Full control over vehicles, equipment and tools
Sustainability as a foundation
In the Dutch and Belgian Limburg border region, one name has stood for craftsmanship, reliability and progress for decades: the Van de Kreeke Groep. The family-owned company is active in road construction, building, installation technology and specialised sewer and water engineering. With hundreds of machines, vehicles, generators, pumps and specialist tools moving daily across projects, the company has grown into a broad and innovative player within the construction chain.
What truly sets Van de Kreeke apart is its vision on sustainability. Not only reducing CO₂, but taking responsibility for tomorrow: working smarter, organising more efficiently and taking accountability for the entire value chain. This led to impressive results, including achieving level 5 of the CO₂ Performance Ladder, the highest attainable level in the Netherlands.
To maintain and expand this position, the company sought technology that matched its ambition: one integrated system bringing together all vehicles and equipment. No scattered tools or incomplete overviews, but a single platform showing insight into everything that moves. That strategic decision led them to GPS-Buddy.
One smart, scalable and integrated system
Due to growth over recent years — partially through acquisitions — Van de Kreeke had multiple systems in use for fleet and equipment management. This made it difficult to maintain a single source of truth for fuel usage, emissions, utilisation, driving behaviour and logistical planning.
Head of Equipment Management Michel Hofman explains:
“We were looking for a complete solution that would allow us to monitor all our vehicles, machines, trailers and tools within one platform. At the same time, it needed to grow with our sustainability ambitions and CO₂ reduction goals. We wanted insight, simplicity and future-proof technology.”
Van de Kreeke needed a partner able to go beyond tracking — a partner who could think along in their next phase: digitalisation, sustainability, transparency and data-driven decision-making.
With GPS-Buddy, they found exactly that strategic technology partner.
The power of combination: gateways + asset tags
The core of the solution is the XT4 gateway, installed in all vehicles and machines. This device sends real-time data about location, movement, engine hours, driving behaviour, CANbus fuel data and tachograph information.
All other equipment — from compactors to pumps and generators — is equipped with RFID asset tags. These tags automatically communicate with gateways in nearby vehicles. As a result, a complete, up-to-date overview emerges of every asset, no matter where it is located.
It no longer matters whether a machine is in use, a trailer is left on another job site or a toolbox is in a van: the gateway + tag combination makes everything visible in real time. This combination was decisive for Van de Kreeke.
For the first time, all company assets came together in one unified platform, forming the foundation for further optimisation.
Remote tachograph downloads
A crucial part of daily operations is complying with driving and rest time regulations. Previously, tachographs had to be read out manually on-site — a time-consuming and error-prone process.
With GPS-Buddy’s digital tachograph integration, all tacho data is downloaded automatically and remotely. No additional trips, no scheduling disruptions and no risk of missing data. Administration is handled centrally and fully in line with legal requirements.
For Van de Kreeke, this was not only an important efficiency gain, but also a way to remain continuously compliant without added workload.
CO₂ reporting and fuel insight as a strategic advantage
For Van de Kreeke, sustainability is not an obligation but a belief. CO₂ reduction is woven into daily operations and strategic decisions. With GPS-Buddy’s CANbus integration, the organisation has detailed fuel consumption data per vehicle: engine activity, idling, load and true consumption.
These insights form the basis for:
- understanding actual CO₂ emissions
- identifying structural improvement opportunities
- producing reports for maintaining CO₂ Performance Ladder level 5
- offering full transparency to clients and partners
Oscar Vandeberg, Sustainability Project Manager, adds: “We must provide complete transparency on our CO₂ emissions every year — both internally and throughout the value chain. Previously this took a lot of manual work. Now, the correct data comes directly from GPS-Buddy. With one click, we generate the reports we need.”
This makes CO₂ management not only more reliable, but also scalable.
Driving behaviour and safety: insight that enables the future
By combining CANbus, GPS and G-sensor data, GPS-Buddy provides detailed analysis of each driver’s driving behaviour. This goes far beyond speed: braking patterns, acceleration, cornering and idling become visible.
These insights help optimise the fleet, reduce wear and tear, and lower fuel consumption. Not to control drivers, but to support smarter and safer operations in the long term.
Real-time insight into all assets
Van de Kreeke manages a wide range of assets: from road construction machinery and water pumps for environmental projects, to tools and complete trailers. Many of these items change location daily or are temporarily deployed on different projects.
Thanks to the combination of gateways and RFID tags, they now have visibility into:
- Where each asset is located
- How intensively it is used
- Which projects use which equipment
- When resources are unnecessarily idle
This leads to less searching, fewer losses and reduced need for rental replacements. It makes the entire chain more efficient, more transparent and more sustainable through fewer unnecessary kilometres and less waste.
Implementation aligned with daily practice
A major advantage for Van de Kreeke was the ability to install most GPS-Buddy hardware internally. Thanks to the simple installation and setup process, their own technicians were able to install the majority of the units themselves.
GPS-Buddy provided training sessions, certifying the team for installation and configuration. A software training ensured they could use the online portal to its full potential, allowing Van de Kreeke to work independently and efficiently from day one.
Measurable impact on sustainability and efficiency
Since introducing GPS-Buddy, Van de Kreeke has seen clear improvements:
- Fewer unnecessary kilometres thanks to real-time insight
- Faster response to breakdowns and urgent calls
- Lower CO₂ emissions through optimised deployment
- Reduced wear and fuel loss from driving behaviour insight
- Better project visibility through asset tracking
- Reduced administrative workload through automated reporting
And perhaps most importantly: the organisation now has a system that fits its scale, ambition and future.
The next step in data-driven construction
For Van de Kreeke, this collaboration is far more than the implementation of a system. It is a step towards the future — a future in which sustainability becomes measurable, resources are used more intelligently and decisions are based on data.
With GPS-Buddy, Van de Kreeke has a strategic partner helping to shape that future. By bringing all vehicles and assets together in a single system, the company is able to respond faster, report more accurately and take the next leap in sustainable construction.
