The Story of Braem NV started from the passion of two brothers in 1954

In 1954, two brothers with a passion for trucks and technology set up their own workshop in a modest warehouse in Handzame, Belgium.

1) Dear Jeroen, Could you tell us the history of Braem NV? 

In 1954, two brothers with a passion for trucks and technology set up their own workshop in a modest warehouse in Handzame, Belgium.

From these humble roots, the company has now grown into Braem nv; a third-generation family business that is leading the way in the truck sector.

Today, the company has four divisions: second-hand trucks, Truck spare parts for MAN & Mercedes, aggregates and services.

2) Braem is one of the main truck dealers in Europe? How to explain this success?

We are more than just ‘a truck dealer’. All vehicles undergo detailed inspections and are being prepared for sale in accordance with Braem’s standards. In brief, how do we work for our second-hand truck division: 

1/ Our team of buyers agree on a fair market purchase price with the person selling the truck(s).

2/ The truck is bought

3/ Transport to Braem

4/ Trucks are cleaned before inspection

5/ The vehicles receive a unique passport. All the vehicle specifications are documented.

6/ A report is prepared on the technical condition.

7/ Vehicles are prepared for sale.

8/ The truck is advertised for sale online.

9/ A visit is made to the site & the order form is signed.

10/ You buy the truck ‘in the state he is’. If you want other modifications (f.e. repainting),  arrangements can be made after the sale of the truck.

11/ Transport to the customer: We take care of transport on your behalf or you can collect the vehicle yourself.

-> this is much more than just buying and selling trucks. I think that this is our biggest strength.

3) How does your sales and distribution system work?

We have a different approach per division.

Second-hand trucks:

The entire ‘flow’ is described in question 2, but when it comes to sales, we try to get the customer to Handzame in order to see (in real live) the vehicle in order to avoid discussions afterwards. The sales reps are located in Handzame, but our customers are located around the world.

Spare parts:

Our target group in this division are distributors of spare parts and end-customers who install the spare parts themselves (f.e. A big transport company with in-house mechanics who provide the maintenance of their fleet).

4) Dealing with international clients, how important it is to give them a safe buying experience today? 

Very important! We notice that there are also a lot of scammers on the market. Example: From time to time we notice that the pictures of our vehicles are abused. When we notice this, we immediately report this to the necessary authorities.

On the other hand, it’s very important to sell quality. Word of mouth goes very fast (also in our industry) and bad advertising can't be afforded. Customer satisfaction is very important to us. That is why it is very important to treat customers correctly at all times and to sell correct products.

5) For now, you cover the second-hand trucks, truck spare parts, and truck aggregate industries. Do you plan to extend your system to other industries such as the construction or agricultural sectors?

We also sell (few) second-hand construction or agricultural machinery like bulldozers, Bobcat or Manitou, but that’s not our core business. We focus on trucks, so at this time Braem will stay with those divisions as we call them.

6) You participated in the SOLUTRANS exhibition in 2019. What do you think of this event? Did you have good results and are you thinking of participating in the 2021 edition? 

We are already registered for the 2021 edition.

The 2019 edition was the first time we participated in Solutrans. It gave us a great boost to our recognizability in France. There was a lot of (positive) response to our participation and we were satisfied with the result, hence our re-subscription for 2021.