24.11.2017

Hans Aarse to retire – maybe

Crane and Access industry veteran Hans Aarse is to step back from his role at IPAF after 12 years of service with the organisation and more than 40 years in the industry.

However, from what we understand, while he wants to spend a little more time with his family and grandchildren, we are likely to see him pop up from time to time as he gets involved in a project here and a project there. He will also have some involvement with Verticaaldagen Benelux next year. He is 64.
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Hans Aarse

He joined the industry in 1976 taking a job with Van Kranenburg, the Coles Cranes distributor for the Netherlands, which had also just added the JLG account. Aarse became responsible for JLG products, developing an association with powered access that formed the rest of his career. In 1982 he joined rental company Gunco which has become the Grove-Manlift distributor for the Netherlands. Gunco later added part of Germany to its territory and he opened a Gunco subsidiary in Hanover and managed the business for four years. He left Gunco in 2000 after suffering with his health and worked for a time with a Nissan car and truck dealer.

In 2004 he joined the Vertikal Press as an advertising sales agent for the Benelux region. At the end of 2005 he was spotted by IPAF and joined the Federation to set up a Benelux regional office. Since then he has built a substantial and very successful operation, and at the start of this year began handing over his duties to Jur Kamsteeg.

IPAF chief executive Tim Whiteman said: “Hans has been hugely successful in creating and developing the market in the Benelux countries for us, and since the beginning of the year he has been assisting our development in Eastern Europe. He has always done excellent work for IPAF and can be immensely proud. If Hans should ever grow restless in his retirement, we hope he will join us again to help out on specific projects. In the meantime, we wish him all the best."

Aarse added: “Knowing myself I don’t think or believe that this will be a definite retirement, but for now I am taking some time off in favour of my private life. I have had 12 enjoyable, fruitful and successful years in developing IPAF in the Benelux countries, leaving it behind one and only membership and platform training organisation in Benelux. I feel grateful towards IPAF for having given me the chance to develop IPAF Benelux to the level where it stands now, leaving it behind in growing stage in the qualified hands of my successor Jur Kamsteeg and his member support assistant Corinne Kooijman.”

"I am not disappearing from the industry I have been serving with whole my heart and energy for over 40 years, and will be involved in organising Verticaaldagen Benelux in 2018 and heading on towards what comes on my road to serve the access industry.”