Nostalgia - Frank's Blog

Posted on Friday, 31 January, 2014 by Frank

Clearing out some old stuff I happened to come across on these two old snaps so Mandi decided I should bore you with a bit of my life history. Not sure of the wisdom of her decision but here goes…

The picture half showing the old MAN 4x4 ex German army being sprayed yellow was the first truck I drove to Central Africa in nineteen seventy something.

This was the beginnings of what became Africa Link Ltd and now is Atkinson Vos Ltd. Jaap Vos is my old friend and business partner who drove a similar truck together with me. His friend Geert drove the third truck - we chopped up the fourth truck in a layby in Germany somewhere and loaded it in the back for spares.

It was superb to drive with all mod cons including a hard driver’s seat and a metre long gearstick. The maximim speed was impressive at 53km/h....yes kilometres. Jaap’s truck would do 54, so he was even luckier!

You can imagine how pleased the German, Austrian and Italian truck drivers were to see us up ahead on the 10 and 20 km stretches of ‘NO OVERTAKING FOR TRUCKS’ bits of the autobahns!

After several months of pleasant motoring across the Sahara and through the jungles of what was then the Central African Empire, we arrived at the capital Bangui. The beer was cool and the company excellent but unfortunately an attempted coup was going on - astonishingly and very sadly just like today.

We counted ourselves extremely lucky to be escorted to the airport lying flat in the back of a pickup and get on a plane back to Paris in one piece. So then we spent the profits and bought the bonneted Mercedes 1624 tractor unit and some others for trip 2 the next winter…

What Our Customers Say

“ ”

I couldn't recommend Simon and the team highly enough, they sorted all transportation and took all the stress out of the situation. A1 service guys, thank you

Nick & Martin

Apex Tree Surgeons

"Atkinson Vos know what they are talking about and offer great advice whenever you need it. They are always ready to help at the end of a phone line too."

Gerard Bredenoord

"Brilliant company to deal with and a really helpful group of people who know what they are talking about."

Ben Mauger

"First contact with Atkinson Vos became a success, smooth ordering parts, great prices, great support. Fully satisfied customer from Sweden."

Lars-Erik Bammis Ohlsson

When I bought my U1000 “Rustbucket” , Simon gave me a fair & frank appraisal of its condition. The mog was cleaned and shipped professionally with no issues upon landing here in Australia. Since then, AV has provided me with excellent spares support and the occasional bit of advice. Posting was always prompt and economical via Royal Mail – this has taken a lot of the pain out of restoration. Highly recommended.

Pieter

Atkinson Vos not only supplied my Unimog some years ago but they have been ever present when I needed any advice or assistance. My Unimog recently underwent a full refurbishment in their workshop and I have to say the result has been nothing short of superb. My Moggy is not only in great mechanical shape but it looks great too. Top marks Atkinson Vos.

James Mc Donnell, Ireland

Whenever I drive my MOG on to their yard, I have a feeling of excitement about the opportunities for upgrade and improvement that Atkinson Vos offers. Anything is possible, and everything is done to a very high standard!. Atkinson Vos prepared my Unimog to an excellent standard. Their aftersales service is great too.

Roelf

Hi Simon, The shims arrived last week. My unimog is now running perfectly! Thank you a lot for the excellent service, I really appreciate it!

Casper Hanekamp

We have been using Atkinson Vos for a number of years now, they have carried out some upgrades and all servicing and repairs, their staff are friendly and always willing to help. The workshop guys always offer advice and easy fix solutions over the phone and on the odd occasion visited our workshop to view and inspect the vehicle. I would not hesitate to recommend the company, Thanks to all the staff.

Chris Brayne

Super Rod Ltd

I have waited many years to start my expedition RV project and the team at Atkinson Vos has helped to bring this to fruition. Appreciated the quick responses to the myriad of questions I had additionally the support from build to delivery state side. Many thanks to the entire team at AV.

Mike Greenberg

"We have always prided ourselves with finding the best qualified people available, be they doctors, lawyers, engineers, or whomever. We applied the same process to finding our dream Mog Expedition Camper and have not been disappointed with Atkinson Vos. Paul and Emma both have done superb jobs answering our many questions and leading us through the purchasing / export / import process. Based on their performance to date, we are confident Atkinson Vos support will be there in the future where ever our travels may take us.”

Mary & J R Argo

"Atkinson Vos are the absolute experts on UNIMOGS in my opinion. They offer wonderful advice apart from sourcing spares and thereby make things so much easier" "I would go to them rather than any German supplier for my UNIMOGS. All put together, it's the best package deal." "Simon and Frank are passionate in what they do and men of their word. That's what I think sets them apart. They have literally turned me into a Unimog addict."

Solomon Benjamin

Paul, Simon, Mark and the team, we just wanted to say a massive thank you to you all. What a firm, we couldn't recommend you highly enough, from the friendliness, the efficiency and the quality of the overall product, absolutely 1st class. We will be looking forward to working with you again on future projects. Thank you all again, all the best Danny and Nobby.

Danny & Nobby

"We first met with with Atkinson Vos at the Adventure Overland Show in Stratford-upon-Avon. Frank and Paul had really impressed us as hosts and as a result we were determined to travel to the headquarters in Bentham. After a smooth discussion with Simon and Frank, we were certain that we found the partner to upgrade our Unimog. Two weeks later work had already started! We have too many kind words for Simon, Emma, Paul, Mark and the rest of the team to fit in this testimonial! Their knowledge and expertise in Unimogs made us feel assured. We were helped and cared for throughout the whole process, They are a phenomenal team, and we enjoyed the time we spend with them, Thanks guys! Souren and Kati"

Souren and Kati

"The inspection of my Unimog was executed thoroughly and the itemized repair quote was reasonable. In short my Unimog is a testament to the fantastic work delivered by Atkinson Vos. This is a compliment coming from someone who appreciates quality work and has an eye for detail."

Joe Dos Santos

After taking on bigger tree work as my business grew, I knew I needed a Unimog. After doing my research on different commercial vehicles sold in the UK i found Atkinson Vos and I felt I was in good hands. The quality of service, care and reliability from Simon and his team has been a really good experience. The team have built my Unimog to the exact spec of what I needed. I'm over the moon with it. I'm getting lots of feedback from customers and passers by that are impressed by the green machine. I would highly recommend Atkinson Vos to anyone that specialises in Arboriculture.

Jon Welfare

All Seasons Tree Care

“Thank you for sorting out the Unimog parts. Well chuffed at the minimal corrosion and the quality of the bits. Thank the boys from the workshop for me. They were brilliant helping us load up. “

Tim Richardson

County Construction & Development