Driving simply as a labour of love
How much love do you have to have for trucks if you voluntarily take on a second job in order to get behind the wheel as often as possible? Surely it’s not possible to be that crazy, is it? Michael Jerg from Bad Rodach proves that it is!
It started with a red MAN F90 from the toy store – Michael Jerg’s passion for trucks and the MAN brand. “This toy truck probably burned the lion on my forehead back then,” he laughs. He probably hadn’t thought of a driver’s career at the time as a seven-year-old boy, but his interest in the large vehicles had been aroused and this has remained unchanged right up to today. In fact, he never decided exclusively to pursue a career behind the wheel. But he can’t completely do without trucks.
When he was a young adult working at HABA in Bad Rodach, he learned that truck drivers were needed for works transport. He agreed with his manager that the job would wait for him until he had taken his truck driving licence.
He passed the test in April 2004 and started driving a week later. “The main work vehicle was a M2000 with a swap body. There was also a MAN F90 and already a MAN TGA,” recalls Michael. “I always enjoyed driving the M2000 and am still a big fan of the 2000 series today.”
Michael’s love of trucks continues unabated
When he moved to the metal industry a few years later, he first stopped driving until a friend told him in 2010 that he was opening his own driving school.
One of his first students was Michael, who took the opportunity to take his last missing driving licence for class D. After this, he could not resist getting behind the wheel and drove coaches and scheduled-service buses as a side job until the outbreak of coronavirus. Meanwhile, his interest in trucks still continued unabated: “As a big MAN enthusiast, I was increasingly drawn towards trucks, especially in the coronavirus years. I was particularly interested in the new MAN TGX models,” says the 41-year-old. But how should he go about it? In the meantime, he was working as a foreman in the work preparation department of a compressor manufacturer.
A wakeful mind stays alert
Michael finally discovered a job advertisement in the app of the German Federal Employment Agency: The MAN branch near his home was looking for a caretaker who could ideally also take over transfer journeys. “I immediately wrote to the company that although I couldn’t work as a caretaker, I would be happy to work as a driver.” The managing director and site manager responded promptly, and the two quickly agreed that Michael was the right person for the job.
“It couldn’t have worked out any better,” he is sure. The Dörfles-Esbach site belongs to the Tröger Group with its headquarters in Selbitz/Hof, which is one of the oldest MAN service partners in Europe. Why does Michael do this side job and use his free time or flexitime arrangements with his main employer to be able to drive trucks? “It’s not about money,” reveals Michael immediately.
“It’s the fascination for the vehicles that has always been there. And the love of MAN.”
That’s why he looks forward to it like a child before Christmas when one of his orders takes him to MAN in Munich to pick up a new truck. “If you’ve been enthusiastic about the brand since your earliest childhood and then get to go to MAN to pick up a new vehicle, that’s something special even at an older age,” explains the passionate driver. Generally speaking, he particularly enjoys driving large trucks.
“The bigger the better,” he laughs. And his son, whom he likes to take with him on trips every now and then, already shares his love for the big lions with his father. “He is just as much a MAN enthusiast as I am,” says Michael about his eight-year-old son’s passion for trucks. Michael, who did not have any truck driving role models in his family himself, is very happy that he can share his passion with his son, and secretly he sometimes dreams that they will be on the road together at some point. “Driving, that’s just me,” he says, explaining why this job is really just a labour of love. “I came to my absolute dream side job more by chance.” As a big bonus, I also enjoy the family atmosphere with very nice colleagues and have a great boss in Niko Rödel.
“I had the feeling of belonging right from the start.” It really is crazy how life sometimes plays out!