35 Years with the Company -A Personal Journey Through Time
A look back at special milestones and moving moments.
Thanks, Thorsten
There are colleagues whose names come up as soon as someone asks, “Who still remembers that?” Often, the response is, “Ask Thorsten Stahmann.” That’s not just because of how long Thorsten has been with us, but also because of all the different roles he’s held. At MHC Mobility, he successfully repaired vehicles and got them back on the road after breakdowns, posted invoices, ordered new cars, processed damage claims, and managed fuel cards. In 2017, he managed the fleet of the first Maxus electric vans from China. Anyone who knows so many departments from the inside can see the entire journey of a fleet vehicle, from ordering to filing a damage report.
According to the IW Cologne, employees in Germany stay with a single employer for an average of about eleven years. Thorsten has been with us for more than three times that long. He has seen the company operate under various names, has moved with us several times, and has responsibly supported every change.
We asked Thorsten to look back on his own experiences. Here is his story.
It was never boring…
It all started on August 15, 1991, right after I completed my apprenticeship as an auto mechanic. Back then, the shop in Breddorf was still part of Maske Car Rental. I couldn’t have imagined a better commute: just crossing the street in the morning, and I was there. The company wasn’t entirely new to me—during my summer breaks, I’d already worked there preparing vehicles and earning some extra pocket money.
“No sleeping here!”
Back then, we had three service vans. One drove to Bremerhaven every day and sometimes as far as East Frisia; the other two were mainly on the road in the Bremen area. Our customers were mostly construction companies, and we performed maintenance right on-site. To get up to speed, I rode along with a colleague for about four weeks, including weekend on-call duty. If a customer called with a breakdown, we’d head out and try to get the vehicle running again. If that didn’t work, someone would come with a car transporter, bring a replacement vehicle, and take the broken-down one away.
I still remember my first day to this day. On the way back, I dozed off in the passenger seat just before we reached Tarmstedt. Then my coworker slammed on the brakes, and I was wide awake instantly. His comment: “No sleeping here!” A clear message.
Many stages, many experiences
A career journey through the workshop, office, purchasing, claims, and technical departments.
From Mechanic to Master Technician, from the Workshop to the Office
I attended master technician school while working. It wasn’t always easy—my day-to-day work life continued as usual. I’ve been a master automotive technician for many years now. When the garage in Breddorf closed, I moved to Markmannstraße in Hamburg, which was then A+S Autoreparatur & Service GmbH. Instead of working under the lift, I suddenly found myself in accounting. When we went back to operating under the name Maske, I moved to the purchasing department, where I ordered and registered new cars.
Hamburg, Wilhelmsburg, and Back Home
When the headquarters moved to Behringstraße, I was assigned to the Returns Claims team and later to the Claims Department, where I spent a large part of my time. On the side, I maintained tire data and took over fuel card management.
A few years later, we moved to Rubbertstraße in Wilhelmsburg. By then, the technical and service departments, claims, auto sales, and purchasing were all under one roof, and I was back in purchasing. After about two years, we moved back to my hometown, to the old company building in Breddorf. There, I worked in the claims department, among other roles, until we moved to Bockel about five years later.
The Maxus Adventure
In 2017, I moved to Breddorf to join Cargo Mobile, a company newly founded under the name “Maske.” We had imported 200 Maxus electric vans from SAIC in China to Germany and wanted to represent the brand here as well. I was in charge of the fleet.
Even the beginning was unusual. A delegation from China and Europe spent two days with us to decide on the general agency for Germany. We had lunch and dinner together at some really great restaurants, and on the last evening, the contracts were signed. When the first vehicles arrived from Amsterdam, it was quite a scene: the press was there, NDR did a report, a member of the Bundestag stopped by, and several YouTube videos were made. I was traveling to trade shows and visiting customers, and I met a lot of people, including some YouTubers who were testing electric cars at the time. Technicians from the Netherlands and China also came by repeatedly to adapt the vehicles to European standards or to carry out recalls.
I now consider my time at Maxus to be one of the most exciting phases of my professional life. I witnessed how an electric vehicle brand that was virtually unknown here made its way into Germany and how much excitement there was back then surrounding electric mobility.
Back in the Technical Department
I’ve been back in Bockel since around 2019 and work in the Technical and Service Department. I still enjoy the work because I can apply a lot of what I’ve learned in all the other areas here.
When I look back, it’s not just my work that has changed. The company, the vehicles, and the entire industry are different today. There’s a world of difference between the service van with a combustion engine and the first electric vans from China, and 35 years have passed between my first day on the job—when they had to wake me up in the passenger seat—and today. It was never boring during that time.
