Kurt Grahn 1987

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Driving is a calling

An annual driving total of 1.1 million kilometers with a fleet consisting of 13 vehicles: six full trailer combinations, the same number of semi-trailers, and one delivery truck…

All of this operated by 16 employees, led by Ruth and Kurt Grahn, followed by a dispatcher and an invoicing/payroll clerk, and a dozen drivers – two of whom are also family members.

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The company is called Kuljetusliike K Grahn & Kumpp. Ky. It is based in Hanko, from where it runs scheduled services with four vehicles on the Hanko–Tammisaari–Helsinki route, explosives transport with two vehicles across the entire country, international transport (mainly hauling swap bodies imported by Railship) with three vehicles, and contract, charter, and local transport also with three vehicles. Operating since 1956.

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Horse and cart

But it all began back in 1945, when Kurt Grahn, like many of his peers, was facing a career choice. His “national service in grey,” which had lasted more than five years, had ended. He was already 28 years old – a grown man. He wanted to be independent and had no desire to tie himself to one place, so Kurt Grahn decided to become a driver. A horse in front of the cart – and off he went!

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Within a couple of years, however, the horse was replaced by a car. The make was a Ford Thames, and with it came a contract with a dairy in a neighboring town. The job involved collecting milk from farms. The collection had to be done very early – work started at around 3–4 a.m. And there was only one day off from collection per year – Christmas Day!

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So Grahn had plenty of time during the day. In the afternoons he could be found at the harbor unloading barges – bricks, cement, and firewood. By hand. With sheer physical effort. If there was time left over from harbor work, there was always gravel hauling available, thanks to the intense pace of post-war reconstruction.

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First diesel in 1950

By 1950, it had become clear that one vehicle was not enough. A second Thames was purchased. At the beginning of that same year, Grahn also acquired his first diesel—a Fargo with 84 horsepower and an impressive load capacity of 4.7 tons.

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With this vehicle, long-distance transport began: initially occasional pickups from Helsinki and Turku, and from 1956 onward regularly three times a week to Helsinki.

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Grahn’s company’s first regular clients included SOK, Kontino, Valtameri, and Telko from Helsinki, Suomen Väriteollisuus Oy, as well as local fish wholesalers and the woodworking industry in Hanko.

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1962: Volvo and Scania

The pace accelerated. In 1959, Kurt Grahn bought his first semi-trailer, with a Magirus Deutz Saturn tractor unit and a 10-meter single-axle trailer built by a local village blacksmith. With axle weight limits of the time, the load capacity was a “mighty” 8.5 tons.

 

Although the vehicle was of good German quality, it did not perform well in Finnish conditions. It had to suffice until 1962, when Grahn purchased his first new Volvo, and a couple of years later his first new Scania – a brand he has remained loyal to, with Scanias now slightly outnumbering the Volvos.

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Railship begins

As a port city, Hanko offered plenty of winter driving in the 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately, new super icebreakers were able to keep ports open despite winter conditions, and harbor transport declined to almost nothing.

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However, a new era of port traffic began in 1975 when the rail ferry Railship started operations. The Hanko–Travemünde route is now operated with two ferries four times a week, and a third ferry is on the way. With it, weekly departures will increase to six—possibly even seven times.

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Thanks to this mode of transport and Finland’s free port operations, road traffic to and from Hanko has increased significantly, and Grahn has had plenty of work. Freight forwarding companies have also become Grahn’s clients.

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Competition in the transport sector has always been tough in Hanko, and Grahn feels it is becoming even more intense. Meeting these challenges has required greater effort and improved efficiency, including various cargo space exchange solutions.

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Kurt Grahn finds it very regrettable that so many significant family-owned transport companies have disappeared from the logistics chain—due to sales, mergers, failed generational transitions, or even bankruptcies. This has likely been caused by the rise of transport organizations operating with a speculative “casino economy” approach. However, Grahn personally does not believe these will last long in the transport market, as earning profit margins in this industry requires much harder work than in business sectors in general.

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Thanks to the drivers

As a final message to today’s drivers, 70-year-old Kurt Grahn offers his warm thanks for choosing this profession. In his view, driving is a calling—a demanding and sometimes even dangerous occupation for those who practice it.