Dielan Vlaar’s Journey: from Childhood Enthusiasm to Industry Leadership

25 / 01 / 2024

We delve into Dielan Vlaar’s remarkable journey, from primary school to becoming one of the key players at TEKA Kranen, our distributor in the Netherlands. Vlaar reflects on his passion for cranes and how through hard work and motivation he managed to achieve his dream.

How long have you been working in the tower crane industry? 

So it all started in primary school, a little boy with big dreams. Somewhat rebellious, but I knew from an early age what I was doing, the drive to start working was there from very early on and yes, that drive ultimately ensured that I gained a lot of work experience and expertise.

I grew up with tower cranes. The first time I climbed into one I was 9 years old, shhh… Don’t tell anyone. From the age of 13, I started working within the company through a holiday job and during the weekends. From the age of 16, I started working full-time within the company alongside my studies. Here I held a simple technical position, after which I started as a crane operator when I was 18. I worked as a crane operator for 1.5 years, then stopped working in the crane industry at the end age of 19. At that moment I started looking around to see what would suit me and ended up in a commercial position in media/communication/web development. I eventually became “Head of Business Development” there. However, when I was 24, I noticed that I was very good at sales/commerce/management, but that I was not doing anything touchable. What is touchable? I asked myself. Then I came back to my roots and ended up in the tower crane industry again.

Early in your career you sometimes think, “Where am I going? What am I going to do?” Until a certain moment and this moment cannot be fully put into words in my experience. It’s a kind of ‘Struck by lightning’ and this moment was there…

Now I am busy every day with what makes me happiest, which are cranes and the business surrounding them. Going to work with a smile every day is now self-evident.

What is your current profession and what responsibilities do you have?

I am currently part of the three-person management team within the company and I do too much to mention, but I can give a small glimpse into my daily activities: Management | Commercial | Marketing & Communications | Staff | Rental, sales & export

What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy the machines, the employees, suppliers and customers in the industry the most. Because in the end you do it all for one goal!

Do you remember the specific models of tower cranes involved?  

We have tower cranes from JASO and we also have our own developed cranes which are a self-erector on a crawler undercarriage and we are worldwide exclusive in this. We have had other manufacturers of tower cranes in the past, but you cannot match these with the JASO tower cranes and the company/people behind them.

What features or characteristics do you appreciate the most about JASO tower cranes?

The reliability, the simplicity, the service and the people behind the JASO cranes make the difference…

What aspects of JASO as a company do you particularly like? 

That they treat you like family and give you the feeling that we are actually doing it together! If a supplier and factory can give this feeling, you should cherish it together…