OTOMOTO True Stories: the family history of Smuszkiewicz

Our family story was featured in the "OTOMOTO True Stories" series. It is a tale of three generations and of how, from a single vehicle, we built a company that today imports tractor units and semi-trailers for hauliers from all over Europe.

The beginning in 1979

It all started with Piotr Smuszkiewicz, who at the end of the 1970s left a state job and bet on his own business. The first vehicle was a single Jelcz, which launched the transport business, expanded over time with more vehicles. In those days everything had to be learned in practice, and a good reputation was built over years.

The workshop as a second home

The founder's daughter, Hania, hung around the workshop from childhood and caught the motoring bug there. Growing up among engines, tools and trucks shaped the approach still visible in the company today: knowing the equipment and respecting hard work.

The generational change in 1997

In 1997 Hania and her husband Sławek took over the helm of the company. Those were years of intense work, often without days off, but that is when the foundations we stand on today were laid. The next generation is already joining the family business, including the founder's granddaughter, Martyna.

From the vehicle market to online sales

It is not just the equipment that has changed, from the old Jelcz to the modern tractors standing in our yard today, but also the way of trading. Vehicles used to be bought at the vehicle market, where both sides had to travel. Today most transactions happen online, and customers from all over Europe find our vehicles on the internet.

Three generations, one passion

A family business is above all a way of working. Decisions are made quickly, because the people talking to each other have known one another for years and share responsibility. Knowledge about vehicles passes from generation to generation: the older ones remember fixing every fault in the workshop, the younger ones bring knowledge of new technologies and digital sales.

What sets us apart today

After more than four decades we know that three things matter in the commercial vehicle trade: an honest description of the technical condition, thorough preparation of the vehicle and availability after the sale. We inspect every tractor unit and every semi-trailer in person before they reach the yard, and we help international customers with transport, paperwork and financing. That way a remote buyer knows they will receive exactly what they saw in the listing.

What remains of this story

Through all these years one thing has not changed: we are a family business that knows trucks and treats customers like people. We import, finance and prepare commercial vehicles so they reach hauliers ready for work, in the spirit in which Piotr started more than four decades ago.