TVM looks around the region and the possible departure from Hoogeveen has hit politics like a bombshell. The full city council voted in favor of the motion to do everything possible to retain the insurer.
Revealed last week Dagblad van het Noorden that TVM is conducting new research into the future location, possibly outside Hoogeveen. As chairman of the council, Mayor Karel Loohuis fully shared the views of his council. The council unanimously adopted a joint motion on Thursday evening to urge the council, but also TVM itself, to do everything to keep the company in Hoogeveen.
Roots
“What you are calling for is completely in line with the commitment of the council,” said Loohuis, who is working, but is already working on it, to persuade TVM to stay in Hoogeveen. “And we do this together with the province of Drenthe.”
The adopted motion was not only addressed to the council, but also to TVM. “That makes this call a lot more powerful,” said Loohuis.
The parties in the council all voted in favor of retaining TVM. “TVM should not want to leave their roots,” explained Bert Otten (CDA). “The origins, when TVM was still called TransVeMij, lie in Hoogeveen. Hoogeveen entrepreneurs then founded the cooperative.”
Logistics hub
The SGP, through Brand van Rijn, believed that TVM should not forget that municipal politics “stretched out its hands” for TVM in previous periods. “They have to take that into account in their decision.”
The importance of TVM insurance in Hoogeveen is great, according to the politicians. PvdA councilor Stan van Eck said that he was “startled” by the news that TVM is looking for a future location outside Hoogeveen. “Because TVM and Hoogeveen are two strong brands that belong together.”
If TVM leaves, it will have major consequences for Hoogeveen, emphasized Ronald Klok of the VVD. “Hoogeveen is a logistics hub, TVM is a big name in the logistics sector. It’s a perfect fit. And it’s not just about employment, but also think about what lies behind it in the form of suppliers and the middle class.”
500 people
Although TVM made it clear in 2019 that it wanted to stay in Hoogeveen, five years later that is far from certain. Zwolle, which came out on top in an earlier study, would be in the picture again. The transport insurer wants to say goodbye to its current building on Van Limburg Stirumstraat before 2030. That building no longer meets today’s requirements.
TVM will make a decision around the summer of this year about the future location of its head office, where around 500 people work.