteen trucks.
In the following years, the Rotterdam port area saw strong growth and the chemical industry in particular began to form a stronghold in the region. De Rijke did not fail to spot the opportunities and decided to focus on logistics operations for the chemical industry.
Consequently, De Rijke started with the transport of chemical fluids in tank trucks at that time and at the end of the sixties the company opened its first foreign affiliate in France.
The construction and acquisition of several affiliates in the Benelux and in France during the seventies and eighties constituted the basis for ongoing growth.
In the nineties, further expansion of the activities in Europe was key and affiliates were founded particularly in a number of West-European countries.
See below our new De Rijke Group Magazine made in honor of our 75th anniversary, with all the information about the history of the company!