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Berkhof Groep

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Berkhof Groep
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1970
FounderArthur Berkhof
Henk Berkhof
Defunct2010
SuccessorVDL Bus & Coach
Headquarters
The Netherlands
ProductsBuses
ParentVDL Groep
SubsidiariesJonckheere
Websitewww.vdlberkhof.com
A Blue Line Coaches, Belgium Berkhof Axial 70 in September 2002
Berkhof Excellence 1000 coach with Volvo chassis in Lviv, Ukraine

Berkhof Groep (later Berkhof Jonckheere Groep and VDL Berkhof) was a Netherlands based bus and coach builder, founded in 1970 by Arthur Berkhof and his son Henk. It started with only 10 employees in a 1,000 m2 factory. During the first 18 months the company only carried out bus repairs.

In 1985, the operation moved to a brand new 10,000 m2 facility in Valkenswaard. The number of employees was now 132. The factory expanded in 1989 by an additional 10,000 m2 resulting in a production capacity of 350 units a year following the acquisition of Hainje.[1]

In 1994 Belgium bus and coach manufacturer Jonckheere with a total sales of 400 units per year and 500 employees, was acquired. The total staff number of employees of the Berkhof Groep now reached 1,200.

In 1997, the company changed its name from Berkhof Groep to Berkhof Jonckheere Groep. In 1998 it was bought by the VDL Groep and in 2010 was subsumed by VDL Bus & Coach.

The company has also built low-floor articulated trolleybuses for Arnhem in the Netherlands,[2] and Solingen in Germany.[3]

Former models

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References

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  1. ^ In Brief Commercial Motor 16 February 1989
  2. ^ Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia, p. 109. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
  3. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 252 (Nov.-Dec. 2003), p. 132. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
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