Emmanuel and His Mercedes Actros

At 31, Emmanuel does not consider his truck to be just a work tool. Originally from the Vosges and now living in Alsace with his partner, he grew up in a world where the road already played an important role. His father worked in road transport and, whenever the opportunity arose, young Emmanuel would try to accompany him, sometimes even skipping school to take a seat in the cab.

His passion developed over the miles before expanding into the world of decorated trucks. Today, it has taken on a new dimension with an unexpected vehicle: a 2025 Mercedes-Benz Actros 530, extensively modified in the Netherlands, with which Emmanuel carries out long-distance refrigerated transport journeys across Europe for QCT.

A passion passed down by his father

In Emmanuel’s family, truck journeys were almost a reward. The children regularly competed for the available seat to go with their father.

“It was a fight between brothers and sisters to be able to go with him, but I often won!” he recalls.

His father drove, among other vehicles, a Scania Series 4 fitted with a few lights, enough to spark his interest in customised trucks from an early age. Emmanuel also discovered French and European truck modifications in specialist magazines. Trucks then became much more than his father’s job: they became a world of their own, combining travel with the exceptional character of customised vehicles.

His career choice came almost naturally. Emmanuel pursued a CAP qualification in road transport driving, which enabled him to obtain his heavy goods vehicle licence in 2013. In 2014, he then earned a vocational baccalaureate in road freight transport.

From car transporters to refrigerated transport

His first professional experience was with TEA Alsace, where he discovered vehicle transport using car transporters and heavy-duty vehicle transporters. He particularly remembers working for the same company as his father and his first trip to Greece, which included a boat crossing with a truck.

After three years in vehicle transport, Emmanuel joined SIFFERLEN, where he worked with curtainsiders, containers and flatbeds. He also tried his hand at timber transport at GEISS J-P for around a year. But one activity had attracted him from the very beginning: refrigerated transport. He eventually found what he was looking for at QCT.

QCT: Quality equipment and long-distance transport

Emmanuel has been working at QCT for just over six years. When he came across an advert posted by Quentin on social media, he already knew this small company based in the Vosges, its impressive equipment and its long-distance refrigerated transport business.

Founded in 2016 by Quentin, who started out alone with a white Volvo FH3, QCT is based in Remiremont. The company has grown without abandoning its long-standing customers and now has around a dozen employees and nine trucks. Its business is entirely dedicated to temperature-controlled transport, mainly food products, but also certain industrial goods.

The vehicles operate throughout France and Europe. Norway, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy: these long-distance journeys are among the reasons Emmanuel still enjoys his job. Over the years, his relationship with Quentin has also gone beyond the simple relationship between boss and driver.

“I am always listened to and heard. He genuinely values his drivers,” he explains.

A culture of customised trucks

At QCT, customisation is part of the company’s identity. After the first white Volvo, a blue Volvo modified in the Netherlands helped establish this distinctive visual signature. A blue Scania 560 customised by Kenty subsequently became one of the company’s emblematic trucks.

It was in this context that Emmanuel was able to imagine his own project. But this time, he chose an unexpected direction.

The choice of Mercedes that surprised everyone

Emmanuel’s previous Volvo had exceeded one million kilometres when Quentin told him it was time to replace it. Emmanuel then proposed an idea that surprised both his boss and his colleagues: choosing a Mercedes, a brand rarely seen at QCT and not widely represented in the customised truck scene.

Quentin immediately agreed. Emmanuel appreciated the brand and saw an opportunity to create something truly different. His boss gave him almost complete freedom, with just two conditions: the truck had to be a 6x2 and feature a smoothed grille.

The chosen base was a 2025 Mercedes-Benz Actros 530, in a 6x2 configuration with a liftable axle, intermediate chassis and GigaSpace cab. It is paired with a 2026 Chereau double-deck semi-trailer, equipped with two liftable axles and a Thermo King refrigeration unit.

With this combination, Emmanuel handles various types of deliveries, from night-time store deliveries to major distribution platforms, including retailers such as Grand Frais. Yet when it arrived at the dealership in February 2025, the tractor unit looked very different from its current appearance: exposed tanks, no side fairings, an air-suspended fifth wheel and steel wheels. An almost blank canvas, ideal for creating a Mercedes with its own identity.

A transformation carried out in the Netherlands

The first challenge was finding a specialist willing to take on the project. Scania, Volvo and DAF trucks are widely represented in the European customisation scene, but Mercedes trucks modified to this extent remain rare. Dutsch Style C, in the Netherlands, eventually agreed to take on the project.

The cab was completely smoothed to achieve a cleaner design. Custom-made tanks were ordered in England, and the pneumatic system was moved to the centre of the chassis to clear the sides. A storage compartment incorporating the batteries was created on the passenger side, while chequer plate was used to cover the tanks, storage compartment and centre of the chassis. The chassis rails remain visible, in keeping with Emmanuel’s wish to maintain a particularly clean chassis design.

At the rear, a complete bumper was manufactured and the chassis was extended. An exhaust stack and its support complete the silhouette. At the front, the grille was redesigned in 3D to remove the Mercedes star and give the truck a radically different front end.

A project handled by several specialists

After being delivered in February 2025, the truck went straight to Dutsch Style C for its exterior modifications, then to M&M Truck Design for the interior. Once the cab had been dismantled, it went to Stéphane Rutsches to receive its full paint job.

Emmanuel then became directly involved in the project. For a week, he joined the workshop to carry out part of the airbrushing on the smoothed cab surfaces. This was an important stage, allowing him to make a tangible contribution to the creation of his future work tool.

Once the paintwork was complete, the truck returned to M&M Truck Design for the interior to be reassembled, before going back to Dutsch Style C for the final exterior accessories. The project was completed during the summer, and the Actros was collected in August 2025.

A true living space

Emmanuel did not want a cab designed solely to impress at truck gatherings. His international routes require him to live aboard the truck for several days at a time. The interior therefore had to remain functional, comfortable and suitable for long-distance transport.

M&M Truck Design created a genuine lounge area with a table and two armchairs. A fold-out bunk, inspired by those found in Scania Series 4 trucks, preserves the available space during the day. A domestic-style refrigerator, a microwave and large storage cupboards make life on the road easier. The atmosphere is completed by spotlights, RGB light strips and an audio system installed entirely by M&M.

The result meets the specifications perfectly: spectacular when the doors open, but above all spacious and genuinely practical for everyday use.

The bear: his personal contribution

Among all the modifications, one element has particular significance for Emmanuel: the bear painted on the rear of the truck. Since childhood, he has admired decorated vehicles discovered in magazines and later at truck gatherings. By taking part himself in painting his assigned truck, he feels that he has made his own contribution. This Mercedes is not simply a vehicle entrusted to him once it was finished: it also carries a part of his own work.

Driving a show truck every day

Despite its appearance, the Actros is not intended to remain on display. It is a working truck, which requires extra care when navigating narrow access points or boarding ferries. A scratch, already frustrating on a standard truck, would be particularly difficult to accept after several months of customisation work.

This constraint is largely offset by the reactions he receives every day. At rest areas, at customers’ premises, aboard ferries or abroad, cameras regularly come out. Curious onlookers admire the details, come over to chat and ask questions. The Mercedes has thus become a genuine mobile showcase for QCT.

A passion before a profession

For Emmanuel, driving a beautiful truck is first and foremost a personal pleasure. He devotes a great deal of time to maintaining it: washing, checking, tinkering and making small improvements all add to his long days on the road. Yet he never considers these hours a burden.

“It is above all a passion before a profession.”

His Actros allows him to do the job he dreamed of as a child while rediscovering what fascinated him when he leafed through magazines with his father. There is one difference: today, it is his truck that other people photograph.

From daily work to Truck Shows

Whenever his schedule allows, Emmanuel attends various truck gatherings. In September, he was notably invited to Le Mans, while a trip to Drifterstyle in Ireland is planned for October.

These events offer another way to enjoy the truck. On the road, schedules and deliveries remain the priority. At a Truck Show, the vehicle becomes a meeting point for enthusiasts. Emmanuel can take the time to explain the modifications, show off the details of the chassis and cab, and above all share the passion that has accompanied him since childhood.

Keeping it for as long as possible

Emmanuel is not planning any major further modifications to the tractor unit. His aim is to maintain it, refine a few details and keep it for as long as possible in the best condition. The matching semi-trailer, however, should receive a few modifications to make the entire combination more cohesive.

Behind this project lies much more than a list of equipment. There is the child who fought with his brothers and sisters for the chance to accompany his father, followed by the young driver who worked with car transporters, curtainsiders, containers and flatbeds before finding his path in long-distance refrigerated transport. There is also QCT, a company that chose to trust its driver to the point of giving him almost complete freedom to design his future work tool.

Finally, there is the surprising choice of a Mercedes, transformed over several months between the Netherlands and France until it became impossible to mistake for any other truck. Perhaps the circle is now complete: as a child, Emmanuel admired decorated trucks in magazines. Today, somewhere between Norway, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy, it is his Actros that enthusiasts photograph when it arrives at a rest area or comes off a ferry.

Text and photos: AP TRADE VISION