Victor Slomp

Victor Slomp from Pergine Valsugana, in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol, had been directed off the Autostrada A4 connecting Turin with Venice by the traffic police. It was there he encountered our roaming Irishman,

Paul O’Callaghan.

There had been heavy snowfall the night before, causing delays, with even the service area becoming difficult to negotiate. The Italian trucking veteran simply smiled as his Scania R500 spun its wheels in the deep snow until a shovel was produced to help it into a park next to a Spanish Iveco Stralis 570.

Victor has been driving for the legendary Italian company Autotrasporti Multipli Arcese for the past 39 years, which is quite a feat since the company was founded in Trento, close to his home, in 1978. The family man has travelled throughout Europe and loves his job as much now as when he began. His German-built Krone Euroliner trailer carries everything and anything, and today he was loaded with steel destined for Como, Italy. There wasn’t anything he said he disliked about the job before insisting Paul joined him for a traditional, strong Italian coffee sipped from a tiny cup.