Jörg Fuller delivers glass doors – always an adventure for him
RoadStars meets
Jörg Fuller has been driving a truck for more than 25 years and he still enjoys getting behind the wheel. How does he manage it, despite the heavy traffic and the high pressure to deliver? The man from the Münsterland region explains.
Enjoying work: Jörg has been driving for about 25 years – and can't imagine any other job.
"I've been driving trucks for a good 25 years and it's still an adventure for me."
– Jörg Fuller
A mirror with green back-lighting and decorated with a Mercedes star, two dogs' heads and "Actros" lettering: the decor on the rear wall of Jörg Fuller's cab is anything but ordinary. "At our company, we can have laser etching done, so I let my imagination run wild," says the 50-year-old trucker with a wry grin.
Mirrored or transparent, etched or not: at the Flexo Raumsysteme company from the Münsterland region, glass is a very important material – used primarily to make sliding doors. Also, the company with a staff of over 40 produces glass partition walls for gardens. Another major product is tailor-made wooden shelving systems – many of which are then concealed behind a sliding glass door. These products are sold in major DIY stores and through a specialist bedroom furniture supplier.
The boss is impressed with the Actros.
There is a small fleet for deliveries, which consists of five heavy-goods trucks and two twelve-tonners. "Most of our customers are in Germany, but I sometimes drive to Switzerland, Austria or Luxembourg," says Jörg, who persuaded his boss to add three Actros trucks to the fleet. Normally the driver is on the road from early Monday morning until Thursday evening. In that time he sleeps in the truck at night, delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers, and clocks up 2,000 kilometres.
It's a tiring job, partly because customers often have strict rules about their delivery times and because waiting times at the ramps can be long. All the same, Jörg enjoys his job – not least because his previous job in the haulage business was even more demanding: "I've been driving trucks for a good 25 years and it's still an adventure for me. You see a lot, you get to meet a lot of people – that's what I've always been used to, and I don't want to do anything else!"
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
Glass as freight, his dog as decor: Jörg delivers to an average of 20 to 30 customers a week – and sits in a cab that thoroughly deserves the description "living room".
"Keep calm and don't worry!"
How do you keep cheerful after such a long time and despite the increasingly heavy traffic? You mustn't let yourself get discouraged and you have to give in a bit too," says Jörg decisively. "Even if a truck pulls in ahead of you leaving far too little space, there's no good insisting on your rights." Adventurous? Yes, please! Reckless? Certainly not!
But there is something else that is more important, Jörg the father of an adult son is convinced: "Things must be right at home!" Even if, of course, you don't always have everything under control: you can get in the cab and set off with an easy mind if you don't have problems hanging around from the weekend.
And in Jörg's case, that cab rightly bears the title "living room": besides the extravagant mirror, the seats and the steering wheel have leather upholstery, while curtains provide cosiness. "This is our border collie Eddy," says Jörg, pointing to a small piece of embroidery on the quilted inside panelling of the driver's door. "And instead of the upper bed, I had a cupboard put in." All this contributes to the fact that even after the most enjoyable holiday with his wife, one thing is sure: Jörg is happy to get back on the road.
Photos: Ralf Kreuels
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