Team Zwenkend
, from De Bochte

What began with two service technicians in a yellow off-road vehicle has since grown into a wonderful tradition at Ahlmann Nederland.

For years now, we’ve been getting together on Wednesday evenings to work on our creations for the Heavyweight Class of the brascross. After work, we don’t go straight home—instead, we head to the workshop together. One person is welding or grinding, another is tinkering with the mechanics, and still others are painting, working with wood, or fine-tuning the details. Everyone pitches in in their own way, and that’s exactly what makes it so much fun.

And just as important: it’s always a lot of fun there every week! The music is playing, we’re dancing the old-fashioned way, there’s plenty of chatting and laughing, and halfway through the evening, a big pot of homemade food is ready for the whole team.

Enthusiastic colleagues from all departments are participating. On the job, you often know each other in a certain way, but it’s during a project like this that you really get to know one another. Building something together, solving problems together, and sometimes discovering together that a plan on paper turns out just a little differently in practice.

Always looking for something that's just a little crazier

Anyone who knows us knows that we love building things that have never been done before.
Not because we have to, but because we enjoy pushing ourselves technically, being creative, and seeing how far we can go within the organization. It usually starts with an idea that makes someone say, “That’s impossible, right?” And that’s exactly when we get excited about it.

This has already resulted in some beautiful creations in recent years. In 2023, our Ahlmann AZ150 was converted into MADMANN. A year later, a fully turbo-powered carousel took to the starting line, and last year, Van Takel and Lightning McQueen secured the victory in the heavyweight class.
This year, too, we wanted to put on a show that would both entertain and surprise the audience.

For our first time participating in the Zwarte Cross, we built a giant beer crate that unfolded into a full-scale Mario Crate racetrack inside the Nozem Dome and Loco Arena. It even included souped-up Ahlmann beer crates that raced against each other.

The trophy is beautiful, but the weekend is even better

Of course, winning is awesome. There’s no need to make a big deal out of it. And secretly, we were pretty proud that we got to take home the win at the Zwarte Cross, too.

But if you ask the team what the best part is, it's usually not about the trophy.

It’s about Wednesday evenings in the workshop. About eating together. About the jokes that come up year after year. About the moment when, at the last minute, everything turns out to work after all. And about spending a whole weekend having fun together, enjoying the atmosphere and camaraderie with coworkers.

That’s ultimately what *ZWENKEND UUT DE BOCHTE* is all about.