Lady in Pink in the MAN TGX

Jeanne Thylkjær Fjorback and her pink lion are all about “do it yourself”. The owner of the Danish company handywoman.dk turns women into precise craftswomen in her courses – her rolling workshop is a MAN TGX 26.480.

The pink truck with its 480 PS is an absolute eye-catcher. “Rolling Workshop for Danish Women” is written in big white letters on the used MAN TGX. The strong woman in the truck is called Jeanne Thylkjær Fjorback, is 44 years old and comes from a small village near the Danish city of Aarhus. Her characteristics mean that she is a perfect fit for MAN: Jeanne is determined, hands-on and innovative. No wonder, then, that she is known throughout Denmark as “Handywoman”. She is the woman who is tackling issues as a craftswoman and is destroying all of the clichés about men and women with a powerful blow from the sledgehammer.  

Jeanne organises courses for women who want to learn how to use tools.  Afterwards, they should be able to handle the drill, the hammer or the orbital sander independently and confidently. “Women should no longer be dependent on their husbands when something in the house breaks or needs to be replaced,” says the spirited Dane. “Once you have taken a course with me, you no longer have to ask experts or search the Internet. My participants can easily fix a dripping tap, change a mixer tap or build a shelf and secure it to the wall.” The Danish entrepreneur used to give her courses in Copenhagen and Aarhus, reaching only a relatively small target group. “Besides, at some point, it became too expensive for me to keep renting premises for my workshops,” says Jeanne. That is now over: With her pink MAN truck, she now drives directly to her customers and teaches on-site at different locations. 

“I need a truck!” 

Jeanne bought the MAN TGX in September 2021 at the MAN TopUsed main centre in Padborg, Denmark. Including paintwork and modifications to the tractor and trailer, she invested about 70,000 euros. “I have a friend who works at MAN,” she recalls. “I called him and told him: I need a truck!” A job for Brian Stoltenborg, Sales Executive at MAN TopUsed. He helped Jeanne buy and transform the former refrigerated train into a “rolling workshop”. “I have sold a lot of trucks for MAN, but I have never experienced such a crazy story,” says Stoltenborg. “The purchase process was completely straightforward and we were very happy to advise and assist Jeanne with the planned modifications.”  

The truck, built in 2016, was delivered in its original red colour. Jeanne had the entire cab repainted in pink – the colour in which Jeanne has presented her company since 2015. Added to this was the white company logo: A stiletto heel and a hammer.   Before her career as the “Handywoman”, Jeanne Thylkjær Fjorback worked in sales for a large Danish brewery for 18 years, but then eventually ran out of steam. “I had a garden party with my girlfriends and thought about what a new start in my career could look like,” she reports. “My friends told me I should become a craftswoman – after all, I had just renovated an old house from 1886 on my own.” A short time later, Jeanne quit her job and founded her company “Handywoman”.  

Workshop with five workstations 

Together with her husband Dan, Jeanne has converted the trailer of their MAN TGX into a perfectly equipped workshop with five workstations. Even a small kitchen and a toilet are on board. With an area of around 40 square metres, the trailer looks like a huge camper van with an integrated workshop. Jeanne is able to train around 600 women per year in her truck. n 2022, she offered courses for women in 21 Danish cities. The three-hour course costs around 150 euros. Men are not admitted – but, on special request, Jeanne would also offer a course for them. “But, so far, no man has come forward. It is probably the case that no one wants to admit that they have craft weaknesses and can still learn something,” smiles the Dane. 

Jeanne herself plans to further her education in trucking: She doesn’t have a truck driver’s licence yet. Her husband Dan, also a craftsman who builds sustainable passive houses with his company, has been driving her to the appointments so far.  “I’m like Pippi Longstocking!”, Jeanne concludes. “There is nothing I am afraid of. If I have an idea and I like something, I just do it.” And like Astrid Lindgren’s character, she knows: “I’ve never tried that before, so I’m completely sure I can do it.” And I’m sure I’ll soon get my truck driver’s licence, too.  

Source: MAN Truck & Bus, Corporate Communications