recovery in Sweden s big business
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E SCENE is a wooden cottage the outskirts of Sodertalje,
t a few gearchanges away m the gates of the Scania ck plant. The duty operator of local Karen service point es a call from the driver of a nish drawbar combination iorting a trailer axle fault ich prevents his return home. Vithin minutes the station's N Scania-based EKA wrecker
)n its way to carry out a ipended tow to the nearest table repair workshop. Hardly type of operation in Which s spectacularly equipped licle can really show off its e capability. Nonetheless, it is Vindicative of the wide range ;ervices which this Swedish lanisation provides.
largnings Karen — or overy corps in a straight nslation — is an organisation )nsored by the Swedish urance companies as part of country's Larmtjanst network which handles everything from a minor domestic emergency, such as burst pipes, to serious traffic accidents.
In the cost-effective way which characterises so many Swedish activities in the service and transort sectors, Karen is relieving many large fleet users of the need to buy and maintain their own recovery facilities. These, like the proverbial fire engine which no one wants to see go out in earnest, may tie up capital and in any case will be of little use if a breakdown occurs 600km from base.
The expertise and special equipment which Karen has at its disposal is accordingly now also made use of by passenger transport undertakings of the size which in the UK would still have their own breakdown or recovery fleet.
Recovery vehicles used by Karen range from small — mainly US-made — pickup conversions to Volvo and Scania-besed.heavy-duty units with Bro-Wrecker or EKA gear. EKA — the three letters stand for Eskilstuna Knife Company — was responsible for the comprehensive spec of Sadertalje Karen's latest addition.
The Scania 142 H normal control T-model based vehicle, in the bright red and yellow showman's livery, is capable of handling the 50 tonnes gcw outfits legal on Swedish highways. Recently it gave an even more awe-inspiring display of muscle when it recovered a90 tonnes dumptruck which had gone out of control.
Judging by the newspaper clippings in the snug little crew room of the base office, jobs like that don't come every day. That it was tackled with the same equanimity applied to towing a broken-down family saloon highlights the philosophy and flexibility of this unique operation.