In eureka 14 and 17 we described the Team Antarctica’s mission to build a solar powered vehicle for their epic Antarctic journey, and how Cat® Lift Trucks supported the project by helping them to do some serious testing under winter conditions in Finland. Unfortunately the team was not ready in time.

Gian Schiava talks to adventurer Wilco van Rooijen and discovers many survival lessons for the manager.

Mission Antarctica is designed to make a strong statement about alternative energy, and demonstrate to the world that we can survive using alternative energy sources by making smarter choices. In particular the aim of the project was to inspire young people, who will be the decision makers of tomorrow.

The Dutch adventurers Wilco van Rooijen and Fokke van Velzen developed a project to build a sustainable, solar powered vehicle to take them from Union glacier, a field camp on the Antarctic, to the South Pole and back. A trip of 2300 km. Twice did Cat Lift Trucks give a helping hand by putting their facilities in Järvenpää, where their electric forklift trucks are produced, at disposal and enabling the Mission to train in environments very similar to the Antarctic situation.

Many tests, including a beach trip to try out traction performance, enabled the team to make great progress. However there was one major challenge: there was only a small window of opportunity, between December and early February, for making the journey. Only during that period would the sun shine 24/7 and keep temperatures from dropping too low. So when we called Wilco van Rooijen at the end of 2013 to learn about the project’s progress and departure date, we were not entirely surprised that the journey had been postponed.

Risk management
“It was actually not a difficult decision to make,” explained Wilco van Rooijen. “We still had several tests to undertake whilst the cut-off moment was coming closer and closer. Managing an expedition is very similar to managing risk in a business environment. You calculate the odds, and at a certain moment you must make a decision. We decided to postpone until 2014, but we also needed feedback. So we have appointed the Technical University of Delft to evaluate the project thus far, and make an impartial assessment.”

The TU Delft will present its findings in spring this year. “If the project is still viable we will go ahead, plan our activities and make preparations for the next opportunity which will be at the end of the year,” Wilco added. “Proper planning is vital for the success of an expedition.” Wilco draws many comparisons with normal business practice, and this is no coincidence. Besides climbing mountains all over the world, he frequently stands in front a group of managers to share the lessons he has learned from the wild. He offers four types of management training, varying from 1 day classical lessons through to survival trips of several weeks in the mountains.

Business parallels
“In all the years I’ve travelled the world, I’ve learned that Mother Nature teaches many tough lessons,” Wilco continued. “Teamwork is extremely important when climbing the K2 or Mount Everest. You either perform together or the expedition becomes a complete failure. And if things go wrong at an altitude of 7,000 metres you are in big trouble.”

Bad teamwork can have an equally negative impact in the business environment if the right team and attitudes are lacking. “I can assure you that these lessons from the wild apply equally when managing a fleet of forklifts or a distribution centre,” Wilco insisted. “The only difference is that Mother Nature makes you pay immediately for your faults, whereas in the business world… well, that happens at the end of the year when the accountants tell if the company made some money.”

Other projects
While the TU Delft works on Mission Antarctica’s evaluation report, Wilco is by no means inactive. He will be attempting to reach the summit of Cho Oyo, the fifth highest peak in the world (8.201m, Nepal) by the end of April. Then as a partner of KIKA, a Dutch fund raiser to fight children’s cancer, he will be joining sponsors and climbing peaks in the Alpes. The project is aptly called: ‘To the top with KIKA’. He will also be supporting a group of construction managers to climbs the Mont Blanc. “I enjoy these journeys enormously,” Wilco enthused. “It gives great satisfaction to see how strangers overcome their fears and work together to achieve something they thought they were never capable of. And, those successes must be celebrated!”

Wilco strongly hopes the Team Antarctica Mission will indeed go ahead at the end of this year. “And this is not only because we worked so hard to come this far. The aim of this Mission is to make people aware of our wonderful planet and that we must act if we don’t want to ruin this legacy for our children. I hope Cat Lift Trucks will ride with us again and we are very grateful for their support thus far.”

Gian Schiava

1. The aim of the project is to inspire young people - the decision makers of tomorrow - and to demonstrate to the world that we can survive by using alternative energy sources.
2. Whether exploring the world or managing a warehouse, good teamwork and team members working well together is crucial for success.

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