Middle East magic
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During my 15 years in this industry, I’ve visited many hauliers and travelled to some glamorous destinations, but I have never looked forward to a company visit more than my trip to Kent-based Astran. Why? Because this legendary company is the reason I entered the road haulage industry.
In the 1970s the BBC made a documentary called Destination Doha, which featured the trials and tribulations of a group of Astran drivers as they travelled in convoy from
the company’s Kent HQ to the Qatar capital. On their incredible 5,000-mile journey they had to deal with extreme weather conditions, appalling roads, numerous breakdowns, kamikaze Turkish bus drivers and even broken false teeth! These two 50-minute programmes were fantastic viewing. They captured the heyday of Middle East road haulage perfectly. Although I was only seven, I knew then what I wanted to do for a living. But by the time I’d turned 21 and gained my HGV licence, the Middle East bubble had burst and very few UK drivers still made the trek to the Gulf.
With this in mind, I hadn’t expected too much from Astran today, but I’m pleased to say I was very much mistaken. Middle East road haulage is undergoing something of a revival, and with new MD Kevin Letham at the helm, Astran is more successful than ever. Despite the current unrest in the region, it is moving more cargo to the Middle East today than it was three decades ago.
But as you’ll discover from this special one-off issue, there’s more to Middle East haulage than just Astran. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I did.
Will Shiers
Commercial Motor – the official UK journal of the International Truck of the Year and International Van of the Year Awards