Milk transport: the Actros 2563 at the Bohmer family-run business

Vehicle & Technology

Power with tradition.

Stefan Bohmer is in his third generation as a dairy truck driver in Breckerfeld in the region of Sauerland. The Actros 2563 is transporting the family-run business full steam ahead into the future.


“Collecting milk is a real family tradition with us and has been for more than 60 years. My grandfather used to collect milk from the dairy farmers, which, at that time, was in milk churns on a platform truck and a trailer. The tradition was passed via my father Manfred on to me. Of course, the platform truck has been a thing of the past for a long time now. These days, we call on about 70 agricultural businesses in a 70-kilometre circumference around our family base in Breckerfeld in Sauerland in a three-day cycle and we transport around 24 million litres of milk to the dairy plant in Cologne. To do this, we have three Actros in various versions in operation.

For more than a year now, our flagship has been the Actros 2563. A lot of farms are located away from the main routes and we often have a steep climb to get there. That's why an agile and manoeuvrable vehicle is essential. The 460 kW output of the Actros 2563 together with the air suspension and the steerable lifting axle give me enough reserves to be able to cope with steep and narrow sections when fully loaded. Our operational analysis for the previous truck we had, an Actros 1841, showed that, even when the vehicle was only half full, it had to produce as much output as a truck/trailer combination with a total weight of 50 tonnes. The vehicle was always properly loaded, it was just that the climbs required the additional traction.

With the new Actros, none of the climbs which we have to manage causes me problems. The additional side windows in the bed section are also very helpful. When I come out of a side road and turn onto a main road at a sharp angle, for example, then they give me a clear advantage in terms of safety and visibility. In combination with the Safety Pack Top, it's really great.”


Stefan Bohmer, self-driving haulage contractor and third-generation dairy truck driver.


Photos: Ralf Kreuels

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