Travelling through the ‘Milky Way’
For 40 years, milk has been transported exclusively with MAN vehicles on all routes of the Altusried-based company Röck. That applies to regional milk collection as well as to long-distance operations reaching as far as France – a tradition with a promising future.
The deployment planning for the Altusried-based company Röck is really quite simple. There is always work to be done – seven days a week, 365 days a year and sometimes even into the night. The reason for the constant diligence of the 50-employee company in the heart of the Allgäu are its hard-working suppliers. The cows produce their white gold every day of the year. The milk collectors from the traditional Allgäu company work to the same tight daily schedule as the mountain farmer does with his milking machine: every day of the week and, if necessary, also at all hours of the day. ‘Röck around the clock’ – that would be the perfect motto for the milk experts from the Allgäu.
The planned routes of the family-run company led by senior manager Fritz Röck not only include the daily sprint from farm to farm to collect the fresh raw milk from the regional producers at the nearest dairy plant. As a second pillar of the business, Röck also takes on long-distance transport of liquid foodstuff, primarily to France and the Benelux countries – real long-haul journeys.
Since the company was founded in 1981, Bavarian equipment has been used to guarantee smooth running of the highly complex milk logistics. The company management and drivers are unanimous in their agreement that things have always run smoothly with MAN. In that context, the trucks from Munich have had to prove themselves on diverse terrain. In the regional milk collection operation, which covers an area from the company’s front door in the Allgäu to the Tyrolean Lechtal region, MAN TGS trailer trucks are used, which, if necessary, travel on solo to more remote collection points.
Fully equipped for smooth operation
The long-distance travel, which was added to the schedule in 1995, is carried out by fully equipped MAN TGX trucks – all squeaky clean, with stainless-steel tankers and a Röck-green large-capacity cab. 500, 540 or 580 h.p. of engine power is needed underneath the MAN cab when you are hitting the road with a milk tanker that is usually carrying a full 40-ton load. ‘Can performance be a sin?’ asks Fritz Röck with a smile, knowing the answer full well, in part from his own 20 years of experience behind the wheel of his vehicle.
The equipment that the Röck company management, which is kept in the family by top boss Fritz, his wife Elisabeth and the two junior managing directors Christoph and Julian, gives its drivers is also the cream of the crop: top-of-the-line trims with driver assistance and safety systems, as well as turning assistance, have long been provided as standard in Altusried. The MAN TGS trucks work their way through the often very narrow courtyard entrances with the help of reversing cameras. Visually, the grass-green MAN trucks with auxiliary headlights, decorative chrome brackets, aluminium rims and compressed-air horn also cut a good figure from the outside. A familial, comradely environment, performance-appropriate pay and fully equipped vehicles help build driver loyalty to the company – in some cases for their entire working life.
Far from a cushy number
The nine collection tankers travel to as many as 500 customers every day. Depending on the route, these can include between four and seven large dairy farms or up to 70 individual small loading points that must be reached with precision to the minute.
Despite the idyllic surroundings of the Alpine countryside, this job has only one aim: arriving punctually and reliably at the customer’s site. This is especially true when it comes to dairy farmers, whose raw milk tanks need to be emptied in time for the next milking round. With that in mind, bad weather cannot become an obstacle, even during the snowy Allgäu winters. Nevertheless, some routes reach altitudes of 1,100 metres. That is why Röck relies on a steered trailing axle and hydrodrive for the front axle in the 6×2 MAN TGS tankers. Julian Röck praises the hydraulic front-wheel drive for its traction support, lower weight and more economical fuel consumption compared to a classic all-wheel drive. Driver Michael Lingenheil also swears by these traction benefits, which have often helped him over smooth and slippery ground in winter. The professional trucker has been with Röck for a year, but he grew up with the job. His father has been driving for Röck for 28 years. Michael loves the variety between the nine-hour milk collection route in his homeland and the long-distance trip over six days to France and on to other unloading points somewhere in Germany or the Benelux countries.
In winter, it can sometimes be stressful, he admits. On alpine roads, chains – sometimes on the front and rear axles – are indispensable. But the interesting routes and the picturesque landscape more than make up for all that. The variety of the long-distance transport makes the job even more attractive. These days, Michael enjoys long-haul travel in the new MAN TGX. Two vehicles from the new MAN truck generation are already on the road for Röck. The drivers are highly impressed. ‘The interior is really very driver-friendly with the new equipment,’ reports Michael.
He was immediately pleased with the rotary push knob for menu control of the most important functions. ‘It feels like something from Audi, there’s no comparison to a touch screen!’ says the Allgäu native in praise of the new technology at his workplace behind the MAN steering wheel. The revised retarder control system and the gear shift strategy are also highly appreciated by the young MAN driver.
‘There really has been a lot done for the drivers here,’ says Julian Röck, confirming the assessment from his MAN TGX drivers. As technical manager and manager of the workshop, he takes a close look at his vehicle fleet. The new MAN TGX trucks drive – as confirmed by the vehicle telemetry – with fuel consumption levels that have been significantly further improved. The investment in the new technology therefore also has economic benefits.
And the enthusiasm of the Röck team also pays off: ‘Once a milk driver, always a milk driver,’ says Fritz Röck, summing up the attitude of his team. The longest-serving employee has been driving for the family business for 35 years. His drivers, explains Fritz Röck, have to know the region well on the one hand, and carry out the not-so-simple job as a milk collector to perfection on a daily basis on the other hand. The dairy business is running smoothly in this team with modern MAN vehicles.