Footprint instead of signature

Matthias and Arthur Tukan from Bielefeld are building up a transport company in Florida with DARIA. Their story is one of a decision that took a long time to mature and was then quickly put into action.

Who are the two brothers?

Matthias is 31, Arthur 24, grew up in Bielefeld, has Polish roots and his family comes from Gdansk. Since 2015, the two have had the idea of building something together. The details were still missing. The direction was clear.

Matthias worked in the freight forwarding industry for seven years. He started as a driver and worked his way up to regional manager. Responsibility for teams, for turnover, for drivers. A career that clearly pointed upwards in Germany. His current company offered him the position of managing director. They are still trying to change his mind today.

He goes anyway.

Arthur came to logistics through his brother. He started out in the commercial sector, but conversations with Matthias drew him deeper into the industry. Today, he is preparing for the IHK-certified transport manager examination in road haulage. This is the formal basis required in the EU to legally operate a transport company. He says he also takes this knowledge with him to the USA.

How did you come to DARIA?

It was their father. In the fall of 2024, he approached the brothers: Here's something that might suit your interests. They took it seriously.

First conversation with Bernd Roebers. Then several months of intensive conversations, online and in person. Until they finally drove to Erkelenz. That was the first turning point, they both say. They got in the car.

2025 the first visit to the USA. I attended the Saturday breakfast in Cape Coral. Back in Germany, a Zoom call with Frank Rahlf followed, and later a face-to-face meeting at the Member Happening in Germany. A casual conversation about logistics expertise turned into a concrete idea that became more and more focused with every step.

What really convinced them? Not the numbers. The community. The philosophy. And a sentence from Frank that stuck with Matthias:

„We are not here to leave a signature. We are leaving a footprint. Especially for the children, for the generation after. This feeling is a thousand times nicer.“

What is DARIA US Logistics?

DARIA US Logistics is your company. Founded as part of the DARIA community, with a clear mission: logistics for people coming to Florida or already living there.

The business areas: Private transportation, furniture shipments for new-build villas and advice on shipments. DARIA members who are moving house, furnishing a villa or shipping furniture from Europe have direct contacts in Matthias and Arthur. People who go the extra mile themselves.

„We are direct contacts, also for advice,“ says Arthur. „Anyone who wants to know what shipping costs, what to look out for and how best to organize it, comes to us.“

They have been organizing shipments from Germany since around June 2025. They are still using a partner network, as they are both still living in Bielefeld until the end of April or beginning of May. In Florida, they initially want to drive and transport themselves and build up their own fleet of vehicles. At the same time, they are working with the DARIA IT department to develop new, more compact software for coordinating orders.

What differences
do they surprise you?

Florida is not Bielefeld. They already realize that from a distance.

Matthias addresses it openly: „Punctuality is practiced differently. Statements made at appointments sometimes have a different level of commitment. You have to know that so you don't miscalculate.“ Two partners who meet first have to get used to each other. That is normal. But you have to know that this is the case.

What fascinates him at the same time is the trucker culture in the USA. In Germany, truck driving is a profession with a structural image problem. Shortage of skilled workers, high fluctuation. Drivers who stay for two weeks and then leave. It's different in the USA. Many truckers see their profession as a lifestyle, as an expression of freedom. A different starting position.

There is also a geographical advantage: most freight forwarding and logistics companies operate from Miami or further north. For the southwest of Florida, for Cape Coral and Fort Myers, this means: little direct competition and plenty of space to establish themselves.

When does the new phase of life begin?

The two brothers want to move to the States by the end of April or May 2026 at the latest. The visa process is underway: All documents have been submitted, the interview date is still pending.

The wives and children come along. Matthias‘ son is four years old and his daughter will be two in July. For Matthias, this was a conscious decision: the children are at an age where the move is easier. No school that would have to be interrupted. No social rift that would be difficult to mend.

Arthur was particularly surprised that he was going to Florida of all places. „I'm actually a winter person,“ he says. The fact that he chose this as his next chapter is really thanks to DARIA.

The original plans looked different. The Polish roots, the connection to Gdansk: Europe, perhaps Poland, was the intended terrain. Not Florida. But her parents in Germany fully support the decision and have not ruled out the possibility of moving there themselves at some point.

What really drives them?

Arthur puts it in a nutshell: „We don't just want to take. We want to give. Create added value for the community instead of just waiting to see what happens.“

Matthias adds: „When you take on responsibility and then see results, it's a feeling that's hard to explain. You just know that you've done the right thing.“

What particularly appeals to her about DARIA is something that can be found in very few companies: the trust that everyone has the same attitude. That no one thinks only of themselves. „We've all taken a risk,“ says Matthias. „No one has a guarantee. But we can only get there together.“

And then there's Frank's sentence, which stayed with Arthur: hammer or anvil. Actively shape or be shaped.

„We want to be Hammer. Create something that is for everyone. Not just for us.“

What do the next few years look like?

Matthias and Arthur have their sights set clearly on the next three to four years. Build up their own fleet of vehicles. Hire employees: Accounting, sales, especially marketing. A salary and benefits system that retains employees and treats them fairly. German know-how as a basis, the American market as a stage.

Not as an external service provider. As part of the community.

„The beauty of it is that we're building it all together,“ says Arthur. „Not next to each other, but with each other.“

For DARIA members, this means that if you're moving, shipping furniture or don't know how to organize everything, Matthias and Arthur are contacts who have gone the distance themselves. No call center, no form. A direct conversation with people who understand what it means to move from Germany to Florida.

Matthias and Arthur Tukan are two of many people in the DARIA community who not only invest, but also build. Logistics is their tool. The goal is bigger: to leave something behind that lasts.