Hard to beat!
When Matthias climbs into his truck, it always feels a bit like his birthday. That’s hardly surprising – after all, his boss chose exactly this occasion to present him with the MAN TGX.
Some presents are just a bit more special than others. In the case of his 2019 MAN TGX XXL, which boasts 510 hp, professional driver Matthias Jaser is sure that it will be hard to top. His boss, Johannes Schmidt, gifted him the “lion” right in time for his birthday at the end of January. In fact, the truck was meant to arrive sooner, “but there were some difficulties with the delivery, so it arrived a bit later, which ended up being on my birthday,” says Matthias happily.
For over 12 years, Matthias has worked in national long-haul transport, transporting steel from Beilngries in Upper Bavaria for the haulage firm Schmidt, and would like to carry on working there for as long as possible: “It feels like I’m part of a family here. We can find a solution for anything – it doesn’t matter whether it’s to do with work, or something private,” says Matthias, his enthusiasm obvious. Having done the job for 21 years, he knows only too well that things do not always go well. “But let’s be honest, is there a job where they do?” he says. “Unlike other jobs, I can let off steam in my truck, if I want to.” He can rely on his boss, too, who affords him plenty of freedom and lets him work independently.
Arya is part of the family
“Arya is my pride and joy, along with my family of course,” Matthias tells us. The name, taken from a character in “Game of Thrones”, is not the only thing that the 40-year-old has chosen for his MAN. Shortly after taking it on, he began making a number of modifications to the truck to make it even nicer. He added a thick sunblind, a light bar and a low bar on the exterior, and a fair amount of alcantara and leather upholstery inside. “I’m sure there will be a couple more things that I will find to make it more pleasing to the eye and cosier,” says Matthias, adding with a laugh: “Are you ever really finished with a truck?”
It is no surprise to him that the truck plays such a big role in his life: “As drivers, we spend so much time in our trucks that we develop a kind of connection with them – and sometimes this connection can be quite deep.” Matthias’ wife Sveci, whom he married on 31 October, is well aware of this. In a sense, she said yes to Arya, too. Their young daughter is also a fan off the truck that parks outside the house at weekends and which she is allowed to ride in every now and then.
Arya is not Matthias’ first MAN truck: before the MAN TGX, he drove a TGA and an F2000. “I was always happy with my MAN trucks,” he says. “They are reliable, and have plenty of interior space.”
Matthias will soon celebrate his next birthday, and as far as presents are concerned, he is completely content: “The MAN TGX really was an unbelievably great present. Thanks a lot, boss!”