Ad de Groot tell us about his trip to Iran in 1975 with Jan Verhoeven.

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My name is Ad de Groot and I worked for van den Bosch from 1972-1975. I have driven several trucks at Van den Bosch, both with a semi-trailer and with a trailer. One of them was the Volvo F88 with registration number ZA-86-16 (fleet number 009) for Placoti Vianen.

At Placoti, rolls of paper were provided with a layer of plastic foil on the inside. The end result were large heavy rolls of paper weighing 1000 kilos or more. These rolls were used in the food industry, such as packaging (bags) for, among other things, milk powder.

I also drove the Volvo F88 with registration number ZV-73-00 (fleet number 011). With an open trailer we drove for Bitumarin (a subsidiary of Heijmans and the Koninklijke Maatschappij Wegenbouw, KMW). We drove large nets from Belgium to the province of Zeeland for the construction of the Oosterscheldekering, part of the Delta Works. Besides that I drove baker's flour (Limpens Amby) and cement (Enci) for Hormes Wijchen with this open semi-trailer. (That was then 25 tons of manual loading.) I also drove various other loads for, among others, Grunsven from Erp (the neighbor) and for crane manufacturer Munsters from Erp. 

In 1975 the question came from Ad van den Bosch whether I wanted to drive to Teheran (the capital of Iran) together with colleague driver Jan Verhoeven. The answer was, of course, yes, and preparations were started.

Jan would drive the Volvo F88 with registration number BS-61-79 (fleet number 019) with a Munsters crane on the low loader behind it and I would drive the Volvo F88 with registration number DB-89-92 ( fleet number 026 ) with a closed trailer for sealing and TIR-Carnet full of empty deodorant bottles behind it.

When everything was arranged we left. We had the essentials with us and were well prepared: open TIR for Jan, various permits for transport with an open low-loader and, above all, cash and various currencies to pay for refueling, tolls and the purchase of international driver's licenties.

The more than 5000 kilometer long route went through Turkey, where we spent the night at the well-known Londra campsite. Via the bridge over the Bosporus (see the 2nd photo) out of Europe and into Asia. Then straight through Turkey from east to west via Ankara-Sivas-Erzurum. We saw many accidents along the way. In Turkey, for example, there was a truck from Fontein Weert, which apparently had been there already for several months.

After crossing the Iranian border, the journey went via Tabriz to Teheran. Once we arrived in Teheran, we had to wait a few days in the middle of the city for the clearance and unloading. After unloading the two trucks, the journey went back to Turkey where we had to load currants and raisins in Izmir for a Dutch company.

My colleague Jan Verhoeven has unfortunately passed away. He was a great colleague and I was fortunate to learn a lot from him !.

All in all it was a very nice trip !

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