COMPANY PORTRAIT

THE A4 IS THE MOTORWAY THAT MEANDERS THROUGH THE FLAT LANDSCAPE OF SOUTHERN POLAND . SITUATED ON THE ROUTE FROM WROCLAW TO KATOWICE – ON THE ONLY MOUNTAIN IN THE ENTIRE REGION – IS THE BASILICA OF ST . ANNA , VISITED BY MORE THAN 400,000 PILGRIMS EVERY YEAR . JOACHIM WIESIOLLEK STARTED HIS TRANSPORT COMPANY IN 1987 , TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE MARIOLA , FROM A SMALL OFFICE NEAR THE BASILICA . THE NAME ‘ TRANSANNABERG ’ REFERS TO THE ORIGINAL COMPANY LOCATION . TRANSANNABERG GREW AND MOVED LATER TO STRZELCE OPOLSKIE

Joachim Wiesiollek started out with one truck , for which he obtained a transport licence with great difficulty . These days the fleet contains more 60 combinations for abnormal transport . Transannaberg has grown to become a leading company in Europe , specialising in the transport of windmill tower sections and rotor blades .

THIRTY YEARS TRANSANNABERG ‘ Before 1989 transport in Poland , especially international , was organized by State enterprises . In the next years the situation has changed in a small way . Private companies have also begun to receive licenses for international transport . Our company was established in 1987 . We bought used trailers in Germany . The tractor suppliers and trailer manufacturers did not have a service organisation in Poland , so we did all the repairs ourselves . If we needed parts we drove to Germany . We did not have a mobile phone or Internet . If we needed a tractor or trailer we sent someone over to Germany or Holland to look for one . Times were not easy , but we learned a lot . Because in those early years we could not rely on the service organisations of the tractor / trailer suppliers we learned to solve technical problems ourselves . ‘

THE SECRET ‘ We can rely on very experienced drivers . Many of the drivers started out in the workshop or as a co-driver , because you need experience to

■ Joachim Wiesiollek take a 60-metre rotor blade on the road . A driver who has been working at Transannaberg for twenty years is no exception . Our drivers enjoy the work , which is made obvious

■ Transannaberg was one of the first to use a Mega Windmill Transporter

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