Oldest employee in the Netherlands (96) has retired

Henk Kluver has already been employed in the bicycle manufacturing branch for 75 years. Various media like the Telegraaf (Dutch newspaper) have written an article about the 88-year-old Van Raam employee. Henk still takes pleasure in his job: “I will keep working here as long as my health allows for it.”  

Henk Kluver (89 years old and active in the bicycle branch for 75 years of which 66 years at Van Raam) took a trip down memory lane together with Joop Zoetemelk and others during the Fietsvak in the Rai in Amsterdam. Kluver has designed and produced frames and bicycles for Zoetemelk in the past.

Because of VW Transporter’s 65th anniversary, Volkswagen went on the look for enthusiastic employees over 65. We nominated Henk Kluver. As oldest employee in the Netherlands Henk won the van. This article allows you to learn more about Henk through a video in which you will see his unusual response to winning the price. 

De Volkskrant recently published an article about people over 65 who continue to work. Of course Henk Kluver could not be left out. In the article you will read about the tie that he wears every day and his own, private parking space at Van Raam. According to Henk the secret to growing old energetically is humor. For him, every day at Van Raam starts with a witz (joke).

Because Van Raam employs the oldest as well as the youngest employees in the field of metal processing, a video was made starring Ceico Datema and Henk Kluver in the leading roles. The metal journal recently published an article about it. Of course it is very special that Van Raam, manufacturer in special needs bikes, employs two people with an age difference of 75 years!

Even Het Financieele Dagblad (Dutch Financial Times) showed interest in Henk Kluver’s story and sent a journalist to Varsseveld for an interview. At the time the 93-year-old employee was enjoying his 80th year working in the branch. Despite his failing health and declining hearing, he still enjoyed his job. According to Kluver age does not matter as long as you enjoy going to work!
 

In cooperation with our dealer CombiComfort and the Ajax foundation, we manufactured a special Ajax wheelchair bike for Frank, an avid Ajax supporter. For this special occasion we delivered the bike personally. Of course Mr. Kluver, born and raised in Amsterdam and big Ajax-fan, had to come along. 

Friday February 26, 2016 Henk Kluver celebrated his 70th anniversary at Van Raam. Of course we could not let this special event go by unnoticed. It became a special day with family, colleagues, speeches, cake and a lot of media attention (Hart van Nederland). 

His farewell reception was held on May 18, 2018 and included special speeches by his colleagues from Van Raam that looked back on many years of ‘Mr. Kluver” at Van Raam. In this article about Henk Kluver you will read more about the farewell reception and his 81 year long career - of which more than 70 years at Van Raam. 

With sadness we have learned that former colleague Henk Kluver passed away May 17, 2022 at the age of 100.