MEET HEIKO, OUR 2015 OWNER/OPERATOR OF THE YEAR

Avatar photo
@JamesMenzies

As I’ve said and written before, the highlight of my job is notifying our annual Owner/Operator of the Year that they’ve been selected as our winner.

The trucking business can be a thankless one, especially for an O/O. Especially for an O/O who’s had the bad luck Heiko Lichtenberger has endured through. He came to Canada from Germany after being approached by a recruiter when vacationing in Canada more than a decade ago.

Heiko's burnt-out T660. He named his second truck Second Chance.
Heiko’s burnt-out T660. He named his second truck Second Chance.

He came over and joined D.J. Knoll, initially as a company driver, eventually buying his own truck. It was a used Kenworth T660 and it gave him a lot of problems, including a $12,000 head gasket repair bill right before Christmas. That truck met its fiery demise on the side of a Saskatchewan highway one cold winter day – and no, it wasn’t intentional!

Heiko replaced it with a brand new Volvo and has been doing much better with a full warranty and no big repair bills. He hauls Super-Bs loaded with grain much of the time but will take any kind of load D.J. Knoll dishes out. He says he’s always happy as long as there’s a load in the wagon.

We had a great time with Heiko, recognizing his achievement over a nice dinner in Toronto. You can read his full profile here. Thanks to our sponsors Castrol and Goodyear for making this award possible.

Heiko Lichtenberger, O/O of the year
Heiko Lichtenberger, O/O of the year
Avatar photo
@JamesMenzies

James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


Have your say


This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.

*