A gathering of friends and colleagues feted former Eurofrigo BV Managing Director Derk van Mackelenbergh recently at the company’s flagship cold storage logistics complex in Rotterdam. The salute came during a special Eurofrigo Day event that also marked 25 years of Border Inspection Point (BIP) activities at the bustling port facility.
Mackelenbergh, who retired during the summer after spending his last year on the job as senior advisor, received an official “thank you” for all he did during the past 18 years to advance and promote the Nichirei European Logistics Group subsidiary’s operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and beyond. Bestowing the honors was his successor, Jeroen Tempels, who also offered a positive outlook on the company’s future.
Derk van Mackelenbergh (right) and wife Hanneke listen as Eurofrigo Managing Director Jeroen Tempels applauds the retired executive for his many years of leadership at the company’s helm.Van Mackelenbergh spent nearly a quarter-century in the temperature-controlled logistics and supply chain industry, having also served almost five years as commercial manager of Van Bon Cold Stores & Transportation Services at the Port of Flushing, Beneden-Leeuwen and the Port of Tilbury from 1995-2000.
While running Eurofrigo he was directly in charge of five coldstores containing approximately 135,000 pallet positions and 550,000 cubic meters of space. In addition to facilities at the Port of Rotterdam, he was responsible for operations in Venlo and Roermond.
Fluent in five languages, the Dutch national traveled the world during his productive career, expanding business and cultivating commercial relationships, as well as acting as an international ambassador for the industry. Along the way he found time to serve as chairman and member of the board of directors of the Brussels-based European Cold Storage and Logistics Association (ECSLA) and the Alexandria, Virginia, USA-headquartered World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO).
He is a recipient of the ECSLA Penguin Award for dedicated service to the European cold storage industry. Though now officially retired from Eurofrigo and thus able to spend more time with grandchildren and other family members, as well as enjoy hobbies which include sports cars, golf and skiing, Derk will remain engaged in the public refrigerated warehousing sector as a member of the supervisory board at Nekovri, the Dutch Cold Stores Association. – Reported by John Saulnier
