Ambassador visits BUKO in sweden

Dutch ambassador Joost Reintjes visited BUKO Trafiksäkerhet in Sollentuna on 4 November. The company, part of the Dutch BUKO Group, adapts Dutch expertise in temporary traffic management to Swedish conditions.

On Wednesday 4 November, BUKO Trafiksäkerhet in Sollentuna, in the Stockholm region, welcomed the Dutch ambassador to Sweden, Joost Reintjes. He was accompanied by Eva Blom, commercial attaché at the embassy. BUKO’s hosts included Martin van Beurden, Daniel Miranda and Tiago Almeida. The programme consisted of a tour, a presentation on the company’s growth in Sweden and a discussion of the similarities and differences between the Swedish and Dutch approaches to traffic disruption.

The visit was prompted by the embassy’s own work. It wants to know which Dutch companies are setting up in Sweden and how it can help them grow. BUKO is a one example: a Dutch specialist in temporary traffic management that has built a strong position in the Swedish market in a short time.

From Road Rental to BUKO Trafiksäkerhet

The Swedish business began in 2018 as Road Rental, founded by Jimmy Hansson and Dennis Gustafsson with a single depot in Sollentuna. It grew into one of the larger providers in temporary traffic management, with more than 150 employees and almost twenty depots across Sweden. In 2025 it was taken over by BUKO Group, which is also active in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2026 the Swedish company has operated under the name BUKO Trafiksäkerhet.

The Dutch BUKO brings knowledge and digital solutions, while the Swedish team knows the local market, regulations and practice. That combination is central to the approach.

As Martin van Beurden, Commercial Manager Digital, puts it:“It was a a pleasure to welcome the Dutch ambassador Joost Reintjes and to show how BUKO is developing in Sweden. I am proud of how we combine our Dutch knowledge and innovations with the local expertise of our Swedish colleagues. With our digital solutions, we contribute to greater safety, less traffic disruption, better accessibility and a future in which smart traffic management plays an ever-greater role.”

A different starting point

Anyone carrying out roadworks in Sweden soon notices that the starting point is different. In the Netherlands, the starting point is to close the road to achieve the best possible safety for road workers and road users. In Sweden, by contrast, a road is only closed when this is necessary. The reason is practical. Diversion routes in Sweden are often limited or absent, whereas in the Netherlands they are almost always available. In many places, traffic pressure on the road network is low enough that a full closure is not always needed.

Road users behave differently too. About 81 per cent of drivers in Sweden use satellite navigation, compared with 97 per cent in the Netherlands. That bears directly on BUKO’s approach: anyone who can influence navigation systems can steer traffic without a physical closure.

In practice: Oskarsparken in Örebro

BUKO demonstrated how this works during E.ON’s works at Oskarsparken in Örebro, led by project manager Lisa Andersson. The company combined physical traffic measures for a safe work site with Livia, a digital tool that shows temporary traffic changes in navigation systems, and a targeted social media campaign that began two weeks before work started.

Road users could therefore choose a different route in advance. The campaign reached more than 80,000 people in a city of roughly 130,000 inhabitants. Compared with the same period in 2025, traffic at Oskarsparken fell by around 40 per cent in one direction and 39 per cent in the other, and journey times were shorter at certain times of day. E.ON gave the approach a rating of 9 out of 10.

The embassy as guide

For the embassy, the visit fits its role in economic diplomacy. Dutch embassies support companies in their international expansion and make it easier to gain a foothold in a new market. In Sweden, the embassy does this by taking part in events, making its premises available for dialogue between parties and helping to create new contacts.

Eva Blom follows developments in Sweden and supports Dutch organisations in finding opportunities. In her view, a company such as BUKO shows what is possible when Dutch expertise and local knowledge come together. As a follow-up to the visit, the embassy has indicated that it is open to helping BUKO establish new contacts in Sweden.

A network that opens doors

The contact between BUKO and the embassy came about in part through Smart Mobility Embassy, the international network of Connekt ITS Netherlands. Smart Mobility Embassy connects Dutch mobility companies, public authorities and knowledge institutions with partners abroad, working with embassies among others. Eva Blom was previously involved in a Smart Mobility Embassy delegation to Gothenburg, where the differences and similarities between the two countries were likewise central.

BUKO’s story illustrates what international cooperation involves. Exporting Dutch knowledge is not enough: companies have to understand the local market, build contacts and adapt their solutions. What they learn abroad can in turn help improve practice in the Netherlands.

Active internationally? Share your story. Many Connekt members gain useful experience outside the Netherlands. Are you working on a project, active in a foreign market or collaborating with international partners? Let us know. Through Smart Mobility Embassy, we are glad to share stories that are of interest to other members and partners, for example in our Dutch Practice series.

About Smart Mobility Embassy and Connekt

Smart Mobility Embassy, the international network of Connekt ITS Netherlands, connects Dutch mobility expertise with developments and partners abroad. By bringing businesses, public authorities and knowledge organisations into contact with one another internationally, we encourage knowledge exchange and cooperation on concrete mobility and logistics challenges.