The origins of Amstel Lease go back to 1968, when the Maatschappij van Huurkoop, part of Amsterdam Rotterdam Bank (AMRO), introduced the Amstel Lease label. This name was inspired by its location at that time, on the Amstel in the heart of Amsterdam.
Not long after this, a direct competitor was launched: Algemene Lease Maatschappij. Its parent company Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) soon came to specialize, through this subsidiary, in providing tailor-made leases for major items of plant and equipment.
Algemene Lease Maatschappij and Amstel Lease were in fierce competition with each other. When ABN and AMRO merged in 1990, it was inevitable that Amstel Lease and Algemene Leasemaatschappij would also merge. The name chosen for the merged companies was Amstel Lease Maatschappij N.V.
People had to put a lot of effort into getting used to each other after the merger; after all, one day they had been each others’ competitors and suddenly they were colleagues. After a while, however, all the relationships fell into place again, and after that difficult period people’s trust in each other grew and grew.
There have been many changes over the years that have followed, such as changes of location, changes in technology and changes of management. A constant, however, has been a number of the staff, who have worked for the company for a long time – some for over 20 years. Though we say it ourselves, this is attributable to the good working atmosphere and the opportunities that staff are offered to continue to develop their careers. Another factor that has been constant over time is the growth in turnover and profits. That is another reason why ABN AMRO still regards us very highly and looks on us as a progressive subsidiary which can continue to operate autonomously.
In our more recent history we have adopted a different approach to doing business, following an internal and external survey which we carried out of the market identity that we project. As a result, we continually modify the way we think and act to reflect our customers’ wishes and requirements.
In this way we continue to play a leading role in the market by constantly improving our knowledge of equipment leasing and developing products that meet our customers’ needs.