A job between quarry and construction site: Manuel Ibáñez relies on his Arocs 4142

“I can remember how it felt to sit up there. It was unbelievable,” says Manuel. When he was six years old his grandfather, who worked in construction haulage, sat him in the truck.

“Of course the truck was parked but I was still impressed. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do when I was grown up,” explains Manuel.

Party after the driving test.

He said it and then he did it: when Manuel was 21 years old, he took the examination for the C driving licence. “After I had passed, we had a party at home,” remembers the driver from Aragon. At that time, Manuel’s father also drove a truck, but he worked in international transport.

Manuel’s job is more similar to that of his grandfather. He usually loads the truck up in a quarry in Huerto in the Huesca province and drives from there to the construction site. With his Arocs 4142, he recently transported aggregates for the building of the Huesca–Siétamo section of the A-22 motorway. 

Up again, down again.

What he particularly likes about the Arocs is “its robustness and level of comfort”. As Manuel often has to get out of the truck on the construction sites, he values the steps and the handrail, which make it easy to climb into the cab. “It is these details that make everyday life more comfortable.”

According to Manuel, the good thing about transporting aggregates is that between journeys the driver has to repeatedly get in and out to supervise the loading and unloading and to communicate with colleagues and construction workers. That provides variety.

A further advantage of the job: “I like to be in the open air and feel the breeze on my face. When it is sunny, I enjoy the warmth; and when it rains, I enjoy getting wet.”

Photos: Begoña Tremps