“Professional drivers deserve more respect!”

“I am a professional driver and I deserve respect” – the title alone sums up what the 54-year-old is about: “I want to create a better understanding for drivers and their situation and initiate a reflection insociety about the industry.” Schwerdtfeger’s life partner, the graphic designer Andrea Welge, was at his side from the beginning. She created the logo and designed the distinctive blue sticker, which is in great demand not only among drivers. Schwerdtfeger has already distributed more than 30,000 stickers – all free of charge, of course, as he emphasises. “For me, the campaign is neither about myself nor about commercial aspects, but solely about the cause.” Recently, a closed group of the same name was added to the public Facebook channel, which is also already very popular. Here, the experts can discuss among themselves more intensively and exchange experiences.

Talking alone is not enough if the image of the driving profession and the transport industry is to improve. Schwerdtfeger wants to prove at his own workplace what even supposedly small measures can achieve: After many years as a professional driver and dispatcher, he has been human resources manager at Westfalen-Lippe Speditions- und Lagerhausgesellschaft (WL-Spedition) in Herford since 2015. Binding employees to the company is his top priority – preferably right from the first day of work. “We rely on consistent driver training with three to five trainees per apprenticeship year. From the end of the probationary period, we already pay them twice the regular apprenticeship pay.” In addition to the financial aspects, however, it is also about showing respect to the drivers on a daily basis. This includes a specially equipped heated rest room in the form of an old shipping container on the company premises as well as high-quality work clothes, ongoing training and a modern, safe and comfortable fleet of vehicles. The drivers are consciously closely involved in the daily processes. Intensive communication between dispatchers and drivers is important also – everyone works together. The effect of these measures can be seen in the staff turnover at WL-Spedition: It is far below the industry average. Many drivers have been loyal to the company for more than 30 years – a rarity in today’s world.

WL-Spedition was founded in Osnabrück in 1935, and today its headquarters are in Herford, Westphalia. The foundation stone for the business activities was formed by groupage transports within Germany. Over the years, the company developed into a forwarding and transport specialist operating throughout Europe, offering almost all services related to transport. WL-Spedition is also constantly moving forward in terms of technology – for example, with the use of long trucks as early as 2017, with certification according to the “Ökoprofit” standard and, since 2019, with the increasing use of vehicles with alternative natural gas drive (LNG).

But Jörg Schwerdtfeger does not only think about his own drivers. It was a matter of course for him, for example, to immediately set up four parking spaces as part of the “Kravag Truck Parking” and to create a shower and rest area for the outside drivers on the company premises in Herford. The creative and agile manager is not likely to run out of ideas in the future – especially when it comes to “his” drivers. For him, taking a step back is out of the question, even in the future. “My wish is to have more time in retirement at the latest to inform people in schools about our wonderful and versatile training profession.” Because professional drivers not only deserve respect, but also a future.