Meeting the challenge
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As executive VP of Daimler Trucks, Hubertus Troska is able to give unrivalled insight into the challenges truck-makers face
CM MEETS HUBERTUS Troska, executive VP of Daimler Trucks and head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe and Latin America, on the 'slightly less immense than usual' Daimler stand at the IAA Show in Hannover the day after the Atego was named International Truck of the Year 2011 (CM 23 September).
Clearly. the Hannover show is a home game for the Germans, and as well as the good, the bad and the ugly of the world's transport press, the show attracts the wider German business media, keen to know how a powerhouse of their domestic economy is performing, and thus the attendant pressure on all Daimler senior executives is evident. Add to this a cold virus working its way through the exhibition halls, coupled with the long hours, stale air and absence of natural light that are the inevitable downsides of working at an exhibition, neither Troska. nor CM for that matter, appear to be on top form as we meet. But appearances can be deceptive.Tall and of lean build,Troska strikes a relaxed note as he enters the room: we get the small talk about the Atego's award out of the way, and we plunge into the short interview by reflecting on the difference between Hannover 2010 and the same show in 2008 clearly much has changed since then. -Two years ago, we all realised there was something had coming [the recession], and we didn't want to talk about it," he confides. "It came even worse than we thought, very clearly. Today, the