For Gunter Gijbels, his story at H.Essers began long before he started working there himself. As a child, he would ride along with his father, who was also a driver at H.Essers, during school holidays. Gunter has now been behind the wheel for 30 years himself. During that time, he has seen the company grow from a transportation firm with about fifty trucks into the international logistics service provider it is today.

How long have you been working at H.Essers?
Gunter: “I started in 1994 with an internship and summer job as a driver. On Saturdays, I drove on-site as a Terberg driver. On July 17, 1995, I was hired full-time. I was the last driver to start in Eksel, just before the company moved to Genk.”

What do you do at H.Essers?
Gunter: “I was an international driver for almost ten years. Back then, I mainly drove to France and Italy. After that, I decided I wanted to spend more time at home with my family, so I switched to day trips, with the occasional overnight stay. At first, I mostly drove to northern France. Then it shifted to the Benelux countries, and in recent years I’ve almost always been driving in the Netherlands.”

How did you end up at H.Essers?
Gunter: “I actually started at H.Essers following in my father’s footsteps. My father began working here in 1976 and retired 35 years later. Starting when I was six, I went with him in the truck to Italy every vacation. So, I’ve been driving H.Essers trucks for about 45 years now.”

How have you seen the company grow and change?
Gunter: “As a child, I saw the company grow from about 50 trucks to around 300 by the time I started driving myself. After that, I was part of the move from Eksel to Genk and witnessed the tremendous growth H.Essers has experienced over the years. They now have nearly 1,500 trucks.”

“I’ve also seen everything shift from paper to computer. We’ve gone from about 350 employees to 7,500. I saw how warehouses were constantly being built and expanded.

As a driver, I’ve seen a lot of changes, too. The trucks have evolved tremendously, and the most recent development is, of course, electric trucks.”

Why have you been working at H.Essers for 30 years?
Gunter: “I fulfilled my childhood dream of becoming a driver, and H.Essers has given me every opportunity. In those 30 years, there haven’t been five days where I’ve come to work reluctantly. I think that makes you a happy person. I always tell people, ‘If they took a blood sample from me, it would be red with a white stripe.’ That says more than enough. After so many years, it’s only natural that you become deeply attached to the company.”