The Transport Ambassadors are flying the logistics flag

Jens Thiermann, from Erkrath near Düsseldorf, prefers to appear professional when he is on the road as a Transport Ambassador on an official mission. His company vehicle is a Daimler kitted out with a wide range of accessories. To be more precise, it’s a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia built by the Swabians in Colorado Springs for the US market. It goes without saying that the approx. 560 h.p. truck has been approved for driving in the EU. The US truck dealer Klekamp from Lower Saxony shortened the trailer rolling on BPW axles in its metal workshop so that the articulated truck does not exceed the permitted length of 16.50 metres. The fact that the magnificent truck with the deep-drawn side skirts on the tractor unit and trailer draws admiring glances is just what Jens Thiermann needs – after all, he’s in the publicity business. As founder and long-standing director of the Timocom freight exchange, the Rhinelander is not just a dyed-in-the-wool logistics expert. The 59-year-old is also Chair of the non-profit Die Transportbotschafter e. V. association, whose purpose he describes as follows: ‘We want to promote the social reputation of the transport and logistics sector in Germany and draw attention to its concerns.’

The Transport Ambassadors’ central message is that everybody depends on logistics nowadays. Jens Thiermann and his 12-strong team of media experts share this idea across many channels. The Freightliner Cascadia plays an important, eye-catching role. The design of the blue-green foiled trailer shows a crowd of stylised portraits on the long sides, above which the Transport Ambassadors’ motto is written in large letters: ‘Everybody needs logistics’. The truck is predominantly used where there is the prospect of a large stage – at job fairs, sports events and events in the logistics sector, for example. Jens Thiermann is then always available to talk shop or discuss logistics. He gladly offers his guests a seat on the leather armchairs in the rear of the spacious cab.

Thiermann himself regularly uses his company vehicle for study trips in the field of logistics: what does everyday life look like for professional drivers on the road and in rest areas today? What about the chemistry between driver and shipping agent? What happens when you’re on the goods-in ramp? These sorts of questions are always on the Transport Ambassador’s mind. Once a week, he climbs behind the wheel and drives a full load of freight to find the answers. He recently had to deliver a load of oats to a Dutch customer. As oats were trickling off the pallet on the ramp, Thiermann had to empty almost the entire load to find the damaged packaging. Nevertheless, he was still able to draw a positive conclusion from the tour. ‘The staff were extremely friendly. Now and again, I was invited to the canteen for coffee.’ Other truckers have also told Thiermann that drivers are treated better by their European neighbours than in Germany. Is that really the case? Over the next few months, the Transport Ambassador will gradually explore the border regions around Germany in his truck to get to the bottom of the matter. He can definitely use this experience – as is well known, logistics is a broad field. But how do you explain what logistics is to outsiders? Glancing at Jens Thiermann’s résumé could offer us some insight. The forwarder and IT entrepreneur has already written logistics history with his freight exchange.