What’s challenging for you? Andreas Söderström, winner of Young European Truck Driver 2010, often reverses his truck between gate posts with only centimetre margins on either side.

“Planning and calmness are important characteristics for anyone who wants to win a driver competition,” says Andreas Söderström, the 2010 Young European Truck Driver champion.

Precision manoeuvring in the daily work

With only centimetres left on each side of the vehicle, Andreas Söderström quickly reverses his huge Scania truck between two stone pillars for a delivery of gravel.

“When it’s really tight it’s better to reverse than to drive forward. I keep an eye on the rear lamps with the rear view mirrors,” he says.

Together with his father, Söderström runs the transport company Göran Söderströms Åkeri in Ingelstad, Sweden. The company fleet consists of four trucks that mainly transport asphalt, gravel and woodchips.

Different challenges

No job is exactly the same. Some mornings Söderström begins his day at an asphalt plant, others in a gravel pit, and others still begin with him taking containers close to felled forests and then transporting woodchips to pulp factories or power and heating plants.

Transporting woodchips on narrow forest roads instilled in Söderström the importance of planning his driving. Forest driving can be unforgiving, and with no help for kilometres; there is no room for mistakes.

“I usually start my work day at five or six o’clock in the morning and don’t return home until between four and seven o’clock in the evening,” he says.

When Söderström signed up for the competition in 2010 he didn’t know much about it, and had almost no experience driving a truck with a semi-trailer. Still he managed to advance from the regional final to win the Swedish final and ultimately the European final.

“The toughest moment in the competition came when I was reversing and trying to stop the vehicle no more than 20 centimetres from a wall,” he says. “In those types of situations it’s extremely important to use the rear view mirrors.”

Grew with the mission

Söderström’s improbable run began with some apprehension, but by applying his maxim of planning and calmness he forged onwards, finally ending up with the championship and a 100,000 euro gift certificate which he promptly converted into a new Scania R 620.

“The truck came in very handy as we had planned to replace a three-axle truck with a new four-axle to cope with the requirements of our big asphalt customer,” Söderström explains.

“If I hadn’t won, I probably would have bought a Scania R 560. Now, with the R 620, I have access to 60 extra horsepower. I didn’t go for an automated gearbox, however, since I have better control over my driving with a manual one,” he says.

Tight margins are not a problem when you know what you’re doing. Skilled drivers have a good chance of making it to the Young European Truck Driver 2012 final to compete for a Scania truck worth 100,000 euros. Andreas Söderström did in 2010. Is 2012 your year?

Söderström also selected winter tyres from Michelin for his new truck, the optimal choice for grip and durability. He’ll use them all year, at least to start with.

Encouraging other drivers

More topically, he has just signed up for this year’s driver competitions.
“The victory has led to much attention and that has been fun,” says Söderström.

Even if he doesn’t win a truck this year, putting one’s skills up against other top drivers in the field is a stimulating experience.

Read more and register below

In November the Tanzania Driver Competition produced a winner: Erasmus Mtui, a 43-year-old driver from petroleum haulage company Super Star Forwarders. The newly crowned Tanzanian Driver of the Year 2011 will go on to compete in the international finals in South Africa in 2012. “I’m ready,” he says.

Mtui’s family was thrilled and proud, and also a little shocked. The prize – 5 million shillings (2,375 euros) – is a lot of money for the family.

Scania is well known in Tanzania – so much so that the brand has become synonymous with the word “truck”.

“Scania Tanzania is very pleased and excited to host the Tanzanian Driver of the Year competition,” Mark Cameron, Managing Director of Scania Tanzania, told the gathering at the November competition, which took place at the Biafra Grounds in Dar es Salaam. “The driver is the most important factor in influencing transport economy, environment and road safety.”

Cameron expressed his respect for the competitors’ skills and invited all Tanzanian drivers in the country to the 2013 Tanzanian Driver of the Year competition, which is already being planned. The ambition is to create a larger event that includes professional truck and bus drivers from all over Tanzania.

Also addressing the crowd were Lennarth Hjelmåker, Sweden’s Ambassador to Tanzania; Seif A Seif, Chairman of the Tanzanian Truck Owners Association; and Mohamed Mpinga, Traffic Police Commander.

The November competition in Dar es Salaam was the grand finale involving the top five contestants from an earlier event where drivers were tested on their driving skills, road safety awareness and driving style for optimising fuel economy. For the finals, the five competitors were required to perform such tasks as “Knock the King”, “Slalom” and “Bull’s Eye” for the large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators.

Do you want to attend Scania Driver Competitions 2012? Register now!

1. Raise the seat to a comfortable position. To sit correctly, you should have an upright seating position.

2. Tip the seat forward. This increases the chance of an upright position.

3.Tilt the backrest backward so that the hip angle is at 100 to 110 degrees. This means that the centre of gravity of the body is closer to the spine, which relieves the load on the discs and spinal joints and reduces the load on the hip joints.

4. Set the lumbar support so that it follows the shape of your back.

5. Adjust the seat to a fist’s width away from the back of your knees.

6. Move the entire seat to a position where you can press down the pedals fully without straining.

7. With the adjustable steering column position, adjust the steering wheel so it’s as close as possible to your body. This reduces the forward torsion on your body, relieving the load on your back and neck.

Be sure to register for Scania Driver Competition 2012

What is new in this fifth round of competitions?

What lessons have you learned from previous competitions?
“That we are on the right path. Many drivers come back and compete year after year, and in addition the number of contestants has gradually increased. Some of our coordinators out in the markets have also participated several times. Their enthusiasm is contagious, which is one reason why more markets want to join the competitions.”

Scania Driver Competitions is the largest and most demanding truck driver competition in the world. More than 55,000 drivers from across 39 countries are expected to compete to be declared the best truck drivers in Scania Driver Competitions 2012.

Read more and register below

Initiated in 2003, the Scania Driver Competitions were originally held in Europe. They have since spread out globally, evolving into challenging events that highlight the importance of the skills of drivers, as well as driver training and development to enhance road safety awareness and proficient eco-driving.

“The driver is the single most important factor for economy, environment and safety,” says Leif Östling, President and CEO, Scania. “Skilled and committed drivers deliver transport efficiently, reduce emissions, contribute to better road safety and improve any company’s profitability. These types of drivers are real assets and prove that environmental pursuits and positive financial results can go hand-in-hand.”

Over the next few months driver competitions will be launched worldwide, including such disparate places as Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Argentina, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, China, Chile, Malaysia, Peru and South Africa, as well as across Europe.

More info and registration

Excon is Asia’s third largest exhibition for construction equipment and is therefore an important place for Scania to be in order to reach target groups within the mining and construction segment. About 30,000 people visited the exhibition for business purposes.
 
Scania’s truck was placed in a central position at the exhibition and therefore received good exposure. Many visitors got the chance to try it out and could obtain information about the different functions such as Scania Opticruise. The response was positive.
 
 

Scania’s heavy-duty mining tipper model P 380 was launched in the Indian market during EXCON 2007 together with Larsen & Toubro (L&T). L&T has successfully established Scania’s mining trucks in the Indian mining industry and since the launch more than 600 P 380 mining trucks have been supplied to various highly satisfied customers in the construction and mining sectors.
 
After four years in India, Scania sees other openings in the on-road segment for buses and coaches and for heavy transport services. 

Scania Commercial Vehicles India was formed in 2011 in order to market Scania trucks, buses and engines in India. To shorten the lead times to the customers, Scania Commercial Vehicles India is currently in the process of establishing an assembly unit in Bangalore.
 
Scania’s presence in the country complements L&T’s product range in the construction and mining sectors, and Scania customers will benefit from a larger range of models, shorter delivery times and enhanced service support.

Prestons NSW workshop in Sydney, Australia, won Scania Top Team 2011.

“This is a dream come true,” said team leader Christopher Nobbs. “Everyone on the team put forth an amazing effort.”

The Prestons NSW “Kangaroos” are a well-knit team. Several of the members have been working together for at least 12 years.

The Kangaroos were first out in the morning round at the World Final together with teams from China, the United Kingdom, Norway and Latvia. Despite a tough start at the first station, the Australians managed to turn it around in dramatic fashion, improving their scores sufficiently to secure victory in the end.

And while the Australian team pulled out the win, every team at the Final performed exceptionally, displaying good communication and acute focus on the tasks in front of them.

The Australians prepared for the World Final by practicing scenarios. For instance, they applied some Scania Retail System thinking to analyse processes. This helped them to better understand how to use their time more efficiently.

“Our greatest strengths are our close teamwork and comradeship,” said Nobbs. “Even under the most difficult circumstances, we know that all of us aim to achieve the very best.”

In the afternoon the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Argentina and Brazil entered the competition.

From Torhout in West Flanders, the Belgian team, finished in second place. and on the third-place Veghel workshop team from the Netherlands.

At the award ceremony, President and CEO Leif Östling emphasised that all finalists should be regarded as winners.

“Dedicated staff is the key to a successful service business,” said Östling. “The teams that competed in this year’s Scania Top Team Final are all good examples of this dedication.”

How have you and your colleagues prepared for the World Final?
“A working group has met on a weekly basis to ensure that all preparations are on track. In addition, the five regional finals worked as a great dress rehearsal for the finals.”

What lessons have you learned from previous competitions at the national and regional levels?
“The competition between the teams has tightened. The level of knowledge has increased, which means that it is more difficult to come up with challenging tasks for the participants. Moreover, it is very important to judge correctly when there are fewer differences between the participants than before.”

“Since factual knowledge amongst the competing teams is high, it is often team spirit and cooperative skills that determine the winner. The competition has grown by 50 per cent since 2007 thereby increasing the requirements on the competition’s organisers.”

How important are the Top Team competitions from an educational perspective for Scania?
“Very important. All participating teams spend many hours training as part of their preparations. We also get more and more feedback from retailers who want to participate in the competition after having it recommended by colleagues who have previously participated. In the Top Team competitions there are only winners: the customers, our service technicians and Scania as a company.”

* Scania Academy is responsible for training and education within Scania’s retail organisation.

Read more about Scania Top Team 2011 >

Nikijs Hofrats, coordinator, Latvia:

How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“We prepare ourselves every day at work by repairing Scania vehicles. Our team consists of professional service technicians; we work together as a team in order to achieve our goals.”

 What is your team’s greatest strength?
“Each member of the team knows exactly what is being done by the other members.”

 What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“By participating in Top Team competitions, our team has learned how to trust in each other.”

Gerhard Hablas, coordinator, Austria:

 How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“The team has met several times after work practising diagnostics and doing online lessons on TMS, Scania’s Training Management System.”

 What is your team’s greatest strength?
“The significant strength of our team are the internal cooperation and communication we share along with the friendship between the team members. We have improved our problem-solving structure and know the individual strengths of our colleagues very well.”

 What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“When you go a step deeper into diagnosis of a failure you get more out of the work contract. Every time you practise with the diagnostic programme SDP3 or similar systems you get more familiar with them, speed up your work and improve your knowledge.”

Artur Westin, coordinator, Brazil:

 How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“We have met several times after work at the dealer and the training centre to study and solve problems. For example, for the last few days we have been focusing on the differences between European and Brazilian products.”

 What is your team’s greatest strength?
“We have a young team that is very united. Every day they have a large volume of service issues to deal with.”

 What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“The competition helps to increase knowledge and team building.”

Fernando Bustamente, coordinator, Argentina:

How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“We have been studying individually and together as a team to define the rules and procedures. For example, we reviewed all of the courses we have taken. In the regional final we didn’t achieve a good result in the bus portion, so this time around a customer gave us a bus to practise on.”

What is your team’s greatest strength?
“The members of our team are very well coordinated and trust each other. We also have a good sense of humour, which allows us to be very motivated and not succumb to pressure. If we take a wrong step, we recover before the next one.”

What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“The importance of focusing on how to diagnose a problem before starting to disassemble anything. As such, we have been working a lot on defining procedures and roles.”

Bart Delhaye, coordinator, Belgium:

How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“We trained the team, in the way the Top Team finals are held. In total, we had four complete days of practice. For each test we gave our team a 20-minute time limit and practised a mix of practical diagnostics and theoretical questions.
“Afterwards we checked our scores and reviewed the test using the Scania SRS-method. What was right? What could be improved? This way, we refine our methods and knowledge after each exercise.”

What is your team’s greatest strength?
“Our team spirit. The members of our team are willing to learn more and more about Scania and remain extremely motivated to finish high in the World Final.”

What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“That functioning well as a team results in a faster and more accurate way of working.”

Piet Meijer, coordinator, the Netherlands:

How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“We have worked on communication, team building and technical knowledge. Before the final, we met three times for eight hours each time. ”

What is your team’s greatest strength?
“To work tightly together; not only during preparation, but in the workshop as well. The members have been working together for more than 10 years now, so they know each other very well.”

What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“To take time to listen to one another. We have the skills to win together.”

Laurence Medina, coordinator, the UK:

How has your team prepared for the World Final?
“Our team has practised every week in the workshop and every Friday at the training centre. We’ve also gone over technical challenges. They received additional customised training in subjects of their choice and of new products in particular. Finally, we asked the whole network to send the team challenging questions or technical issues, in mechanics and parts, so they could practise even more.”

What is your team’s greatest strength?
“Fantastic technical knowledge, amazing motivation, a will to win, team spirit and sense of organisation.”

What is the most important lesson that your team has learnt by taking part in Top Team?
“The importance of team work in order to solve problems quicker, sharing knowledge and the value of bouncing ideas off of each other.”