Establishing BAS E-LIFTERS as a independent company happened late 2020, but preparations and discussions had been going on much longer. This is our story.

Early days

People that know me (Aart, one of two co-founders) personally have told me that I am a charismatic visionary with a big love for new innovative technologies. Since my twenties I have been involved in various tech start-ups such as developing the Outcome E-Survey System in 1999 and establishing Linde Consult in 2008, a company supplying the worlds largest Food Processing & Handling Equipment Database to global customers.

In 2016, I became involved with EcoNord, which is an Icelandic manufacturing company pioneering to develop a fully electric bin lifter. After some years things did not turn out as expected and I resigned. I also quit as a member of the Service Leadership Team at Marel, a leading food processing equipment manufacturing company. It became obvious to me that now was the right time to start my own OEM and develop the best E-lifter ever made.

The vision

Combining my knowledge of start-ups; innovative equipment design; disruptive new technologies; and extended professional network I wanted to design a robust electric bin lift system for the waste management industry, starting with a bin lifter for garbage trucks and a stand-alone e-lifter for industrial applications.

In my vision, this bin lift system would be superior to other systems in the market so operators would prize its efficiency, quality, safety and user-friendliness. As well, I wanted it to contribute to a clean and sustainable world for current and future generations. No hydraulics, low noise, low dust, few moving parts, and low total cost of ownership thanks to modular build and low maintenance costs. A modular build should enable various applications.

The 'BAS' in BAS E-LIFTERS

'Alone you can go faster, but together you go farther', a wise man said. I have always liked that mantra. So when I thought of embarking on this adventure I asked my cousin Bas van der Windt how he felt about doing this together.

Bas is a brilliant engineer and inventor. During the past 8 years, he built a profitable manufacturing company focusing on designing and building specialised machinery, named BAS Machinebouw. The workshop is located in the central part of The Netherlands in a modern factory space equipped with everything needed to design and build an E-lifter. If anybody could do it, it would be Bas I thought and was proven right!

Most importantly, Bas believed in the concept of an electric bin lift system. Long story short, when I pitched my vision and plan to him, Bas was on board immediately. November 2020, we visited the Chamber of Commerce and registered BAS E-LIFTERS ltd.

The rest is history. We created a first prototype, received feedback from several potential customers, made another prototype and then a third one, and then finally we had a state-of-the art E-lifter which was well received at IFAT22 and even better at IFAT24.

Our next challenge is to scale up production and deliver the A-series to the first customers and prove to the world that the BAS E-LIFTER is here to stay.