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‘Maintaining The Flexibility That Is Required In The Events Industry’: Q’s With Louise Smit of Pieter Smit Trucking & Nightliner
According to Louise Smit, board member at Pieter Smit Trucking and Nightliner, and a 2023 Pollstar and VenuesNow Impact International honoree, the Dutch biz is running smoothly again, notwithstanding the occasional hiccup, which is simply part of the deal of working in live.
Thanks to sensible budgeting, and support from the Dutch government, Pieter Smit was able to keep most of its staff, allowing the company to continue to deliver at the high standard it has become known for in Europe and beyond.
See: All Of Pollstar’s Inaugural Dutch Focus
Pollstar: What’s the situation like at the moment in the Dutch live entertainment world from the perspective of a logistics company? Are you back to business as “usual,” being fully aware that this was never an industry where things always go according to plan?
Louise Smit: We are back to business as usual, maintaining the flexibility that is required in the events industry.
Are there more events than one can handle, or have events leveled out again at a manageable number?
In 2023, we saw a growth in the festivals and stadium tours. Our fleet expanded to 325 trucks in 2023 to meet the requirements for the summer. We notice that the market calmed down.
Do you notice a lack of staff, not necessarily within the Pieter Smit Group, but with the various partners you deal with – venues, event organizers, etc.?
Everybody had to “restart” after Covid, find and train new people, etc. A lot of new colleagues entered the industry in 2022. So in 2022 we did notice this, but in 2023 this leveled out too.
Tying into staffing: is it easy to find the next generation of drivers? Is the logistics business considered an attractive industry to work in by new applicants?
Getting your truck license has become very expensive and also much more difficult in the Netherlands, which prevents young people from getting it. Of course, safety comes first, but we should maintain a balance, and not overdo it, to keep the inflow. In Germany, for example, some 30,000 drivers retire every year, but only half of that number start [in this industry].
Impact International UK/Euro: Louise Smit
Do you notice a difference in attitude with the new generation of drivers/workers?
Every generation has a different perspective on the world and different challenges. It has become very hard to buy an house, for example. I think we should keep those [new challenges] in mind, and try to understand them. I cannot change it, but only adjust my company to it, which requires flexibility.
I definitely notice a difference in opinion between the new generation and the colleagues that have been working with us for a long time when it comes to the topic of working from home. It is what it is. It means the search takes a bit longer, but it’s also more precise, which is okay. You definitely have to put in more effort in the recruitment process these days, and since our HR department is small, we started working with recruiters more frequently.
How has the stadium boom affected your workload? And do you also notice a reduction in smaller-cap shows? I’m assuming all of this will influence decisions you’re making in terms of your fleet.
Inflation has had quite an impact on the smaller-cap shows, since they are not able to raise the ticket prices like the popular stadium acts that sell out the minute they go on sale. But their costs for staff and resources went up, too. We offer a big fleet of smaller vehicles, which are more affordable.
How do you navigate the challenging economy, which has made everything more expensive for everyone?
In a fast-changing economy, data has proven to be more important than ever before. You need to make the right decisions at the right time, based on the right information. And given the speed at which things are moving nowadays, you need the information sooner than later.
How have nightliners in particular changed over the years? Have the demands of the clients become more extravagant?
Our clients are a varied, from crew, sports teams, to acts of all sizes. We offer all the basics they might need, from a kitchen, and TV, to lounges, comfy beds, etc. There is only so much you can put in a bus, without losing valuable space to store your luggage and gear.
Where’s the logistics and transportation business headed? And do you see a bright future in the concept of driver-less trucks, or not?
The technological developments are happening rapidly, from AI/chat GPT to autonomous vehicles. Some aspects can definitely support [our industry], especially on the side of safety.
The tools available today can provide so much data, but the flip side is the aspect of privacy. It is an act of balance.
With regards to self-steering trucks: if this development goes through, it will change the entire world as we know it. Therefore, we have to be careful, and take the long-term effects into account. There are quite a few aspects to overcome first, before we will see this concept on the road, including safety and legal aspects. Public acceptance and trust will also play a crucial role in this development.
How long have you been working with ESNS, and what is it you do for them? It’s quite cool to think that you may have supplied a venue with the necessary equipment for an artists that went on to become a superstar, or provided shuttle services for a new band that are now superstars.
We have partnered up with ESNS for the last 10 years. We are the preferred supplier to shuttle the bands from venue to the artist village, and back to the hotel.
This year we sponsor ESNS with 23 splitter vans, of which 19 are fueled with sustainable HVO fuel, plus four luxury electric VIP shuttle vans powered by solar power to move keynote speakers and VIP delegates.
We’ll transport all necessary backline, rigging, lights, sound, and video with 16 trucks, which are also boosted with HVO fuel. There’s another 10 box vans that are dedicated to provide the venues with gear, also powered with HVO fuel
What is more, there are customers renting vans at one of our six departments in Europe to attend the festival. All in all there’ll be around 50 of our vehicles driving around in the city of Groningen [during ESNS].
We have big clients, such as the RHCP or Pearl Jam, but at ESNS we are looking out for the smaller, up-and-coming bands. We give them a good deal on a rental van, and we hope that in the future they’ll scale up to truck or nightliners. A few of the artist, who won an MME Award are now our clients, such as Stromae and Naaz. We are working on sponsoring the award-winning artists with a splitter van for an upcoming tour for free, so they get used to our fleet.
As part of our deal with ESNS, we also participate in the conference on topics like the future of touring, and green touring solutions, to share our knowledge and show our green ambitions.
What’s your philosophy on sustainability in an industry that is by its very nature not the most economical/fuel-saving? You can’t tell an artist on world tour to take the bicycle, after all.
Taking it step by step, and do the best we can. Here is a whole article about it.