Sovereign Speed: Sebastian Stehl transports aircraft parts to Europe's aviation hubs
Story
In his Actros, Sebastian Stehl drives all over Europe. On board are important parts for the aviation industry ...and his gym clothes.
Off the cuff: depending on the urgency, the kind of cargo may change right at the last minute.
Another few hundred metres on, Sebastian Stehl takes his foot off the accelerator and starts indicating. "Here is a good place," he says, turning into a sandy car park. Slowly the dust he has stirred up with his semitrailer settles. This Monday morning, there are only two vans parked here. A dog jumps out of the back of an estate car. We find ourselves on the edge of the Westerweiden nature reserve, opposite the Airbus hangar in Finkenwerder. "This is a wonderful place to take a break," he says. Stehl, 32, climbs out of his black Actros 1848, stands in the sun and bites into his home-made cheese sandwich.
Sebastian is a "pilot" at Sovereign Direct.
Today is the first day after his weekend off. He's looking across to the observation deck. There is a handful of plane spotters on it, waiting for the take-off of the famous Beluga. Every day the giant air transporter flies aircraft parts to Airbus production sites throughout Europe. Stehl smiles. For him, the Beluga is an old acquaintance, and in a sense he works for the Beluga too.
A native of Göttingen, he is one of the "pilots" in the Sovereign Speed Group at Sovereign Direct and he drives all over Europe. Pilots – this is the respectful name given to the drivers at Sovereign. The name is appropriate, given the load. In addition to air freight, the Hamburg-based company also transports aircraft parts. These are either sent by the manufacturer to airlines or from suppliers to sites all over the world. They are required, for example, for manufacturing or for routine maintenance. The parts need to arrive at their destination on time. If they arrive too early, storage on site incurs high costs. If they arrive too late, machine downtime is even more costly.
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Join RoadStarsOn tour in the extensive route network.
"An unforeseen failure means a rush," says Stehl. Then every hour counts. Downtime really costs the airlines money. That's why Stehl never knows in advance what he has loaded on his routes and where the journey will take him in Sovereign's extensive network.
"It's the variety that makes it so exciting. I'm on the road to different places with completely different loads." The driver from Lower Saxony is on the road for Sovereign for two weeks at a time, driving all across Europe. The route network connects the major aviation hubs. From Madrid to Malmö or from Manchester to Marseilles – Stehl gets around. "I enjoy being on the road, particularly in Scandinavia or Southern Europe," he says.
Making use of his breaks - at home and on the road.
He enjoys getting home too. Whenever possible, the scheduling department organises the routes in such a way that he can also make a stopover with his truck in his home country. The father of two and his wife have bought a house near his native Göttingen. "There's plenty to do there. Conversion, renovation - not to mention the garden," smiles Stehl, who seems to be so calm and yet always needs to have something to do. In the hilly southern part of Lower Saxony, he either goes hiking with his family or takes his Kawasaki on winding roads.
He always has his jogging clothes with him.
What about when he's on the road with the truck? "Obviously, I always have my running gear with me. When you are sitting down all day, you need to do something during the break times," he says, pointing behind the seat. And indeed his running shoes are there, waiting. "And you see more of the areas to the right and left of the road."
For example, the nature reserve right next to the Airbus hangar. But not right now. "Afterwards I'll get some cargo for Brussels, so let's see what it's like this time." Saying this, he closes the lunch box and takes the wheel again. Destination: a warehouse at Norderstedt, then on through Europe.
Photos: Sebastian Vollmert/Martin
Schneider-Lau
Video: Martin Schneider-Lau
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10 comments
Weiterhin viel Freude auf all seinen Wegen unter/mit einem guten Stern 👍
Weiterhin viel Freude auf all seinen Wegen unter/mit einem guten Stern 👍
Gruß
Klaus
Gruß
Klaus
Lieben Gruss aus Hamburg, Martin
Lieben Gruss aus Hamburg, Martin
voor Sebastian Gute Reise !!
voor Sebastian Gute Reise !!