empty, not gradually,” he explains. Many drivers were turned back due to some problem with their documents. “All the documents were scrutinized. The red tape never ended,” he remembers. “The stamps were important. They were supposed to be round, and then there were the watermarks,” Johan Rosenqvist remembers. “The same went for full stops and commas; if one was in the wrong place everything came to a halt. If everything went smoothly the roundtrip Oslo-Moscow-Oslo could be made in seven days, but there was hardly any upper limit. One time Södergård was transporting goods all the way to Samara and Togliatti, approximately 2 200 kilometre east of the border. “I was about to get a military escort, but first I had to wait for a policeman in Saint Petersburg for two days because of a snow blizzard. When he finally arrived, we didn’t understand each other, but the closer we got to the border of Kazakhstan, the more nervous he became,” Lasse Södergård remembers. “But everything went according to plan during the unloading and the return trip, despite the return-cargo I was carrying – Lada spare parts, very sought after in Russia.” The true cargo in the vehicle wasn’t always so clear. Jan Gullans and Göran Sandås remember one example. “One of the company’s drivers was stopped at the border when the border security officer’s dosimeter went off ten meters from the car. In the cargo hold, containing airfreight loaded in Malmö, there was a radioactive box, which turned out to be empty.” They never found out what it had contained, and the story ends there. Only one thing is for sure. the memories are many, and entertaining.
Scandic Day – a concept for kinship
Two years ago, the concept of Scandic Day was established - an event for all the company’s employees, drivers and hauliers as well as different collaboration partners. Scandic Day 2019 was held in Turku during a sunny weekend in August and was a successful get-together, in every possible way. Text: Anna Sand • Pictures: Johan Ekman / RajuLive “The purpose of the event, which has taken place twice, is that everyone within the organization, from all places of business, gets the opportunity to meet and spend time together in a relaxing setting. Many of us stay in touch daily, but only via e-mail or phone, which isn’t as personal”, notes Marjo Lehto, office manager at the Scandic Trans terminal in Turku and the woman behind last year’s arrangements. Last year the Scandic Day kicked off on Friday afternoon with a series of lectures and continued the following day with socializing and other events such as test drives and competitions in the form of different strength challenges as well as demonstrations by suppliers and collaboration partners. “And of course, food, coffee and cake”, Marjo adds with a smile. Children and other family members were also welcome along to the event, where the main purpose is to create a sense of kinship and belonging. With us were representatives from manufacturers and associates as well as the athlete Jennifer Antell, who organized the competitions. Due to the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations, Scandic Day will be on hold in 2020. “Instead we’ll be celebrating with another type of event this fall, if circumstances allow”, Marjo Lehto concludes.
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