The island beckons: the Sansibar Actros on the island of Sylt
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Sansibar is the most well-known beach restaurant on the North Sea coast. Marvin Ubben drives its famous double sabre logo around Germany and, on the odd occasion, also across the water to Sylt.
A rare appearance on Sylt: the Actros en route to the seaside restaurant.
Anyone who heads straight up to the northernmost point of Germany inevitably lands on Sylt. But the North Sea island isn't just a pinnacle geographically speaking. It attracts tourists with its seemingly endless sandy beaches, luxurious boutiques and the finest restaurants. Those who spend their holidays here have made it to the very top in both senses of the expression.
That's also the case for many of those who work here. Marvin Ubben is a prime example. The driver from the Voigt Logistik company from Neumünster drives a new Actros with a black refrigerated semitrailer and that in itself is a rarity. His truck is truly ideal for Sylt. It is the only one in the world to bear the silver swords on its sides – the logo of Rantum-based Sansibar, the most well-known beach restaurant on the North Sea coast.
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"Storage space is a bit tight on Sylt. That's why we deliver to Sansibar on a daily basis," explains Marvin. Landlord Herbert Seckler doesn't just serve up the finest of dishes and drinks, but also has a very unique collection of wines. Perfect for Marvin and his colleagues – after all, transporting sufficient quantities of such impressive hand-picked vintages from vineyards around the world to the sand dunes of Rantum on Sylt requires a particularly smooth-running logistics process.
Especially as Sansibar not only operates a restaurant but also a wine store and textile outlet, as well as proposing wicker beach chair hire. Online, customers can also order books, textiles, gourmet food, wicker beach chairs or even stickers bearing the well-known logo.
Piggyback ride to Sylt: getting to the island is only possible by either motorail or ferry.
Watch out when manoeuvring – Sylt is almost a tad too small for a 40-tonne truck.
Personal greeting: Sansibar Landlord Herbert Seckler with Marvin Ubben.
A logo with cult status: Sansibar products are easy to spot thanks to their crossed swords.
Working where others come on holiday: unloading in Westerland.
Voigt Logistik first gathers all of the freight at their logistics centre in Neumünster. This includes wines which Marvin and his colleagues picked up directly from vineyards, as well as imported wares from all around the world. Internet orders are sent directly from here, regardless of whether they are for spirits, baseball caps, wicker beach chairs, handbags or towels for the sauna.
The orders from Sylt also land here: the produce needed by the restaurant in the dunes, the goods for the wine warehouse in the Rantum industrial estate near the dike in the small marina and the products destined for the Sansibar stores and outlets.
Marvin is a long-distance haulage driver at Voigt and only drives to Sylt every now and again. Most of the time, one of his colleagues in a rigid truck makes the journey. But if the 33 year old in his new Actros heads to the island, he's sure to be the centre of attention.
"Awesome truck", "Can I get behind the wheel?", and "I think it's time for me to do my HGV licence" are just some of the comments he can expect at every stop on the journey through Germany. Then, once on the North Sea island of Sylt, all of the tourists' camera lenses are pointed straight at his truck. That said, Marvin, who went to a boarding school in the Black Forest which specialises in sports has wanted nothing more than to drive trucks since starting his vocational training at the age of 16. "I'm not the type of person who seeks self-importance," he says. All of this hype is somewhat embarrassing for him. "However, the fact that everyone loves my truck, that of course pleases me immensely."
And in terms of his new Actros: he'll never forget the day he took delivery of it at the Wörth plant. "I was standing in the hall in front of my new vehicle and my hands were shaking. I needed half an hour to calm down before I could drive off in it," recalls Marvin. He's a true piston-head and even his father and grandfather were truckers.
His boss, Henning Voigt, is also truly grateful to have the new Actros. "He's not the sort of person who gives you a big hug every day and says: 'Well done for delivering everything again today'. But hearing that I was going to take delivery of this vehicle is a whole different kind of way to say thanks."
Photos: Svend Petersen
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