Stars In His Eyes

Dutchman Leo Swijnenburg remains loyal to Mercedes-Benz, now running 26 pristine varieties of the marque from his company base that’s located south-east of Rotterdam

- Paul O’Callaghan

In a small pocket to the south of the Netherlands, the name Swijnenburg is synonymous with road transport. We’re in the upstairs office of an impeccably kept cobbled yard in a neat industrial estate on the edge of the Noordwaard Polder, a nature reserve south-east of Rotterdam. Company boss Leo Swijnenburg points to a poster showing a line-up of nine trucks and their drivers, all from different operators bearing the surname Swijnenburg, Leo adding that there are 100 trucks in the family.

It reminds me of the five haulage operations surnamed Gilder found in Gloucestershire bearing different first names, except here there are trucks from Daf, Scania, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz in the recently taken photograph. It is the latter marque, however, that draws us to the province of North Brabant.

Four decades

While it may be common to stumble across fleets fully dedicated to brands such as Scania or Volvo, it’s not every day you come across an all-Mercedes-Benz operation. Since Jaap Swijnenburg bought his first Mercedes-Benz 1926 in 1980, he has remained loyal to the German brand. Jaap still drives today, staying close to home on groupage work, as the company is now run by his son Leo, who has undoubtedly inherited his father’s passion for the three-pointed star.

Currently, Leo runs 26 tractor units, of which 22 are 450hp models at Euro 6, placing them in the lowest bracket for German road tax – an important consideration given that 100% of the work is international. “We mostly run into Germany and have our own warehouse in Mannheim, 450km from our base here in Werkendam. But there are always eight trucks in the Netherlands at any one time.”