A second home

Spring 1982. Hans van Rooij and his wife Marianne were at home celebrating their youngest son’s birthday when the phone rang. “It was Ad van den Bosch. Would I like to come to the office?” recalls Hans. There, a surprise awaited him: he was to be the new driver of truck 100 – a brand new Volvo F10.

For no less than 43 years, Hans has worked for the company. Despite retiring over six years ago, he’s still on call whenever Van den Bosch needs him. In the latest anniversary edition of our Game Changer magazine, he narrates: “I had already seen the Volvo F10 at the AutoRai motor show. I knew straightaway that it was the truck for me. When the company bought it, I so hoped that I’d be the one to get it. It was such a beautiful truck for its time. Vertical exhaust stack, chrome rims and a small fridge under the bed. Perfect for your sandwiches and a drinks bottle.”

Second home

In the years that followed, the F10 became Hans’s second home. He drove it throughout the Netherlands but also internationally. Hans used his shiny tank to bring beer from Germany to the Bavaria brewery in Lieshout (NL), he transported chocolate to Mars factories in England and Germany and supplied animal fats to animal feed manufacturers. He still vividly remembers long, dark winter days on the road, the terraces of Perugia and the time he made a trip to Lourdes to bridge a weekend in the Pyrenees.

The sound of bagpipes

“One of the most beautiful journeys in the F10 was the one to Scotland,” says Hans. “We brought cream liqueur from Roggel in Limburg to East Kilbride, just below Glasgow. When we got off the boat, we were welcomed with bagpipe music. Not for us of course – it was probably because of a bank holiday – but we thought it was great. After East Kilbride we drove to Leeds to rinse the tank and load it with egg whites. From there, we drove on to Lamballe in France. After unloading and cleaning again, we loaded wine in Saumur for Albert Heijn in Zaandam. What a wonderful trip.”

Husband and wife team

When Hans says ‘we’, he means himself and his wife Marianne. “I enjoyed the beautiful journeys,” she says. “We made things cosy together. We even had a tablecloth with us which we put over the centre console when we made sandwiches.” Hans continues, “The F10 cabin was comfy but not luxurious. I’ve never been one for frills. Ad van den Bosch wasn’t either. If he thought you had too many curtains or flags hanging, he would remove them himself. ‘A window is for looking through’, he’d say.”

Supermodel truck

There were always cushions on board in the Van den Bosch colours, a deck of cards, books, rosary beads and a mascot of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. “Mainly symbolic,” says Hans, “It’s not as though I sat behind the wheel all day twiddling the beads.” On the road, the shiny F10 often stood out. “It got photographed a lot. Everyone, from young boys to grown up men thought it was beautiful. And so did I, of course. Every time I got in, I always felt incredibly proud to be the driver.”