Interview
Experience More.Value.
In the interview, Andreas Schmitz looks ahead to the IAA TRANSPORTATION in September, emphasises the importance of the new Smart Factory in Vreden and comments on the VECTO system for trailers.
Schmitz Cargobull’s presence at IAA Transportation 2026 will be characterised by a series of innovations. What they all have in common is the trend towards smart trailers with connected digital solutions that create real added value – in stark contrast to the unrealistic VECTO requirements. Watch the full interview in the video.
Schmitz Cargobull will be exhibiting at IAA Transportation 2026 under the slogan “Experience More.Value.”, and Andreas Schmitz reinforces this commitment. “We want to create added value for our customers,” he says. He emphasises the company’s role as a reliable driver of innovation, and accordingly, for him there is not just one particular highlight at the trade fair: rather, the focus is on a whole series of new products, featuring significant improvements across numerous product areas.
The focus is on curtainsiders, refrigerated lorries and semi-trailers, with an additional emphasis on distribution transport and city trailers. “We are thus entering a new market segment that we intend to tap into,” explains Andreas Schmitz.
“It’s not just a single exhibit. We’ve once again got a range of new products that we’ll be showcasing at the trade fair this year.”
Andreas Schmitz, Chief Executive of Schmitz Cargobull AG
For Andreas Schmitz, the launch of the new Smart Factory in Vreden fits perfectly into the bigger picture. “Everyone already knows that we’re building the Smart Trailer. And it makes sense that we should also build the Smart Trailer in a Smart Factory,” he says.
Thanks to the state-of-the-art facility, he promises not only greater product reliability – and, more specifically, further improvements to the k-values of the refrigerated bodies – but also increased efficiency. “We expect to be able to produce more vehicles in a two-shift operation than is currently the case,” he adds.
However, when it comes to added value and efficiency, there is also a counterproductive factor: it is called VECTO for trailers and will, in the long run, force trailer and semi-trailer manufacturers to base their designs not on customers’ actual needs, but on a rigid assessment scheme.
“VECTO for trailers does not add any value. Informed customers must be allowed to choose for themselves what they really need.”
Andreas Schmitz, CEO of Schmitz Cargobull AG
The legal action brought by Schmitz Cargobull, together with other European trailer manufacturers, against VECTO does not concern the required CO₂ reductions, but rather the practical means of achieving them. The focus must be on customer-specific applications, whether in local, long-distance or combined transport. “We have always reduced CO₂ emissions. We have always tried to make our vehicles lighter. We have always tried to use less diesel,” Andreas Schmitz explains. “But not everything always makes sense in every single application.”
