100TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUTCH CITYBUS MANUFACTURER VDL BERKHOF HEERENVEEN
VDL Berkhof Heerenveen celebrated recently its 100th anniversary. The company started in 1907 under the name Rijtuig en Wagenmakerij B. Hainje. Hainje made the transfer to bus manufacture from 1922 onwards.
As from 1 January 1989, the company became part of the Berkhof Groep which itself was then taken over in 1998 by the VDL Groep. VDL Berkhof Heerenveen now operates together with the other VDL bus companies under the name VDL Bus & Coach.
The first bus series production took place in 1951 for the RET in Rotterdam. The CSA city bus was developed later. This bus was intended for public transport in the nine major cities in the Netherlands. The first bus was delivered in Amsterdam in 1966. Other products were then developed such as the Hainje minibus, the Premier trolleybus, the Premier SB250 low floor bus and the Jonckheer SB250 low floor city bus. The Ambassador is the most successful bus. This lightweight public transport bus with its low instep is specially intended for the difficult conditions of city and regional transport. About 1800 Ambassadors have till now been sold.
