Moving Europe
Moving Europe Moving Europe
NETWORK: CZECH REPUBLIC Mid-field shooting star From the heart of the new Europe, the Czech Republic links modern industrial centres with international markets. Logistics solutions made by Dachser help to pave the way for growth. h ‘Statutory Cities’ in the Czech Republic are “cities with a special status”. Like Kladno. Located 25 kilometres north-west of Prague and with a population of 67,000, the city boasts traces of an impressive and colourful past. With its bell tower and ornate façade in the Neo-Renaissance style, the city hall is a landmark of the splendour of the late 19th century, when coal and steel characterized one of the main strongholds of Bohemian industrialization. This focused around the Poldi steelmill, the bastion of the Czech coal and steel industry, which after 1945 was destined to become the heart of a model Communist city. In its heyday, up to 20,000 people were employed there. That was before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Then it was lights out for Poldi. What remained was a relatively small specialized steelworks and a massive, movie set-scale industrial ruin, too expensive to pull down. 10 DACHSER magazine “The past is still very much present in Kladno, the good as well as the bad times,” says Petr Kozel, managing director and country manager of Dachser Czech Republic a.s. The country organization’s headquarters is located close to the former Poldi works. “The view is both a reminder and an incentive to ensure we operate in a modern and customeroriented way,” Kozel explains. Dachser has been active in the Czech Republic since 2006 and has grown continuously from the outset. In 2010, the number of shipments increased by about 50.5% compared to 2009 and tonnage by about 46.7%. In May 2011 alone, 140 employees at the Kladno branch office handled in the region of 18,000 consignments weighing over 8,600 tonnes. In the same period at its other locations in Brno, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Ostrava and Prague, Dachser transported almost 51,000 consignments weighing approxi- VOICES “A small country that in the past has produced great composers such as Dvorˇák and Smetana. Anyone hearing Smetana’s Vltava (Moldau) for the first time is sure to feel deeply moved.” Frieder Delius, sea freight supervisor Dachser Mexico “I associate the Czech Republic above all with Prague, which I have always longed to visit for its historic buildings and beautiful architecture.” Narayan Shankar, national head – ocean freight & tradelane manager – Latin America, Dachser India “The Czech Republic is an upand-coming economic market that shares historical and cultural roots with Austria. It boasts excellent Bohemian cuisine.” Margit Hutterer, office staff member (Sales), Dachser Austria mately 25,200 tonnes. In addition to European overland transport services, Dachser Czech Republic serves more than 100 countries worldwide via its Air & Sea Logistics branch office at Prague Airport. Banking on high-tech “The logistics market follows what’s happening in industry,” Kozel points out. Before the
Petr Kozel, managing director Dachser Czech Republic a.s. collapse of Communism, he explains, the main industrial output was raw materials and semi-finished goods. But in the meantime, many international companies have dis covered the Czech Republic as an ideal location for manufacturing high-tech products in the automotive and electronic sectors. Leading the way are Volkswagen’s Škoda subsidiary, and the Taiwanese electronics and computer components manufacturer, Foxconn. “Thanks to the expansion of the EU, the Czech Republic is no longer in eastern Europe, but right in the middle of the continent,” Kozel emphasizes. “Dachser’s extensive European logistics network with its precision-timed services is thus increasingly gaining in importance.” With its branch offices and their daily connections to the central platform in Hof, as well as to the new Eurohub in Bratislava, Slovakia, Dachser has strengthened the Czech Republic’s position at the heart of the European marketplace. “We are constantly improving utilization of the well-developed east-west routes and are also looking to strengthen the north-south axis. With this, we are specifically targeting the markets in Italy and the Balkan states for our customers’ European distribution We are aiming at hh healthy growth Petr Kozel centres,” Kozel explains. The new Eurohub in Bratislava plays a key role here, he adds. Food competence Another focus of Dachser’s activities in the Czech Republic is the provision of a wide range of logistics services for the food industry. In order to push growth in this business field, Dachser Czech Republic is planning to massively extend the transshipment area for chilled goods at its Kladno location next year. Expansion of the Brno branch office near the border with Slovakia to create a second food logistics location is already under way. Additional staff have already been hired and are currently undergoing the specialized training essential in this segment. “Dachser has made a name for itself in the Czech Republic as a specialist in the fast food sector,” says Jan Polter, Sales & Marketing director at Dachser Czech Republic. International suppliers such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Starbucks or Burger King rely on Dachser’s food competence to secure their supply chain – and the variety of required services is growing. “In the food sector,” Polter says, “contract logistics is fully in line with the trend.” The astronomical clock on the old town hall in Prague NETWORK: CZECH REPUBLIC SHORTHAND Czech Republic Area: 78,866 km 2 Population: 10.51 million Capital: Prague Economy: Mechanical and plant engineering, automotive industry, metallurgy, chemical, food and timber industry Exports: Machinery, cars and transport equipment, beer IT competence is in particularly high demand in this context. “The widespread implementation of Dachser software standards, such as Domino and Mikado, permits intelligent network management and ensures optimum customer benefit thanks to their transparency and traceability,” Petr Kozel explains. “We are aiming at healthy growth,” the country manager summarizes. This also includes building up and further developing industry solutions such as Dachser Chem- Logistics or DIY-Logistics in future. Only with the best “The best services and the best IT are useless unless you also have highly-qualified staff,” says Jan Polter. Dachser leverages the Czech Republic’s traditionally high standards of education, especially at its universities, through targeted cooperation agreements with the country’s best faculties specializing in business administration, management and logistics. “We directly approach graduates and offer them the opportunity to complete a trainee programme,” Polter explains. “This enables us to find out the direct way who is suited to Dachser and who isn’t. Because we are looking to recruit only the best.” Just as you would expect of a foresighted company “with a special status”. M. Schick DACHSER magazine 11
- Page 1 and 2: EDITION 3/2011 magazine EUROHUBS Mo
- Page 3 and 4: FORUM People and markets: 04 Aerody
- Page 5 and 6: AERODYNAMICS Optimized engines redu
- Page 7 and 8: Viva Dachser Mexico! For the first
- Page 9: PERSONAL FILE Hannes Feneberg (pict
- Page 13 and 14: Everything to hand When it comes to
- Page 15 and 16: Moving Europe Serving destinations
- Page 17 and 18: Michael Schilling, managing directo
- Page 19 and 20: The central Eurohub distribution pl
- Page 21 and 22: h Great to create an industry-speci
- Page 23 and 24: IT with a kick With IT, anything’
NETWORK: CZECH REPUBLIC<br />
Mid-field<br />
shooting star<br />
From the heart of the new <strong>Europe</strong>,<br />
the Czech Republic links modern industrial<br />
centres with international markets.<br />
Logistics solutions made by Dachser help<br />
to pave the way for growth.<br />
h ‘Statutory Cities’ in the Czech Republic<br />
are “cities with a special status”. Like<br />
Kladno. Located 25 kilometres north-west<br />
of Prague and with a population of 67,000,<br />
the city boasts traces of an impressive and<br />
colourful past. With its bell tower and ornate<br />
façade in the Neo-Renaissance style, the<br />
city hall is a landmark of the splendour of<br />
the late 19th century, when coal and steel<br />
characterized one of the main strongholds<br />
of Bohemian industrialization. This focused<br />
around the Poldi steelmill, the bastion of the<br />
Czech coal and steel industry, which after<br />
1945 was destined to become the heart of<br />
a model Communist city. In its heyday, up<br />
to 20,000 people were employed there. That<br />
was before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Then<br />
it was lights out for Poldi. What remained<br />
was a relatively small specialized steelworks<br />
and a massive, movie set-scale industrial<br />
ruin, too expensive to pull down.<br />
10 DACHSER magazine<br />
“The past is still very much present in Kladno,<br />
the good as well as the bad times,” says<br />
Petr Kozel, managing director and country<br />
manager of Dachser Czech Republic a.s.<br />
The country organization’s headquarters is<br />
located close to the former Poldi works. “The<br />
view is both a reminder and an incentive to<br />
ensure we operate in a modern and customeroriented<br />
way,” Kozel explains. Dachser has<br />
been active in the Czech Republic since 2006<br />
and has grown continuously from the outset.<br />
In 2010, the number of shipments increased<br />
by about 50.5% compared to 2009 and tonnage<br />
by about 46.7%. In May 2011 alone,<br />
140 employees at the Kladno branch office<br />
handled in the region of 18,000 consignments<br />
weighing over 8,600 tonnes. In the<br />
same period at its other locations in Brno,<br />
České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Ostrava<br />
and Prague, Dachser transported almost<br />
51,000 consignments weighing approxi-<br />
VOICES<br />
“A small country that in the past<br />
has produced great composers<br />
such as Dvorˇák and Smetana.<br />
Anyone hearing Smetana’s Vltava<br />
(Moldau) for the first time is sure<br />
to feel deeply moved.”<br />
Frieder Delius, sea freight supervisor<br />
Dachser Mexico<br />
“I associate the Czech Republic<br />
above all with Prague, which<br />
I have always longed to visit for<br />
its historic buildings and beautiful<br />
architecture.”<br />
Narayan Shankar, national head –<br />
ocean freight & tradelane manager –<br />
Latin America, Dachser India<br />
“The Czech Republic is an upand-coming<br />
economic market that<br />
shares historical and cultural roots<br />
with Austria. It boasts excellent<br />
Bohemian cuisine.”<br />
Margit Hutterer, office staff member (Sales),<br />
Dachser Austria<br />
mately 25,200 tonnes. In addition to <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />
overland transport services, Dachser<br />
Czech Republic serves more than 100 countries<br />
worldwide via its Air & Sea Logistics<br />
branch office at Prague Airport.<br />
Banking on high-tech<br />
“The logistics market follows what’s happening<br />
in industry,” Kozel points out. Before the
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