ESPORG Partner TVM discusses safe and secure parking with HesbyMazout manager Alain Riskin.
The significance of secure parking cannot be emphasized enough. It is within this context that TVM Insurance and ESPORG visited Hesby-Mazout SA, located near the Remicourt exit on the E40 highway, where the Uhoda Group has initiated the construction of the first certified GOLD secure parking area in the region. Alain Riskin, the manager, shared his ambition to become a benchmark in terms of safety and comfort for parking facilities.
HesbyMazout SA has been in operation for approximately fifty years. Initially focused on selling coal and oil to individuals, the founder’s vision was to establish a rest area for truckers, hence the business name, Hesbaye Truck Stop. The site was established twenty-two years ago, and from the outset, the shop, parking, and gas station have attracted a loyal clientele of truck drivers.
A strategically located site with great potential
Today, the truck stop has reached a stage where all infrastructures require thorough renovation, prompting the current owners, the Uhoda Group, to upgrade the parking facility to the Gold standard, a European Union standard for secure parking areas.
Alain states, ‘We are convinced that our parking facility can become a true attraction for heavy-duty vehicles given the high demand for secure parking and limited supply in the region. Additionally, our site is strategically located with a TGV station and the Loncin highway interchange just a few kilometers away, along with the autonomous port of the Meuse and the continually developing Bierset airport for freight.’
A long quest for Gold
The Gold standard entails the installation of access control to the parking lot, including license plate recognition, cameras, and stewards. Measures are also implemented to enhance drivers’ well-being by providing a safe space for rest and relaxation.
‘By joining ESPORG, we learned that the European Commission could subsidize parking modernization. To prepare the proposal, we sought assistance from Concilius, a company specializing in responding to Commission tenders. It was an intensive process involving various stakeholders. Before submitting the proposal to the European Commission, we had to obtain numerous preliminary approvals from the municipality, police, Walloon Water Company, Ministry of the Environment, and Ministry of Equipment and Transport. The latter mandated the expansion of a section of the access road and the creation of roundabouts on the national highway to make our parking easily accessible to heavy-duty vehicles. You now understand why European funding is crucial for projects like ours, involving much more than simply setting up a parking lot.’
Becoming a benchmark
The Uhoda Group received approval from the Commission in June of this year and will construct its highly secure parking lot in twenty-three months, with a project cost exceeding five million euros. Upon completion, the parking lot will undergo inspection and certification by an official body.
‘Following this, we must continue to meet specific standards. The parking lot will be inspected, and toilets cleaned twice daily, the security system checked daily, simulated power outages weekly, etc. There is also a series of regular operations that will be audited at regular intervals to maintain our Gold status.’
‘We want to do things right and become a benchmark. In the future, we are considering renovating the gas station with a new shop and pumps for both heavy-duty vehicles and cars. Always with the same goal of providing superior quality service to all our customers.’
The entire site will be adapted for future developments with multi-service and multi-energy stations, including diesel and gasoline, as well as organic diesel, electricity, and possibly hydrogen in the future. ‘We are open to new developments and ready to offer them to our clientele.’
Security and development
‘While our project aims to meet the needs of our customers, it will also contribute to the development of the municipality and the entire region. The profession of truck transport is professionalizing, and both drivers and transport companies are demanding more safety and comfort for drivers and cargo. It is also becoming increasingly important, but also more challenging, to attract good drivers. Therefore, we can no longer accept that drivers are forced to park on the edge of the highway, with a glaring lack of comfort and all the risks of theft and accidents that entails.’ The Uhoda Group shares a similar perspective with Bierset Airport on this issue. ‘We are in contact with them because they want to prevent trucks from parking anywhere in the airport area and also wish to develop smart parking with us so that trucks can park with us, ten minutes from the airport, in a secure environment, while waiting to be called for loading or unloading.’
Ambitions
‘Our ambition for the future is to remain attentive to the demands of our customers and legislation, seize opportunities, and perhaps evolve towards the Platinum label for at least a part of the parking lot, which would then be even more secure.’
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