40 Mercedes-Benz Actros semitrailer tractors for Sostmeier GmbH & Co. KG: Well equipped for another two million kilometres

• Sostmeier transport and logistics company is upgrading its Mercedes-Benz fleet with a total of 40 new Actros 1843 semitrailer tractors

• Responsibility for humans and the environment: full safety and comfort equipment package with Safety Pack Top, auxiliary air conditioning and PPC

• Record-setting two million kilometres with long-serving Actros 2 is indicative of highly positive experience with the Mercedes-Benz brand

With a total of 40 Mercedes-Benz Actros 1843 semitrailer tractors in the corporate colour of blood orange, the Sostmeier transport company is modernising and enlarging its fleet, which is made up exclusively of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Headquartered in Lotte, which is near Osnabrück in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the transport and logistics contractor has been a customer of the brand with the star for over 30 years. „The vehicles impress with their high standards of quality, durability and technical innovation. This is backed up by an excellent service mentality,“ explained Wilfried Sotta, managing partner at Sostmeier, as he took delivery of the new vehicles at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth in early July.

Advertisement

The symbolic key to the first 12 units from the order for the Mercedes-Benz Actros 1843 semitrailer tractor was handed over on behalf of Mercedes-Benz by Piotrek Urban, Head of Sales Management Germany: „Handing over the vehicles for an order of this magnitude to a customer with whom we have excellent long-standing links is always an emotional moment not just for Mercedes-Benz, but also for me personally. The Actros sets standards in comfort, driving dynamics and efficiency.“

Responsibility for humans and the environment - state-of-the-art engines and transmissions as well as full safety and comfort equipment package

All of the Actros semitrailer tractors feature the powerful, low-emission and economical OM 470 engine with a displacement of 10.7 litres and an output of 315 kW (428 hp). Thanks to Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC), which enables the Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission to use GPS map data to match the shift points and cruise control speed to the topography, Sostmeier's new Actros will in future be even more fuel-efficient and eco-friendly in operation. As the customer has additionally specified the Safety Pack Top, this means that the 40 semitrailer tractors will also be equipped with every available safety system: Stability Control Assist (ESP), Lane Keeping Assist, Proximity Control Assist, Attention Assist and, of course, Active Brake Assist 3.

„We in our industry bear a great responsibility for both humans and the environment. I feel this obliges us at all times to make sure that our vehicles are safe, efficient and economical on the road,“ says Wilfried Sotta, explaining the reason behind his purchasing decision. Yet the company is concerned about more than just the environment, the safety of other road users and the costs – it also has a very keen eye, of course, on the needs of its own workforce. „For our long-distance drivers, the truck should not just be an ideal work machine, but must also provide a suitable living environment,“ says Sotta. For this reason, all the semitrailer tractors will feature the largest cab variant (GigaSpace) and be equipped with auxiliary air conditioning, comfort seats, luxury beds, refrigerator and many other extras designed to offer the best possible conditions for life on the road.

All future drivers of Sostmeier's new Actros trucks will also be given induction training by professional Mercedes-Benz instructors when the trucks are picked up from the plant in Wörth, in order to familiarise them with their vehicle and its technology and to enable them subsequently to utilise it to optimum effect. Wilfried Sotta is convinced: „This inclusive offer should really be taken up by every company. It not only makes economic sense, but is also a memorable and motivating experience for the employees. This is also an aspect we need to invest in, because happy drivers who are loyal to our company are part of the Sostmeier philosophy. And we want that to remain the case in future.“

Record-setting Actros with two million kilometres on the clock is indicative of highly positive experience with the Mercedes-Benz brand

What exceptional mileage a committed and motivated driver can get out of a high-quality, long-living vehicle is demonstrated by a company record that has just been set at Sostmeier: two million kilometres have been completed by a long-serving Mercedes-Benz Actros 2, model 1841, built in 2005 – with a remanufactured engine, but without any other notable failures. This feat was achieved by the two professional drivers Udo Kefrig and Ralf Anacker, who have been employed at Sostmeier for 38 and 17 years respectively. A long-established two-man team, they take care of special transport tasks with weekly round trips between northern Germany and Switzerland. „Sostmeier normally replaces its vehicles between 900,000 and a maximum of 1.2 million kilometres, depending on use. However, our remarkable duo were agreed that they could better that and bet me they could pass the two-million mark,“ says Wilfried Sotta with a grin. Having won the bet, the two colleagues have also switched to a brand-new Actros and are, of course, aiming to set the next mileage record for their company.

Sostmeier's new semitrailer tractors will be used predominantly on national long-distance routes across the whole of Germany. „Just in time“ and „just in sequence“ shipments for the automotive, steel, paper, plastics and chemical industries are the areas in which the transport and logistics contractor is specialised. The company has branches in Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland and Hungary. The fleet comprises over 220 tractor units and 355 semitrailers.