De ondernemer

“Frank Westland sells one self-built camper per day: ‘People are searching for freedom.'”

“He sells an average of one Ventje per day. These are those typical Volkswagen campers, designed and created by Frank Westland. On the De Ondernemer Live broadcast, he shows us his latest addition: the electric version of the Ventje.”

“It’s a camper van based on the Volkswagen ID. Buzz,” says Frank about the eVentje, which starts at €95,000 (the original Ventje starts at €55,000). “A super compact van, essentially just a regular car. But we’ve designed it in such a way that you have a very comfortable camper.”

Frank ran a design agency and once built a camper van for himself. “To travel through Europe with. I could also work from it. Just like you see people doing now with the Ventje. I already had those features in the original van—outlets and a comfortable seat. And along the way, I got plenty of ideas on how it could be even better.”

The idea for the first Ventje.

Think about cooking inside the van and having outlets on the outside so you can work outdoors. That sparked the idea for the first Ventje, ten years ago. “It really got out of hand. We kept coming up with even more great ideas, like simple systems that work with a single press.” Frank immediately wanted to produce a series, realizing it would appeal to many people.

“Just before we went live with our website, I said—kind of boasting—that I expected we’d sell around 50 that year. Friends and family said, ‘Come on, you’ll be lucky to sell a few. What’s that based on?’ But the moment we hit the button to launch the site, the phone started ringing and never stopped. In that first year, we sold about 60 to 70. The enthusiasm was incredible. Now, we deliver a van every day, making us the largest supplier of camper vans of this size. We have a team of 60 people and a large production facility in Culemborg.”

In search of freedom

“You have people who usually stay in small hotels and like to visit vineyards, sometimes sleeping in a cottage and other times in the van. Then you have those coming from hardcore camping, who’ll stay in Italy for four weeks with a nice awning attached. I think that’s special—seeing from all sides that people are looking for freedom. We put everything into the van. That’s also why we now have the electric van. No one told us to do it, but we thought it was a cool step, also aligning with our sustainable approach, using real wood and authentic sheep’s wool. We’re not standing still. Instead of pouring this into marketing, we put everything into product development. I believe your product is the most important thing. People see it, tell each other about it, and recommend it. That’s the key to real growth.”

Frank wants to take Ventje all across Europe. “I think there’s still a lot of growth potential there. That’s why I believe we’ll have doubled in size in two years. And not only will people in the Netherlands know us, but we’ll also be known in Germany.”

Ventje also makes it easy to keep all your devices charged, featuring eight USB ports (4x USB-A, 4x USB-C), a 12V car socket, three wireless charging spots, and three 230V AC outlets—perfect for those looking to embrace a hybrid work policy. Additionally, it offers more lighting options, including dimmable LED light strips and a lockable skylight in the pop-up roof.

The poorly designed software from VW remains a frustration, despite the otherwise excellent driving experience, which stays entirely rattle-free even with all of Ventje’s modifications. You’d expect VW to eventually add a ‘camping mode’ to the ID Buzz, a feature already present in the California campers. This would make controlling heating and cooling more intuitive when the vehicle is stationary, and make it easier to disable the interior alarm at night when locking the doors.

The eVentje offers sleeping space for four people, though it’s currently only certified for two. It’s built on the standard-wheelbase version of the ID Buzz, not the long-wheelbase model expected to finally arrive in Europe and the U.S. later this year. Still, my wife and I had no shortage of space, even with the dog along for the trip.

Photo: De Ondernemer