In the world of classic automobiles, everyone knows Bart Holland. No wonder, because the restoration company of the now 77-year-old founder has been an authority in this field for 45 years. The succession process has already been initiated, which began with teary eyes during a Christmas dinner.

JEROEN EKELER

PHOTOGRAPHY: NOPOINTSTUDIOS

The irony of restoration work is that you can give technical objects eternal life, but not your own body. A crumpled car body? Bart Holland will make a new one. A completely rusted chassis? Ditto, with the promise that the brown monster will never get hold of it again. During the tour, Bart walks remarkably briskly through the halls of his company. “My mind is still sharp, but my body is getting a bit stiff,” he says apologetically. Really? He navigates the steps he warns visitors about with admirable agility. He only reveals his respectable age at the end of the conversation; we would have believed him to be ten years younger. A person cannot restore themselves, except perhaps for a new knee or hip. The proximity of the magnificent automobiles certainly keeps Bart vital, as do his fifteen employees, who represent all age categories. There is also the intensive customer contact. He always makes time for that, even when he is not at the company in Boskoop for his regular two to three days a week. “Customers call our company a studio,” he says proudly.

COULDN'T BE MORE BEAUTIFUL

Day-to-day operations are increasingly in the hands of his son Bart Jan (25). "He moved into our company house a year and a half ago. On his own initiative, he started spending more and more time on the work floor, where he quickly mastered all aspects of the restoration business. He then decided that he didn't want to leave. He continued his studies in Photography and Visual Communication, and is now completing his final year. At Christmas, he took me aside to ask if he could be my successor. I don't think I've ever shed a tear during a Christmas dinner before. I couldn't have imagined anything better.“ The customers are fine with it. ”Of course, they've always done business with me, but many of them now ask for Bart Jan. That's very nice. And he's good at dealing with it. That's important, because during conversations you notice that for customers it's usually about much more than just the car itself. Because it's not just any Triumph that comes in, but the Triumph of a recently deceased uncle. For example, his car has been in the family since it was new, and the relatives want to drive it on special occasions. So that uncle can be with them again, in a way.

SCREWS AND NUTS

There is a story behind every project. “Look, a 1952 Peugeot 203 Découvrable, owned by a couple who want to travel through Europe in the autumn of their lives.” Next to it is a 1991 Volkswagen Golf GTI G60. “The owner was finally able to fulfill his childhood dream. The car was completely dismantled, because that's the only way to make it perfect.” Bart Holland writes that term in capital letters, even when it comes to the screws and nuts that you'll never see again afterwards. Thanks to his ingenious “Step by Step system,” customers can have a restoration carried out in phases and pay for it in stages. “The bodywork must always be good; that's where we start. Then, in consultation with us, we move on to the engine, the chrome work, the upholstery, and other things. In other words: have one or more phases carried out in the winter and enjoy driving in the summer. Because that's what a car is ultimately all about.” And in Boskoop, they become better than new. “We free classic cars from transience,” says Bart. With a twinkle in his eye, but no less sincere for it.