Ut kump goe'
Jan's way of working at Walkro for almost 30 years
At 3.10am, the alarm clock rings. While most people turn over one more time, Jan van der Zanden is already standing next to his bed. Freshen up, make sandwiches and at half past three in the direction of Walkro in Venlo. "And then coffee with the men first," he says. With four or five colleagues every morning. He has maintained that rhythm for almost 30 years.
Jan is a truck driver, but his working day consists of much more than just driving. Thinking along with the customer, a repair job in between or going that extra mile on location: Jan just picks it up. He loves the work, the people and the feeling that everything is right when he drives away from a customer. "I still enjoy going every day," he says.
The choice of truck
Jan grows up in a large family on the farm. Eight children, father and mother on the farm. His second-oldest brother was supposed to take over the business, but after his death, that question suddenly became close. He soon felt that farming requires more than just responsibility. "Farmer you have to be at heart," he says soberly. "You have to be able to tell in a few seconds from an animal whether something is wrong. I didn't have that. And then you have to be honest."
Jan therefore consciously chose the mechanical side of the business. Via his uncle, he rolled into the mushroom sector and started working at De Klein. There, he works with raw materials and loaders and comes into contact with collecting horse manure from riding stables and transporting it to composting plants. This immediately appealed to him. "Picking up horse manure, loading it and moving on again, I loved that work." He gets his truck licence and starts working as a driver.
When De Klein Mushrooms is later taken over by Walkro, Jan goes along. "Everything but the nursery was sold. We went over automatically. And fair is fair: we didn't get any worse."
Picobello
Anyone who thinks Jan's work is mainly about doing kilometres is wrong. Of course he drives his rides - sometimes two, sometimes three a day - but the real pleasure is elsewhere. "I get happy at the riding stables," he says. "I often come there on set days. When they see me, they are genuinely happy."
Jan loads neatly, cleans everything up tight and leaves the yard clean. No manure along it, no mess left behind. That stands out. "You can load and you can load," he says with a smile. "I do it picobello."
Appreciation comes naturally. A box of chocolates, something sweet in the cab. "Not because you have to, but because people see that you do your job well." That feels good.
A driver with common sense
Jan is known as someone who thinks along. If a customer suffers damage, he is regularly called. "Then Rob says: 'Jan, would you please see if you can fix this?'" And often this can be done. Straighten a gutter, re-brick a manhole wall. "I'm not just a truck driver," he says. "I just like that variety."
Jan is also in his element at silage work. In winter, he drives high-quality horse manure to German farmers, where it is carefully ensiled. Foil on top, neatly finished. "That's really skilled work. And yes, it is starting to get heavier," he says honestly, "but I am proud."
On the road together
With some forty-five drivers, Walkro is not a small club. There are several locations, with Jan starting every morning from Venlo. His day invariably starts with four to five colleagues from the very first shift. Having a cup of coffee together. "You don't notice any grumpiness at 3.30 in the morning," he says, laughing. "No one with a morning mood."
Loading and unloading is done in Blitterswijk and if there are no colleagues, it's a quick cup of coffee and on for the next trip. "But when you see each other, you grab that moment," says Jan. "Having a quick coffee together, that's part of it."
Along the way, he sometimes grabs half an hour's rest.
"We are so into that early rhythm that on my week off I still wake up around three o'clock."
Triple Dutch ploughing champion
Jan doesn't sit still outside work either. He prefers working with his hands, tinkering with old tractors. For about 15 years he has been taking part in ploughing competitions with his vintage 1940s tractor and plough. "Ploughing as tightly as possible, under time pressure," he says. It is not nostalgic driving around, but top sport on a detailed level.
That dedication gets results. Jan has already been Dutch champion three times and competed in England and Ireland. This year, Denmark is on the schedule. "The English and Irish are really good," he says respectfully. "Those teams almost every week." Cleanliness, tranquillity and feeling for the job make the difference. Exactly like in his work at Walkro. The competitions and being together with like-minded people give him energy.
Ut kump goe'
Jan isn't thinking of quitting yet. "Never really thought about it," he says. "It's good the way it is." He has worked at Walkro for almost 30 years, every day with pleasure and pride in what he does.
Perhaps his motto on the truck says it all: 'Ut kump goe'. "That's how I am in it," says Jan. "Privately too."
For his 60th birthday, he got a 12-volt coffee machine for the cab. "No crazy stuff," he says, "but just good coffee".
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