KRONE trailerforum 2018-02 (EN)

T R A I L E R S , T R E N D S & I N F O R M A T I O N F R O M K R O N E
2/2018
CLEVER CONNECTIONS
06
INTELLIGENTLY
CONNECTED
trading logistics calls for
innovative concepts
16
CHANGING
PHILOSOPHY
Krone is working on a new
modular system
18
SMART
SCAN
Loading area monitoring
increases efficiency
20
WALK
Dr Frank Albers meets
Shipping Agent, Axel Plaß

EDITORIAL
Every day we’re working at becoming a strong partner for our customers,
offering them outstanding product quality and developing and promoting innovative
ideas. To do this we need to work together closely: with our customers to
understand their needs and requirements, and with our specialised subsidiary
companies, partners and service providers to ensure we deliver the highest quality.
We call this “Clever Connections” – the close networking of all stakeholders. It
results in individual strength on all levels.
Krone is a strong company: Contrary to the industry trend of 2017, our business
enjoyed a very successful fiscal year. The total turnover of the Krone Group
was 2.1 billion euros – in the previous year this figure came to 1.8 billion euros.
We have invested 76 million euros in the future: Alongside our new spare parts
centre and the automated component production site in Herzlake, our new
Surfaces Centre (OFZ) in Werlte is the spearhead of our operations. This summer
we were able to inaugurate and commence operations at this cutting-edge coating
plant. The opening of the Surfaces Centre demonstrates a real commitment
to the site and to our continuous development.
We have what is perhaps the most important date in the industry ahead of us,
the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover. The 2018 slogan for the major industry
event dedicated to commercial vehicles, transportation and logistics mobility
is “Driving tomorrow”: Not only will we be presenting tried-and-tested components
at the conference, but also innovative products and impressive digital
solutions which will shape the future of transport. Some of these innovations are
featured in this edition of the magazine and we look forward to hearing from you
to discuss them.
We hope you are really inspired by this edition and wish you an enjoyable read!
Bernard Krone, Managing Partner of Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG
2 trailerforum

CONTENTS
6
CLEVER CONNECTIONS
The key to success is data
CENTRE SPREAD:
NEW COATING CENTRE
KTL plus powder: Krone opens
cutting edge coating facilities for chassis
in Werlte.
18
SMART SCAN
At the IAA Commercial
Vehicles, Krone will reveal
the development of its
loading area recognition
system.
Title: gettyimages/akindo Photos: Krone, fotolia/ipopba, DFDS
11 ON THE ROAD TO EXPANSION
The Danish ferry service and logistics
company DFDS uses a lot of Krone trailers
for intermodal transport.
16 NEW MODULAR SYSTEM
Krone is undergoing a change in philosophy
across the company and is working on further
standardising its production processes.
IMPRINT
Publisher
Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG
Bernard-Krone-Straße 1
49757 Werlte
www.krone-trailer.com
Responsible for the publisher:
Ingo Lübs, Head of Marketing
Tel. +49 5951 209-249
Publishing house:
DVV Media Group GmbH
Sven Mentel (Project management)
20097 Hamburg
Art direction:
Anne-Katrin Gronewold
www.g2ww.de
20 WALK
Dr Frank Albers, Managing Director of Sales and
Marketing at Krone Commercial Vehicle Group,
met Shipping Agent, Axel Plaß, in Hamburg.
Editorial contributions to this edition:
Christiane Tauer, Juliane Gringer, Thomas Horsmann, Behrend Oldenburg,
Katharina Pleus
Layout:
Susann Hoffmann, www.g2ww.de
Print:
www.muellerditzen.de, Bremerhaven
28 PERFECT REFRIGERATION
Donaulager Logistics from Linz is a specialist in
food transportation.
04 // FORUM
10 // FACTS
24 // BALANCE
25 // COLLECTORS
31 // VIEWPOINT
Rights:
The publication, its articles and its illustrations are protected by copyright. Any
copying or distribution must be approved by the publishing house or publisher.
This shall also apply to electronic use or transfer into databases, online media
(internet), intranet or other electronic storage media. The publisher and publishing
house decline any liability for photos, manuscripts and other data media submitted
without request.
trailerforum 3

FORUM
44 DAYS
The shipping association,
Elvis, has determined: It
takes on average 44 days
before a logistician is able
to assume the post of a
logistics services driver.
Based on the experience
of its members, the
organisation is putting
together a comprehensive
catalogue of actions
which aims to offer
operation centres a faster
and more reliable way
of finding new drivers
in future and to foster
a stronger connection
between them and the
business as a whole.
VAST SELECTION OF USED TRAILERS
MINIMUM PRICE
STIPULATED FOR CO 2
Krone Used pools resources and displays the entire portfolio of used
vehicles on the new online portal at www.krone-used.com. The joint
sales platform for all twelve international sites offers a central point of
access to all of the vehicles. Using a search function with extensive filter
options, it is quick and easy to find the right vehicle for your needs. For
example, interested buyers can search according to manufacturer, registration
date, features, price and brake type or any combination of these
filters. Each entry also provides several photos and precise information
regarding the vehicle’s features, tyre condition or additional fixtures including
cooling devices and tail lifts. Also provided within the vehicle
description are the contact details of the sales contact, who is on hand
to provide advice at all times.
BOOK A PARKING SPOT
Using the “Kravag
Truck Parking” app, it is
possible to reserve free
parking spaces at the
depots of participating
insurance customers.
Find out more at:
www.kravag-truck-parking.de
Germany has set ambitious climate targets ahead
of 2020. To this end, the ministers for energy and environment
of the new federal states of Germany have
reaffirmed their demands of the authorities, calling
for the introduction of a minimum price for carbon
dioxide in order to promote renewable energies. This
price is due to apply to energy production, heating
and mobility. The Conference of Environmental
Ministers in early June saw an appeal for such a CO 2
price. The additional income is intended to be used
to lower the EEG levy and electricity tax. The initiative
follows the example of France: The French President,
Emmanuel Macron, is calling for a minimum
price of 30 euros/tonne for CO 2.
“SPEED DATING” WITH IAA EXHIBITION VEHICLES
Around 65 journalists from 13 countries experienced what Krone will show at the German IAA
Commercial Vehicles 2018, at a press workshop in Werlte at the end of August. Among other things,
the guests got to know Krone Services and were able to visit the new coating centre. They could also
take a seat in front of the TrailerForum in Werlte for a “Speed-Dating” and from there get to know the
individual IAA trade fair vehicles such as the Profi Liner, Mega Liner Comfort or Paper Liner. Rytle also
presented its load wheel concept.
BRAND NEW JOBS
According to job platform
Joblift, start-ups in the
logistics industry have
created more jobs in
the last 24 months than
conventional logistics
companies.
The number of positions
at start-ups rose by
63 per cent, compared to
just 18 per cent across the
whole sector.
4 trailerforum

FORUM
Photos: Krone, DVV Media Group
The management team of Krone
Commercial Vehicle Group is growing:
As of 1 August, in addition to his
role as Managing Director of
gigant-Trenkamp & Gehle GmbH,
Alfons B. Veer (left) has taken up the
position of the Executive Director as
Deputy CEO of the Group, where
he is responsible for the departments
of Strategy and Programme
Management (SPM), IT Infrastructure,
Product Management, Project
Management and Purchasing. The
sales department was also reorganized.
Dr Frank Albers (right) is now
Managing Director of Sales and Marketing.
In addition to Dr Albers, Ingo
Geerdes is Managing Director of Key Accounts, Krone
Fleet and Krone Used. Andreas Völker, Head of
International Sales, now reports to Dr Albers. Gero
Schulze Isfort, who has been with the company since
2005 and until recently held the position of Sales and
NEW IN THE
MANAGEMENT TEAM
COOL LINER FOR SPAIN
Marketing Director for Krone Commercial Vehicle
Group, will be taking on the role of Managing Director
of Bernard Krone Beteiligungs GmbH and will
be responsible for the future projects “Last-Mile
Logistics” and “Digitisation” at his own request.
Spain’s juicy, intensely fruity oranges are enjoyed far beyond the country’s own borders. The
country is famous for its extensive growing of fruit and vegetables – and in order to transport these
goods, reliable industrial vehicles such as Krone’s Cool Liner are required. With Krone Trailer España
S.L.U. and Krone Fleet España S.L.U., Krone is able to meet all needs for selling and leasing
new vehicles. This allows the company to strengthen its strategic presence on the Spanish market.
The Krone Trailer España S.L.U. site in La
Muela (Zaragoza) comprises a production
building with administrative offices, a spare
parts centre and an open parking area. The administrative
office of Krone Fleet España in
Alfafar (Valencia) is 500 square metres in size.
A total of 31 employees work across the two
sites. Their annual turnover is around 70 million
euros. Managing Directors, Roberto Asin
and Rafael Sanchez, see a bright future ahead:
“The food industry in Spain offers huge potential.
We are increasing our impact by offering
all the necessary services from a single
source.”
IN SHORT
FUNDING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The Federal Office for Goods Transport provides funding from
the programme for energy-efficient industrial vehicles (EEN): For
lorries and other transit vehicles with CNG engines it offers
8,000 euros, and 12,000 euros for LNG-lorries and electric vehicles
weighing up to 12 tonnes. The purchase of E-lorries heavier than
12 tonnes is subsidised by 40,000 euros.
Applications can be made to the Federal Office for Goods Transport.
It is hoped that the funding programme will reduce the detrimental
effects on the environment and the climate caused by
goods traffic with heavy-duty industrial vehicles.
CARGO PROJECT GROUP
In Saxony-Anhalt, ProjektgruppeCargo has started its work under
the direction of the state prosecutor’s office (Landeskriminalamt, or
LKA). This collaborative effort strives to find a sustainable solution
to combat organised cross-border crime, in particular incidences of
cargo stolen by thieves cutting through trailer curtains. The logistics
industry in Germany has had to wait a long time for an initiative
of this kind – one that actively targets cargo thieves and their
accomplices. Four other German states are also among the first to
join the campaign: Brandenburg, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia
and Lower Saxony. International partners have also been brought
in to support the project which is due to last two years.
ALTERNATIVE ADDRESS SYSTEM
“What3words” is a new coding system for geocoding: It divides
the world up into squares measuring three square metres and assigns
each one a unique 3-word address. Bernard-Krone-Straße 1
in Werlte is given the combination „///dich.schiefe.weicher“, for
example. “What3words” is considered a “truly simple way of
describing locations”. Using the app, anyone can find any exact
location and transfer the address more easily, quickly and clearly
than in other systems –
this has huge potential
for use in the logistics
sector, for example, for
goods delivery.
The 3-word address for
every site around the
world can be found
using this QR code.

CLEVER CONNECTIONS
INTELLIGENT CONNECTIONS
E-commerce boom, surges in package movement and the last mile:
To ensure that supply chains continue to function smoothly in the future,
new solutions are needed in retail logistics.
Approximately 2.2 million tons of freight were handled
at Frankfurt airport in the past year, and around
64.5 million passengers flew in and out. As one of
the most important aviation hubs in the world, Germany’s
largest airport is a symbol for networking
all over the world, and a lively hub where people,
ideas and economic processes come together. Last but not least,
trade takes place directly on site: In the numerous shops, travellers
will find many things they can use on the way or at their destination.
Whether you want to take along a bottle of sparkling wine in
your carry-on luggage or buy your favourite chocolates on the way
to the plane after the security check, the advantages of e-commerce
have also found their way into this type of shopping. For example,
Hamburg-based company Gebr. Heinemann, one of the market
leaders in the travel market, offers click & collect or home delivery
services: You place your chosen products in the online shopping
cart up to twelve hours prior to departure, enter the departure date
and destination airport, send the order and pick up the goods later
at the shop at the airport quickly and easily upon presentation of the
boarding pass, all without searching, without waiting and without
the risk that the desired article is not in stock. Alternatively, customers
can order products online starting three months prior to a flight
and have them delivered to their homes.
It is a tremendous upheaval that is currently affecting all
commerce while engendering enormous logistical challenges.
According to the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling
Trade Association, German consumers bought goods for
58.5 billion euros on the Internet last year; almost eleven percent
more than in 2016. And: every eighth euro of the total
retail sales went to e-commerce. In 2017, 3.35 billion parcels
were transported in Germany; approximately 190 million
more than in the previous year. Above all, the end customer
CUSTOMERS EXPECT MORE
Gebr. Heinemann has more than 330 shops at 79 international
airports in 29 countries, and other customers include airlines, ferries,
cruise ships and diplomatic missions. “Internet trading is still
in its infancy for us,” admits Head of Logistics, Marco Rebohm. It is
inevitable that the company will expand its service portfolio, however.
“We know that our customers expect more and more.” And the
customer is king, which is something that applies to all traders.
6 trailerforum

Photos: Weltwirtschaftsforum Illustration: gettyimages/akindo
business has grown, as the Federal Association
of Parcel and Express Logistics discloses.
FORWARD-LOOKING PLANNING NEEDED
“The future belongs to
the actors who are able to
collect and use data.”
Wolfgang Lehmacher,
Head of Supply Chain and Transport Industries
at the World Economic Forum
In the face of such a flood, how can traders
successfully provide their customers with the
goods they want in a consistently fast and reliable
manner? This question has been addressed by
Wolfgang Lehmacher, Head of Supply Chain
and Transport Industries at the World Economic
Forum. He is convinced that it is not drones or
autonomous vehicles which are the real sticking
points in logistical processes, but data: “The
future belongs to those players, who are able to
collect and use data,” says Lehmacher. On the Internet,
it is the customer who triggers the entire
chain of goods delivery by placing his/her order.
“The challenge is to predict where and what customers
will order.” If you know that, you could
transport goods in advance to where they are expected
to be taken, for example. This would allow
companies to serve the market faster. According
to Lehmacher, this can be implemented
by analysing historical purchases, company-internal
customer information or social media.
In Lehmacher’s eyes, planning is only one aspect.
Another is the transparency of the supply
chain, which increasingly plays a role for customers:
Is the product in stock? Where is my order
right now? And where was the product produced?
Potential buyers want to know all of that these
days. “In order to be able to provide answers here,
companies must promote digitisation and remove
all paper from the process,” says Lehmacher. “All
data should be available online.” To a certain extent,
this is also important for brick-and-mortar
retail in terms of the current availability of its
products: “The customer wants to know in advance
if he can just go to the supermarket and buy
five tomatoes. Otherwise, it is a gamble whether
the goods are currently in stock.” Of course,
everyone involved in the supply chain also benefits
from digitisation: “With platforms on which
trailerforum 7

CLEVER CONNECTIONS
“With our systems,
we can help
to make the whole process
of fast-paced logistics
more tangible
and can streamline
entire processes.”
Jan Horstmann,
Managing Director of Datineo and
Head of Electronics and Product Information
Technology at Krone
all information is bundled, the age of isolated individual processes
is over,” says Lehmacher. Storage areas would have to be networked
with means of transport in order to overcome interfaces.
In short, one hand needs to know exactly what the other is doing.
DATINEO DEVELOPS TELEMATIC SOLUTIONS
One company specialising in such solutions is Datineo. Founded
at the beginning of 2017, the Krone subsidiary develops innovative
and reliable solutions in the fields of telematics, big data and
the Internet of things. “We promote the concept of the paperless
trailer by making it possible to exchange documents digitally,”
says Managing Director Jan Horstmann, Head of Electronics and
Product Information Technology at Krone.
“Particular attention is paid to interfaces to the different systems
we offer to create interfaces between our customers’ logistics
or transport management systems. Vehicle utilisation can be
optimized,hanks to cargo space monitoring and intelligent algorithms”
says Horstmann. His activity allows him a lot of creative
freedom: “Our customers have specific requirements - for example
in commerce. Goods there are becoming more and more compartmentalised.
With our systems, we can help to make the whole
process of fast-paced logistics more tangible, and can streamline
entire processes.” Customers would be able to choose when their
goods arrive, track them live and intervene at any time. This is the
same whether it is for a single package or for a complete vehicle.
Andreas Kruse, Director Business Development for Logistics
and Packaging at the EHI Retail Institute in Cologne, emphasises
how important such offers are. It’s not just about optimising the
supply chain, but also about developing demand chain management:
“For example, where 30 branches were previously supplied
with goods and the information was pushed through, centrally, so to
speak, now every customer expresses his or her individual wishes.”
MORE EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF SHIPMENTS
The logistical challenges created by customer behaviour in
this area are already obvious in German city centres today. “Parcel
delivery is increasingly becoming a bottleneck,” says Ulrich
Binnebößel, logistics expert at the German Retail Association
(Handelsverband Deutschland). More than 4.3 billion shipments
are expected for 2022. According to the expert, this already
makes it clear that city centres would need to be provided
with much more relief using innovative approaches. For exam-
Gebr. Heinemann runs one of the most modern logistics centres worldwide in Hamburg-Allermöhe.
Up to 700,000 picked sales units are handled every day.
Photos: Gebr. Heinemann, Krone, fotolia/Ig0rZh
8 trailerforum

CLEVER CONNECTIONS
EHI SCENARIOS REGARDING THE
FUTURE OF RETAIL LOGISTICS
In a study concerning the future of retail logistics
by 2025, the EHI Retail Institute has designed nine
scenarios that could not be more different: On the
one hand, there is the “parallel scenario”, where online
trade is recording high growth rates and brickand-mortar
retail is trying to secure itself with new
functions and services, such as click & collect. In the
“trade-driven scenario”, retailers in a digitalised
world have defended their pole position in customer
contact through intensive use of advanced analytics,
and can control the complex logistics processes with
independent merchandise logistics.
Finally, the “powerless trade scenario” outlines how
traditional commerce is no longer able to cope with
the e-commerce boom, either in terms of customer
contact, or in terms of logistics – and how it loses
control of the supply chain. It is not possible to
predict with certainty which scenario will actually
come to pass. It is possible however, to discern three
ways, in which a trader can succeed on the market:
The trader must keep the customer present in his
communication, use individual information about
that customer, and increasingly rely on robotics and
automation.
The entire “Szenariostudie Handelslogisik
2025” (Scenario Study Trade
Logistics 2025) can be downloaded for
free using the QR code.
ple, the EHI Retail Institute is testing a concept for
the city of Dortmund: A micro-hub will be set up just
outside the city, from which all retailers will be supplied
with as few trucks as possible. Such approaches
allow Ulrich Binnebößel to face the future optimistically:
“These days, delivery agents are already
responding to the challenges and providing innovation
and more efficient delivery of shipments with
alternative delivery options such as parcel boxes and
last-minute bundling measures.”
The duty-free specialists, Gebr. Heinemann, are also
optimally prepared for Internet business from a logistical
standpoint: The logistics centres in Hamburg-Allermöhe
and in Erlensee near Frankfurt are enormous. In
Allermöhe alone, 500 employees control the logistical
processes, in which up to 700,000 commissioned sales
units are handled daily. Thanks to its innovative IT and
handling technology, the warehouse is one of the most
modern logistics centres in the world. This will make it
possible to move into the digital future of retail.
According to the current survey at Frankfurt Airport,
some 76 million guests will visit the airport this
year, who not only want to fly, but many of whom will
certainly also eat, drink or shop at the airport. Trading
companies are prepared for this and will offer them
even more service in the future.
trailerforum 9

FACTS
SMART CONNECTIONS
Airports are hubs for international transport and are therefore a symbol
of the global interconnection of people, businesses and goods.
The number of airline
customers is expected to
almost double by 2035 –
to around 7.2 billion.
In 2017, Germans bought goods
amounting to a total of 58.5
billion euros online.
More and more instore
retailers are
benefitting from the
expansion of online
sales: The average
turnover for the sector
increased by 4.1 per
cent in 2017.
60 per cent of online
orders are made in rural areas,
in places with fewer than 50,000
inhabitants.
70 per cent
of German consumers
shop online some or
all of the time.
59 per cent of
national package orders
are B2C shipments.
Sources: MerlinONe, IATA, BEVH, Arvato SCM Solutions, HDE, BIEK, PwC, bevh
DAILY
DATA CAPACITY
2.5 quintillion
bytes of digital data are produced
every day all over the world:
2,500,000,000,000,000,000
(a quintillion is a 1
with 18 zeros).
DRAMATIC INCREASE
IN THE VOLUME OF DATA
90 per cent
of all of the world’s
available data was
produced in the last
two years.
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Thanks to artificial intelligence
alone, the German economy is
expected to grow by
11 per cent
by 2030 (this corresponds to an
amount of approximately
430 billion euros).
10 trailerforum

PORTRAIT
THE ROAD TO EXPANSION
Danish ferry and logistics group DFDS is investing heavily, not only in its floating fleet,
but also in trailers which it uses primarily for intermodal transport operations.
Krone supplies a large number of these vehicles.
Illustration: Manuela Heins Photo: DFDS
When a ferry company consistently wins
the “Europe’s Leading Ferry Operator”
award at the annual World Travel
Awards (the Oscars of the travel and
tourism industry), it must be an exceptional operation.
DFDS has already won this award 12 times
in a row. In addition to logistics services, the group,
headquartered in Copenhagen, offers its customers
ferry services mainly in the North Sea and Baltic
Sea, and since June 2018, between Europe and Turkey
as well. With a fleet of more than 50 vessels, the
ferry division operates a large number of liner services
between Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands,
Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Estonia,
Lithuania and the Mediterranean. 5.3 million
passengers use the crossings every year – not simply
as passengers, but often for the purpose of leisurely
mini-cruises, or group trips, with spacious cabins
and the best catering.
38 MILLION LOADING METRES IN 2017
Not all ferries have passenger capacities, however
and the rolling cargo stowed on the cargo decks of
the ferries below the passenger decks is even more important
for the turnover of the publicly listed group:
According to Shipping Director Peder Gellert Pedersen,
DFDS was able to sell almost 38 million loading
metres in 2017. In other words, if the cars, lorries,
buses and trailers that the ships carried over the
last year were lined up, the line would almost extend
around the entire equator. Cargo and passage together
generated a turnover of 9.9 billion Danish kroner,
which is equivalent to around 1.3 billion euros.
The ten North Sea freight routes really stand out on
the balance sheet: “Cargo volumes in the North Sea
alone grew by almost eight percent in 2017, and that’s
despite the delayed Brexit agreement between Great
Britain and the EU,” reported DFDS CEO Niels Smedegaard.
He remains optimistic about the future: “In
its official forecast for 2018, the British government expects
economic growth of just over one percent. We
are currently seeing an even higher rate of increase in
exports, which of course continues to contribute to
the positive development of our North Sea routes.”
FIVE NEW MEGA FERRIES
To be prepared for the expected volume growth in
the coming years, DFDS has now ordered four new
mega ferries for North Sea and other transport oper-
trailerforum 11

A GROUP THAT’S
STEEPED IN HISTORY
DFDS stands for “Det Forenede
Dampskibs-Selskab” (literally “The United
Steamship Company”).
The company was founded by a group of
Danish business people on 11 December
1866. At the time, the fleet consisted
of 19 ships. Today, DFDS is Denmark’s
most important maritime player, alongside
Maersk (the world’s leading container
shipping company) and is listed on
the NASDAQ OMX Nordic at the Copenhagen
Stock Exchange. Freight transport
and logistics generate 80 percent of
the group’s turnover, while passenger
operations generate 20 per cent.
www.dfds.com
On the more than 50 ships of the DFDS fleet, the trailers of the Group's own Logistics Services division are regular customers.
ations from a shipyard in China. Each one has a capacity
of around 450 trailers and over 6,700 loading
metres. The first two ships are scheduled to enter service
as early as 2019, with three identical units to follow
in 2020. Each one will be 235 metres long and 33
metres wide and be able to reach a maximum speed of
21 knots (or around 38 kilometres per hour). The ferry
company is doing away with extensive facilities for
passengers on these new vessels; only a few lorry drivers
will have cabins on board. “This is our response to
the trend that many carriers are increasingly only using
unaccompanied trailers instead of complete truck-trailer
combinations in Great Britain. One reason for this
is the increasing shortage of drivers,” says Smedegaard.
DFDS also has ambitious plans in its second home
territory, the Baltic Sea: In February 2018, the ferry
company ordered two XXL ferries for the Kiel-Klaipeda
and Karlshamn-Klaipeda routes. They are also being
launched from China, but are slightly smaller than the
new vessels for the North Sea. The vehicle decks have
over 4,500 loading metres which can be used, not only
by trailers, but also by cars and buses: there are 250 cabins
for up to 600 passengers on board. “This will increase
our capacity in the Baltic Sea region by 30 percent. The
new ships will be the largest of their kind there,” said
enthused CEO Smedegaard. “This investment reflects
our commitment and optimism for continued strong
development in the Baltic Sea region. At the same time,
we are also improving the efficiency of our route network
from an ecological point of view.” The first ferry
is scheduled to go into service in the spring of 2021.
At the beginning of this year, DFDS also embarked
on the road to expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean:
It acquired the Turkish ferry company
UN Ro-Ro for 950 million euros, which transports
lorries and trailers, both with and without tractor
units, as well as containers on five routes between
Turkey and EU countries. The twelve ships that
UN Ro-Ro operates there are very similar to those
used by DFDS in Northern Europe; some of them
even come from the same shipyard in Flensburg.
ORGANIC GROWTH AND ACQUISITIONS
The four prominent letters ‘DFDS’ are not only visible
on dark blue ship sides or waving flags on the signal
masts. They also adorn a large fleet of containers and a
wide variety of trailers. These are part the second major
division of DFDS, also known as Logistics Services:
this division offers transport and logistics services
primarily for manufacturers of industrial goods, foodstuffs
or forestry and paper products. It also oversees
supply chain management and the operation of logistics
facilities. Logistics Services uses road, rail and, of
course, the group’s own ferry fleet for transport operations.
In 2017, turnover was at around 700 million euros
– that’s five percent more than in the previous year.
The expansion strategy is to be realised, not only
through organic growth, but also through acquisitions:
It wasn’t until January 2018 that the logistics
group expanded its network by acquiring Dutch transport
company Alphatrans. “The acquisition primarily
focused on special transportation with platform
trailers and other equipment for long materials,” says
Eddie Green, Head of the Logistics Division, when
explaining the takeover. “Alphatrans particularly complements
our logistics offering for transport operations
between Great Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe,
not to mention Portugal.” Alphatrans has around
12 trailerforum

PORTRAIT
“We are investing
in around 1,000 different
new trailers and
containers.”
Eddie Green,
Executive Vice President
Logistics Division
200 employees and generates an annual turnover of 45 million
euros. The fleet includes 720 platform trailers and 125 lorries.
Logistics Services is also pushing ahead with the expansion of
its own equipment. Since mid-2017, the largest trailer investment
programme in the history of DFDS has been in motion: “We are
investing 22 million euros in around 1,000 different new trailers
and containers in order to keep up with growing business operations,”
Green explains. Some of the acquisitions are replacing
older units, but will mainly ensure that stock grows. DFDS has
an overall pool of 6,000 trailers and 3,000 containers. Many of
the rolling units come from Krone; they are mainly Profi Liners,
but also Dry Liners, Cool Liners, TIR Liners and Mega Liners.
2,000 KRONE TRAILERS IN FIVE YEARS
“In the past five years alone, we have delivered more than
2,000 trailers to DFDS,” reports Jason Chipchase. The Key Account
Manager at Krone for Great Britain is the first point of
contact for DFDS logistics specialists. “There are many reasons
for our high market share. We are not only able to deliver
many vehicles in a short time, but we also implement customer-specific
solutions.” After all, intermodal applications
and all of the associated transfer activities at the terminals demand
a lot of trailers: “Reinforced inner floors, numerous external
protective systems or even the extended stabiliser jacks
increase the service life of the trailers and reduce downtime,”
said Chipchase. “And if something does happen to break,
DFDS can rely on our fast support. That’s real teamwork!”
Some of the Krone trailers are also equipped with a comprehensive
telematics system which, in addition to the kilometres
covered, also monitors the location, payload weight, maintenance
status or tyre pressure and transmits this information to
the headquarters in Immingham. The rear doors can also be
opened using a remote. One particularly special trailer also benefits
from the Krone telematics system: It doesn’t come, as is
usual in the DFDS fleet, in smart dark blue or white but in a
striking shade of pink: With each route covered, this trailer collects
money for a breast cancer awareness campaign that is supported
by DFDS. Jason Chipchase “In tracking the donation
miles, the Krone telematics system is simply invaluable.”
This Krone Trailer collects money
with every kilometre driven, for an
educational campaign against breast
cancer, which is supported by DFDS.
Photos: DFDS

THE FUTURE IN OUR GRASP
Under the banner “Clever Connections”, Krone invites you to attend
the 2018 IAA in Hanover from 20 – 27 September.
Those interested in attending can visit our Stand (E33) in Hall 27 at the
IAA where they will be able to envisage how Krone intelligently connects
those involved in the world of transportation and offers excellent
added value. “For safe transportation of goods and prompt delivery of all
important transport data, we are already combining our products with
intelligent services for increased mobility and more efficient logistics,”
explains Bernard Krone, Managing Partner of the Krone Group.
“Even artificial intelligence will play its part in trailers of the future –
a technology which promises its users even better value for money.”
At the conference, Krone will also present the progress it has made with
its intelligent loading area recognition system, Smart Scan, its modular
manufacturing system for greater individuality and even faster
availability, as well as its innovative delivery concepts for the last mile:
CEP-Shuttle and Rytle. Find out more on pages 16-19.
PRODUCTS
Krone is continuously developing its product portfolio. The Profi Liner has
been completely remodelled and many aspects have been optimised. The same
goes for the Cool Liner: It not only offers outstanding cooling properties, but also
meets almost every possible requirement for temperature-controlled transportation,
together with our very own telematics. Also new is the Krone trailer axle for
high-volume vehicles such as the Mega Liner. Those who attend the IAA can also
see many more of Krone’s highlights in the outdoor area of the convention.
SERVICES
Krone is preparing trailers for the future: Important documents such as shipping papers, certificates,
maintenance documents and information are all digitally accessible. In the event of damage, it
is possible to gain direct access to the vehicle-specific spare parts catalogue, for example. Telematics
allows a wide range of functions such as the Door Protect door locking system, which protects valuable
shipments. With Fair Care, Krone combines flexible service modules for trailer maintenance and
repair work. This provides shipping agents with information about trailers as a means of investment,
allowing them to benefit from innovative digital technologies and to reduce unscheduled downtime.
14 trailerforum

INNOVATIONS
Smart innovations by Krone make transport services even more efficient. The
Smart Trailer Check ensures optimal transport conditions before the vehicle departs.
The loading area recognition system Smart Scan allows for quick and easy viewing of
free space in the trailer – the additional connection to freight exchanges within the
Smart Capacity Management system ensures that the available space is used as
efficiently as possible. All of this is interconnected within the Krone telematics
portal, which cleverly makes transporting goods even more efficient. Real smart.
NETWORKING
What are the advantages of a digitally networked fleet? Digitisation specialists
will be on hand at Krone’s stand at the IAA to explain how. The trailer and
its components are connected using artificial intelligence, allowing for greater
mobility and more efficient logistics. This means Krone can guarantee the
proper transportation of goods with all of the relevant data to hand. And with
its alternatively powered CEP vehicle and the Rytle cargo bikes, the company
offers efficient solutions for smart city logistics.
trailerforum 15

PRODUCTION
THE MODULAR SYSTEM
OF THE FUTURE
Krone is implementing a change of philosophy in the company:
Increased standardisation in the production process makes it possible
to achieve even higher quality. The focus is always on the customer.
The Krone Commercial Vehicle Group is continuously
developing itself and its products: Trailers are now available
to customers even faster thanks to shorter throughput
times in production. “We rely on a modular system
with intensively tested variants and combinations of vehicles,”
says Thomas Veismann, Head of Project Management at Krone.
“This standardisation guarantees customers consistently high
product quality. For the company and our customers, change
means faster processes, security and reliability.”
The design of past vehicle generations was always based on the
individual order. It is now clear which components are required to
create the optimum vehicle, independent of the order. “In order
“The customer
defines our
future.”
Thomas Veismann
to validate the reliability of the products and prevent failures even
more effectively, we trial them on test benches, on test tracks and
on the road - even more systematically than before,” explained Veismann.
“In so doing, we cooperated in part with Osnabrück University
of Applied Sciences.” The use of state-of-the-art robot technology
enables precisely defined processes. Order processing is then
automated: “That ensures a very high quality of workmanship.”
The customer can now select trailer specifications in a simpler
and more targeted way. “We can also respond more quickly
to customer requirements,” says Veismann. The new modular system
is by no means a decision against customised solutions: “We
are still focused on the customer’s individual requirements. We
continue to be very open to special requests and maintain a dialogue,
especially with regard to extending our product portfolio.”
All areas of the company are involved in this change of philosophy.
“It means a big change in our thinking," said Thomas Veismann.
“But this change defines our future, and we are confident
that Krone is on the right path.” At the IAA, employees on the
Krone stand will be using tablets to demonstrate a brand new
modular system sales tool that will be implemented throughout
the organisation: The easy-to-use online tool makes configuration
very simple, while the sales team can professionally advise in an
interactive conversation. The tool also serves as a digital sales manual,
which contains all the information on components and combinations.
What the customer sees is a practical interface with a
simple design. This interface is underpinned by a sophisticated
system and many well thought-out, reliably tested solutions.
Manual work and modern robot technology
are closely interlinked in production.
16 trailerforum

CITY LOGISTICS
POWER PACK FOR THE LAST MILE
The Rytle emission-free mobility concept for city logistics, communal transport and intralogistics is taking
root internationally. At the IAA, the new concept will present an adapter for europallets and a frame
for micro-hubs on small trucks, among other things.
A
fully networked cargo bike that can move
packages, parcels and other packaged goods
with virtually no emissions and with maximum
efficiency; Rytle offers intelligent
last mile logistics at minimal cost. The young company,
which is a joint venture with the Krone Commercial Vehicle
Group, has developed a unique solution for the last
mile: “MovR” is a professional cargo bike with a loading
compartment for interchangeable boxes and a hydraulic
swap body, in which goods can be deposited, thus acting
as a city hub. It is the only cargo bike with a replaceable
load unit in Euro pallet size and is based on proven standard
components, which are intelligently combined and integrated
into the existing logistics chain.
DIVERSE USAGE OPTIONS
Parcel services are among the first customers. “The
range of applications is much broader, however: they
range from public-utility transport to intralogistics,”
explains Ingo Lübs, who runs the Rytle business together
with Dr Arne Kruse. “Our concept is in demand
worldwide and is already in use in major cities such as
Paris, Hamburg, Berlin and Singapore.” Some municipalities
want to implement their own last-mile concepts
in order to promote bundled downtown delivery.
Rytle has already been awarded the 2018 European
Transport Award for Sustainability. Not only does the
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy support
the start-up program, “German Accelerator”, it has
also praised the program as one of the top 3 companies
with the highest potential. The program helps start-ups
enter international markets, including locations in Silicon
Valley, New York and Singapore. “We have encountered
intense interest, especially in Asia. Using the bike is ideal
in particularly densely populated cities there, says Lübs.
OUR OWN IAA STAND IN HALL 27
Rytle will be showcased on the Krone Commercial Vehicle
Group stand and will have its own stand in hall 27 at
the IAA Commercial Vehicles trade fair. “Among other
things, we are presenting a new pallet adapter that can be
attached to the cargo bike in place of a box,” explains engineer
Arne Kruse. This allows the “MovR” to carry Euro
pallets. “Customers benefit from a high degree of automotive
expertise with this mobility concept,” says Kruse. Rytle
is made in Germany: production is located in Zerbst in
Saxony-Anhalt. The bike has been patented and tested in
German laboratories in accordance with the future DIN
for cargo bikes. In addition, “MovR” meets all the requirements
of the German Statutory Accident Insurance
Association (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung,
DGUV), and therefore can be used professionally in customers’
day-to-day work.
Photos: Krone, Rytle
The team gathered around Rytle CEO, Ingo Lübs (back left) and
Dr Andreas Kruse (front right), introduces the “MovR”.
trailerforum 17

TECHNOLOGY
100 PERCENT
TRANSPORT EFFICIENCY
The trailer can be optimally utilised, efficiently, affordably and intelligently,
using Krone Smart Scan cargo space recognition.
18 trailerforum

TECHNOLOGY
The camera scans the interior of the trailer, an algorithm calculates the areas.
Photos: fotolia/radachynskyi, Krone
Approximately 25 percent of all trailers
on the roads are empty and 30 to
50 percent of the remaining vehicles
are under-utilised: with Krone Smart
Scan, you could use 100 percent of your cargo
space. The innovative camera system for cargo
space monitoring enables optimal utilisation
down to the last centimetre. Krone presented
Smart Scan for the first time at the IAA Commercial
Vehicles 2016 trade fair and was awarded
the Trailer Innovation Prize in the Smart Trailer
category. The system is currently being tested
with selected customers before it is launched in
2019. “We are already developing Smart Scan
further and in the future we will be able to connect
to freight exchanges, among other things,”
said Kurt Kunz, Head of Research / Advanced Development and
Electronics for the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group.
INFORMATION IN REAL TIME
Smart Scan provides dispatchers and drivers with information
in real time about how much capacity a vehicle still has
and where exactly there is room left in the cargo space. To this
end, a camera is attached to one of the rear corner posts in the
trailer and then calibrated to ensure maximum reliability. The
cameras produce digital 2D images around the clock and in all
lighting conditions. The photos can be viewed using an algorithm
so that it becomes clear which areas are loaded and which
ones are free. The load is visualised in the telematics portal with
“We designed
it as a system
with an optimal
cost-benefit ratio.”
Kurt Kunz
green and red areas. “Thus the dispatcher can
quickly and easily see where there is still room
and the trailer can accommodate more cargo,”
said Kunz. “He can incorporate this information
when planning his routing and loading
order and when to accept additional orders.
The dispatcher then informs the driver that
he should take a partial load on his route.”
CONNECTION TO FREIGHT EXCHANGES
This feature is being extended to “Smart
Capacity Management”: “The connection to
freight exchanges will open up a great deal of potential
even for smaller forwarding agents,” explained
Kurt Kunz. “They could match their individual
capacities with potential transport orders and generate
additional revenues in a fully automated manner.” The clever networking
of vehicle, forwarding agent, shipper and consignee
means enormous efficiency gains for all parties. Smart Scan itself
is calculated efficiently: “We designed it as a system with an optimal
cost-benefit ratio,” says Kunz. With regards to empty space in
the trailer, there is still very little transparency in the supply chain,
he explained: “Our cargo space recognition system has the potential
to find capacity and significantly increase transport utilisation.”
Users also have the chance to obtain new customers. In addition,
processes that were previously processed manually are
replaced by automated processes: “The dispatcher will work less
operationally but will have more room to contain an overall view
of the fleet and to monitor it.”
KRONE
TELEMATICS
Smart Scan’s telematics
portal is optimally geared
to Krone Telematics: The system
generates data during
transport using sensors on
the trailer, which is transmitted
wirelessly from the builtin
telematics box to a cloud.
The dispatcher can view
the portal at any time via a
web application. It is also
accessible via a mobile app.
The carrier has an online
overview of the position,
condition or temperature
of the consignment and in
the future, will also have an
overview of spare loading
capacity.
trailerforum 19

“WE NEED INTELLIGENT CONCEPTS,
IN WHICH ALL MODES OF TRANSPORT
ARE INTEGRATED”
Dr Frank Albers, Managing Director of Sales and Marketing at the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group,met Axel Plaß
in Hamburg for a walk at a major locale for combined transport: at the Duss terminal of Deutsche Bahn in Hamburg.
The entrepreneur is running for the office of DSLV President.
20 trailerforum

A WALK
Photos: Willing-Holtz
Driver shortage is not a new topic in the industry, however
it is a topic that is more relevant than ever. How can
this problem be tackled?
Plaß: I would put this another way and not call this a
driver shortage, but rather, a shortage of people who
are willing to do the work that is involved in transport.
Regardless of whether that’s the driver or a colleague
at the office: we need more employees in all areas. The
same is true of other industries and more needs to be
done than just looking for drivers.
Albers: I also think that we are dealing with a holistic
problem. The image of the driver’s profession plays
a role as a root cause here, as well as how drivers are
treated, be it on the ramp or in terms of adhering to
the shortest delivery time window at the shipper. Such
processes have to change, and therefore a collaborative
effort is necessary. And transport as such needs to be
more appreciated. Transport costs money - Logistics
costs money. If returns are free of charge in the online
trade, then this suggests to the end user that this service
has no value. There is certainly not just the one
solution, but instead there are many building blocks
that together, can contribute to a certain degree of success.
For example, training could be adapted in such a
way that even young graduates with a Hauptschulabschluss
(German school leaving certificate) or secondary
school diploma can learn the profession, so that
they can acquire a driving license at 16 and perhaps be
deployed in local transport.
Plaß: Of course, as chairman of the specialist committee
for rail freight transport in the DSLV, I am in favour
of expanding combined transport. Then the drivers
can work shifts and be home more often, and this
adjustment of the working hours would make the job
more attractive. We still find very good personnel for
these jobs. It is still difficult, but not as difficult as in
long-haul transport. And in my opinion, much of what
needs to be transported over a distance of more than
300 kilometres by road belongs in combined transport.
Will the problem not be resolved on its own if the profession
dies out due to autonomous driving and platooning?
Plaß: I do not think that will happen; we are not anywhere
near that far along. Anyone who completes an
apprenticeship as a professional driver today can assume
that he can retire with it.
What potential for transport and logistics could new
technologies still provide?
Albers: We are product manufacturers, but service always
plays an important role for us; from telematics,
with which we generate and make available freight
data, through the smart trailer, which makes it possible
to monitor the cargo space, for example, to the
WLAN-compatible telematics box. Thus in the future,
you will be able connect the trailer directly with freight
exchanges and generate additional orders. In the case
of products, topics such as recuperation are exciting, or
particular light-weight materials such as fine-grained
steel, which allow more payload and reduce CO 2 emissions.
Side panels or rear diffusers also provide for less
fuel consumption. We are also confronted with legal
requirements regarding these topics, for which we are
preparing accordingly with an eye to the future.
Mr Plaß, how intelligent is your fleet at Zippel?
Plaß: For years, we have been using a location that supports
our dispatchers by displaying where each vehicle
is currently located. These days, our in-house processes
are supported by IT, but still controlled by people. We
are preparing for the fact that the processes will soon be
completely IT-controlled. We use gas trucks, reducing
particulate matter and CO 2 emissions by 95 percent.
Environmental sustainability is also becoming more
important to our customers, and they are increasingly
willing to spend money on it. Combined with intelligent
transport guides, this can be the success, and you can
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Axel Plaß, born in 1966, is the managing partner of Hamburg forwarding
agent, Konrad Zippel. He relies heavily on combined transport in his company:
At Zippel, more than 3,000 TEUs are transported by rail per week, primarily from
Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven and Bremen to Berlin or Leipzig and Schkopau. Plaß
has been a member of the Presidium of the German Freight Forwarding and
Logistics Association (DSLV) since 2016, where he is Chairman of the Specialist
Committee for Rail Freight. He is running for the office of DSLV President.
The election will be held in mid-September.
trailerforum 21

A WALK
Dr Frank Albers (right) has been Managing Director Sales and Marketing in the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group
since August. Entrepreneur Axel Plaß (left) is running for the office of DSLV President.
With its infrastructure and technical equipment the Duss Terminal in
Hamburg counts one of the most modern terminals in Europe.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Dr Frank Albers, born in 1971, has been Managing Director
of Sales and Marketing for the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group
since August. The graduate in business administration completed
his training at Krone. After completing his studies, doctorate and
other key points along his professional career, he has worked for
Krone in leading positions in sales and marketing since 2003.
then offer the customer a product that he can book
with a clear conscience. But all of that is only possible
with high-quality vehicles that we can rely on.
Quality remains the most important success factor?
Plaß: Absolutely, it is more important now than ever.
The reliability of material has become a crucial factor.
Because if I have downtime and repair times or, even
worse, if a resource fails somewhere in the transport
chain, this must not be communicated to the customer,
and ultimately, it is also a fiasco from a commercial
point of view. That is often impossible to express in financial
terms: it costs money and, in the end, you may
even lose the customer and your good reputation. You
can do the best job, but if the technology does not last,
it will not do you any good.
Albers: At KRONE, quality and reliability are key factors
for long-term customer satisfaction. The commercial
vehicle market is very price sensitive. In this respect,
we are constantly prompted to further optimise
our products. Quality has its price and here, the focus
must be clearly defined. But if you look at the mileage
or the useful life of these vehicles, then we are talking
about very small additional monthly amounts and the
customer gets the assurance that he will reliably get
from A to B, without any serious discussions with the
shipper.
Plaß: For those of us in container transport, the subject
of air freight always hangs like a sword of Damocles
over our transport operation. If we do not reach
a ship, then the goods must somehow find a way to
catch up. That often means air freight, which sometimes
costs as much as a mid-range car. It makes you
think twice first about whether you are saving in the
wrong place.
Volumes are increasing: Can freight transport handle this?
Albers: You have to integrate all modes of transport in
order to operate a sensible concept. Where rail is needed
and an option, you should also use it. This also affects
the waterways and, with deductions for costs and environmental
impact, air freight transport too. In terms of
our product range, I am not worried either, because it is
not just curtain-sided semitrailers and box semitrailers
that are being sold and driven, there are also box semitrailers
in our product portfolio for combined transport
as well as interchangeable systems.
Plaß: Where Krone is a “world leader”.
22 trailerforum

A WALK
“Transport and logistics
must be viewed as
an overall concept involving
all means of transport,
and rail and road are not
competitors in that regard.”
Dr Frank Albers,
Managing Director Sales and Marketing
for the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group
As a forwarding agent Axel Plaß (right) has already
initiated several innovations at Krone.
Photos: Willing-Holtz, Aufwind-Luftbilder
Albers: Yes, we now sell over 12,000 units every year,
many of which are also oriented towards parcel service
and online trade. Transport and logistics must
be viewed as an overall concept involving all means of
transport, and rail and road are not competitors in that
regard. Rather, we must design the starting point in
such a way that the goods reach their destination using
the best means of transport.
Plaß: There is still a lot of life left in the topic: A great
deal can be moved by means of digitisation, longer
trains and a relatively clear expansion of the infrastructure.
Of course, there are bottlenecks at the main terminals;
the hotspots are full. But there are still sufficient
options. These days, if some 30 trucks drive from
one customer to another at night, this transport should
be by rail and indeed, only fits onto the rails.
What else will come out in favour of combined transport
in the future?
Albers: From a macroeconomic point of view, we
want to secure Germany as an industrial location.
Transport and logistics play an essential role, including
f the manufacturing industry. You will also experience
bottlenecks, if transport does not work, or logistics
does not work. Thus all stakeholders should be
interested in implementing sound concepts and integrating
all modes of transport.
Plaß: Without intelligent transport concepts, we are
going to hit a brick wall in the most literal sense of the
word. The transport market will not develop without
them. The easy way to go, thus maintaining the many
point-to-point transports we carry out today, will not
work in the future because of driver shortages and environmental
concerns. We need intelligent concepts, in
which all modes of transport are integrated, and where
resources are used rationally. In order to implement
these concepts, you need companies like Krone, which
do not just polish a piece of iron until someday a container
fits on it, but which constantly bring forth new innovations
and products.
Albers: I’d like to respond this way: needless to say,
there are also innovative customers who challenge
us but who also help to advance the development of
our products. Obviously we need to develop them in
a practical way. We like to work closely with our customers.
After all, it makes little sense to develop ideas
on the drawing board and then place them before users
when they are already complete.
Plaß: We have been doing business with Krone as Zippel
Group Spedition for more than 30 years and during
that time, we have also initiated various technical innovations.
When we wanted something, you’ve always
had a sympathetic ear for us. I remember a meeting in
Werlte when the design manager was brought to the
table. We discussed what we wanted, he went to his office,
simulated this on his computer, came back after an
hour and said: “We can do this!” He was even able to
provide us with an estimated investment amount. I’ve
never experienced that with any other vehicle manufacturer
in Germany.
Albers: Of course, we also do that with other customers
when it comes to curtain-sided semitrailers or refrigerated
vehicles. We are directly on-site looking at
loading and unloading, how the vehicles are used, and
then trying to optimise these things. Our technicians
travelled on a ferry to observe the loading and unloading
process during the crossing and to find out, among
other things, what reinforcement a chassis needed for
ferry shackles. This practical orientation allows us to
design very durable vehicles, which of course can also
be safely and comfortably operated by the users, or in
other words, the drivers.
trailerforum 23

BALANCE
GEORG SCHLANGEN
AGE: 44
HOBBY: BICYCLE RACING
ACTIVE SINCE: 2011
“YOU NEED A LOT OF
STAYING POWER”
Controller, Georg Schlangen,
rides mountain bikes and road bikes.
For Georg Schlangen, sports have always been a part of his
life: He played football until the age of 34, changed over to
running and in 2011, finally switched to mountain bikes.
“At first, cycling was just supposed to balance out running,
but then I attended riding technique courses and that motivated
me enormously,” says the 44-year-old. Georg Schlangen has also
been road cycling since 2015. The father
of six-year-old twins sees the sport
as a way of balancing out the intensity
of everyday life with work and family.
In the competitions, in which he participates,
his goal is therefore not to be
placed high in the rankings or obtaining
the best times. “I’m not a professional;
it’s a hobby for me,” he explained.
“When I ride a bike, I can really unwind.
After a training session, I find completely
new motivation.” Nevertheless, the races require goal-oriented
training and great stamina: “For that, you need a lot of staying
power,” says Schlangen. Cycling also cultivates mental strength
and is synonymous with discipline and teamwork, as well as with
equanimity. He brings all this to his workplace: he works at Krone
in Werlte in controlling.
TRAINING IS LIKE A HOLIDAY
Georg Schlangen invests approximately five to ten hours into his
training per week. For this, he not only rides on the road, but even
rides at home with the help of a roller trainer, on which he mounts
his racing bike. “For me, every two hours of training feels like a
whole day’s vacation,” says Schlangen. In 2016, he set off on a
mountain tour for the first time, riding the “Grossglockner High
Alpine Road” in Austria from Zell am See to the Großglockner. For
2018, he plans to take part in the Ötztal Cycle Marathon: In spring,
Schlangen was selected to be one of 4,000 participants. The goal is
to reach 238 kilometres in fewer than 13:45 hours, with an elevation
gain of 5,500 metres. “That has long been a big dream of mine,”
explains Schlangen. “The race through two countries, four climatic
zones and over no fewer than four Alpine passes is considered the
unofficial world championship of non-professional riders – a kind
of accolade for any amateur cyclist who can do it.”
UNDER WAY
WITH A GROUP
On tours, Jochen Mählmann
climbs 3,000 vertical metres
through the Alps or the Dolomites
When hobby mountaineer, Jochen Mählmann, sets
out on a tour with friends, precise and responsible
planning is essential: Is the equipment all
there? Is the route clear and safe? Is everyone in
the group fit enough for this undertaking? And does the weather
allow for a mountain ascent? Then it’s time for crampons, pickaxe,
rope and helmet. Mählmann’s hobbies are mountaineering
and climbing.
At Krone, he works in strategy and program management.
“There, I have to survey strategic issues, align them with one another
and, if necessary, resolve conflicts,” explained the 36-yearold.
He has to make informed decisions and assess situations
correctly in the workplace as well. “As in mountaineering, the
questions are very complex. And in this sport as well as in my job,
an enormous amount of concentration is needed.” Concentrated,
prudent behaviour can be vital in mountain tours. In addition,
good safeguards are mandatory: When a group climbs high mountains,
they are all connected by ropes. For example, if someone fell
into a crevasse, the others could save him.
FASCINATING TECHNIQUE
Mählmann discovered his passion for climbing through his
alternative service, which he completed in Ireland: Among other
things, he had the task of cutting tree branches and to do so, he
had to climb them. “We were taught the techniques for how to
do it right,” he recalls. “That fascinated me and so I have stuck
with it.” Back in his homeland, in flat northern Germany, he only
had climbing gyms, in which to train. But he soon began to travel
regularly to the Alps and the Dolomites. There he continues to
go rock climbing, or undertake alpine
tours at up to approximately 3,000 metres.
He is not drawn to mountains
that are much higher than that, since
he values the sport as way of balancing
things. “Mont Blanc might be exciting,
or Ortler in Austria,” he explains. “But
that’s not a necessity. I just enjoy the
beauty of nature and the experience of
being in the group.”
JOCHEN MÄHLMANN
AGE: 36
HOBBY: MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
ACTIVE SINCE: 2002
24 trailerforum

COLLECTORS
OFF TO A GREAT START!
From Bayreuth, Austria or Kazakhstan: freight forwarders from near and far come to Werlte to pick up their vehicles.
These customers were happy about new swap bodies, Mega Liners and Cool Liners.
TONI HOTZ
STEINBACH
When transporting cardboard boxes, Toni Hotz uses long
vehicle combinations for routes from Rhineland-Palatinate,
as this pays off on short trips. The fleet of the family-run
company, which has worked with Krone since 1995, is now
being expanded to include a Mega Liner.
Steinbach Spedition & Logistik from Bayreuth specialises in
building material, glass and cardboard packaging logistics. The
Krone Mega Liner is ideal for this: The company has purchased
90 new vehicles with telematics from Krone.
POREBSKI
Representatives of Spedition
Porebski picked up their 45th
Krone vehicle in Werlte. The
Polish company, which was
founded in 1990, has a modern
headquarters in Mszana Dolna
in the south of the country. From
there, international transport is
organised using a fleet of
approximately 150 units.
Photos: private, Krone
N&K SPEDITION
The refrigerated transport expert has received the 1000th Cool Liner from
Krone Fleet Denmark. And the next 225 refrigerated trailers are already
ordered. N&K Spedition, based in Esbjerg, Germany, specialises in the transport
of fresh and frozen goods to Western and Eastern Europe. A large part of
the fleet is rail-compatible and equipped with meathang execution.
BLAHA OFFICE FURNITURE
Blaha, an office furniture manufacturer from Austria, is expanding its fleet by eight swap bodies and a swap
body trailer from Krone. Edmund Beck, Head of Logistics and Assembly for the traditional family business,
says: “It allows us to offer our customers even more flexibility.”
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CAMPAIGN
ADDED VALUE
MADE IN WERLTE
When you buy "a Krone", you not only get a trailer, but also a lot of service and know-how.
A new campaign shows what the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group offers its customers.
Sebastian Dust, Head
of Full Service of the
Krone Commercial
Vehicle Group, stands
by his name and of
his manuscript for
Krone Fair Care.
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CAMPAIGN
Markus Böhmann, Head of
Sales Financing, supports
Krone's customers with
flexible financing solutions
POWER OF SERVICE AND KNOW-HOW
Photos: Krone
Keeping you on the move: Krone Fair Care", explains Sebastian Dust,
Head of Full Service for the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group, in the
company's new campaign, which will be presented at the IAA Commercial
Vehicles 2018. More precisely: Sebastian Dust has written down the
important added value of Fair Care by hand - because like all Krone employees,
his name stands for the proven quality of the brand. At the same time, the products
and services bear the hallmarks of these people, who put all their energy into
offering customers more every day. Sebastian Dust is one of the brains behind
Fair Care - a service from Krone in which five flexible service modules for maintenance
and repair can be combined.
TRANSFORMATION INTO AN ALL-ROUND SERVICE PROVIDER
Krone's role in the commercial vehicle industry has changed dramatically
over past decades: The company has grown from a pure vehicle manufacturer to
a service provider for all aspects of commercial vehicles. In addition to practical
innovations, the portfolio today also includes comprehensive service packages,
financing options and telematics services. All products and services are completely
tailored to customers and their requirements in everyday practice. They
offer real added value that makes transport more efficient and thus, customers
more successful.
With the new campaign, Krone underlines how customers can benefit from
the extensive range of services and responsible employees of the company explain
personally, the most important advantages. Besides Dust, this, for example, includes
Markus Jaspers. As head of spare parts service, he is the godfather of Krone Spare
Parts. The efficient spare parts service ensures free travel at all times: In the modern
online shop, customers can order the right spare part directly and quickly for each
vehicle by referencing the vehicle number or QR code. Since last year, Krone has
been operating a new spare parts centre at the Herzlake site, which ensures prompt
and reliable supply. Markus Böhmann, Head of Sales Financing, is a contact person
with sound financial, property and industry knowledge and enables tailor-made
financing models such as leasing, hire purchase and investment credit. Show them
all: Buying a"crown" means getting more than just a trailer - you get all the power
from the service and know-how of this special brand.
FULL SERVICE
Krone offers services for hauliers on the best possible terms: Fair Care combines five flexible
service modules for maintenance and repair of body, chassis, refrigerator and tail lift.
It also covers the wear-related replacement of tyres. Forwarders optimize investments and
overall operating costs (total cost of ownership) and reduce unscheduled downtime.
A Fair Care maintenance contract from Krone is available with variable terms. The calculation
is flexible and according to the customer's wishes, on the basis of operating
hours, mileage and contract periods. Fair Care is based on a reliable network of certified
Krone service partners. Their connection to a digital processing system guarantees
fast, immediate help anytime, anywhere and reliable service. Fair Care reduces maintenance
and repair-related downtime to a minimum - and the core business of the
freight haulier benefits from this.
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PERFECT
REFRIGERATION
Donaulager Logistics drives better with high quality.
Logistics and quality are interconnected”, Gottfried
Buchinger is sure of it. The Authorised
Representative (Prokurist) at Donaulager
Logistics GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Linz AG, has followed this insight throughout his
career: He has been with the company for almost 30
years, which in its early days was still called Austrian
Duty Free Zone Company. Only three trucks travelled
from Linz to Vienna for the company, which
was purely a customs clearance service provider. Today,
Donaulager Logistics operates throughout Europe,
has 150 vehicles in operation and operates several
large warehouses for frozen food, hazardous goods
and pharmaceutical products with approximately
70,000 pallet spaces. 84 permanent employees and 20
employees deployed as needed ensure that the company
always runs smoothly.
“We have managed to firmly establish ourselves
in our business areas with a lot of patience and the
willingness to learn again and again,” said Buchinger
proudly. The key to success is the early introduction of
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PORTRAIT
Photos: Krone, Linz AG
process management and a willingness to review and
optimise processes again and again. This quality has
impressed even large companies.
The ultimate goal of the overall logistics provider is
to provide clients with a comprehensive service: from
transport logistics, warehousing, to order picking. “We
create a high-quality logistics chain for the customer,”
continued Buchinger. This is why the logistics service
provider still attaches great importance to good quality
management in order to secure a competitive advantage.
“The only reason we are still in the market as a
medium-sized company with a single location in Linz
is because of our quality.” Donaulager Logistics would
not stand a chance against the cheap Eastern European
forwarding agents.
IDEAL EQUIPMENT FOR HIGH QUALITY
High quality can only be achieved with appropriate
semitrailers and swap bodies. You need suitable
equipment, especially in the pharmaceutical, frozen
food, refrigerated and hazardous goods logistics sectors.
“When transporting pharmaceutical products, for
example, we need specially certified semitrailers which
are reliable and can withstand the conditions in Spain,
Greece and the rest of Europe,” explained the trained
forwarding agent. The trailers are carefully tested to see
whether they maintain the temperature and how the
temperature in the semitrailer is distributed. Even the
smallest fluctuations can result in damage to the cargo.
“That was one of the reasons why we decided on the
Krone trailer,” said the Authorised Representative. Last
year, Donaulager Logistics purchased 18 semitrailers,
and they purchased another twelve in the current year.
But for Gottfried Buchinger, Krone is not only characterised
by reliability and high quality, but by looking after
customers personally as well: “This is very important
In particular, the areas of pharmaceutical,
frozen and hazardous
goods transport require suitable
equipment of the highest quality.
to us, because if there is a problem, then someone needs
to be on hand, who can take it on and find a solution.”
Another impressive point is the smart locking system
from Krone. Safety is playing an increasingly important
role in logistics, and this is especially true for
pharmaceutical transports. “The trailer can be locked
using a mobile phone. We could even go so far that
the driver cannot open the doors to the trailer alone,
but only after consultation with the scheduling team,”
explained the Head of Logistics.
Previously, the company had its own fleet. Today,
independent entrepreneurs pull the company’s
semitrailers with their tractors. “The special
thing about us, however, is that we run everything
as though we were running our own vehicle fleet,”
reports Buchinger. Together with the drivers, he and
his colleagues make sure that everything is always
okay in order to ensure quality standards. From consumption,
kilometres to driving times, everything
is recorded accurately. Donaulager Logistics even
trains the drivers.
The company invests almost 100,000 euros per year
in the training and further education of its employees,
from forwarding agents to IT specialists and warehouse
workers. This is also required because the requirements
are constantly increasing and are different
for each customer. For example, the employees must
have product-specific knowledge, be familiar with the
hazardous goods regulations, or must also observe regulations
pertaining to food. “Our dispatchers have to
master multitasking. This is because they may sometimes
reach load limits, for example in the case of timeslot
bookings.” The slots are getting smaller and smaller,
because many companies do not want to maintain a
warehouse anymore. The result is that they need deliveries
to be there precisely on the dot.
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PORTRAIT
With a large number of transports,
the cold chain must never be
interrupted. This must be
controlled continuously.
ADAPTING TO NEW REQUIREMENTS
A good example is a yet new business segment of
the company: ship supply. Donaulager Logistics has
been supplying Mediterranean cruise ships “just in
time” with food, beverages and consumer goods of
all kinds, on behalf of one of the world’s largest ship
suppliers. 10 to 15 truckloads have to be transported
from Hamburg to Piraeus. All trucks must be there at
the same time. “We have to deliver very high quality,”
says the logistics expert. Truck dispatching is available
around the clock, seven days a week, so that we can respond
quickly to problems, such as when the driver
calls at two o’clock in the morning and reports that the
tractor has broken down or the semitrailer is defective,
or that the ferry from Italy to Greece cannot run.
For most types of load, it is important that the cold
chain remains uninterrupted and continuity is maintained
through documentation. Some customers expect
to receive the documented temperature data one
hour before the arrival of the truck at the point of loading.
The driver is only allowed to enter the warehouse
to unload once a check has been made to ensure that
the digitally monitored temperature curve was flawless
during transport. If the fluctuations in temperature are
too large, the driver can immediately be turned around.
“The quality of the semitrailers and the functionality of
the telematics system are also very important for these
cargo types.,” explains Gottfried Buchinger.
The situation is similar for certain hazardous goods
transport. With goods of this kind, temperatures must
be accurately maintained in order to avoid damage.
“We have very precise process agreements with every
customer,” reported the Head of Logistics. This has
proven its worth over the years. Frozen goods are driven
throughout Europe for a major customer; with a
claim rate of zero. “That not only speaks for the quality
of the semitrailers, but also for our employees, who do
a really good job.”
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACILITY
One of the biggest problems in the industry is the
competition for drivers. Fewer and fewer young people
want to become truck drivers, and there is not
much left of the reputation as the “king of the highway”.
“The job is no longer as popular, and you’re on
the road all week,” explains Buchinger. At the same
time, you can make a good living and wages continue
to rise.
In order to keep drivers, Donaulager Logistics does
a lot. The company is currently building a new ingate
with sufficient parking spaces for the trucks, attractive
rooms, sleeping spaces and showers, so that the drivers
have “decent conditions”, as the Head of Logistics says.
The human side or working atmosphere is also very
important to him: “We have a good relationship with
each other, from the driver, the warehouse worker to
management.”
Since 2014, the company has been bringing the location
up to speed for the future. With the “Project
Neuland”, the entire site is being further developed.
“This will allow us to continue to expand towards logistics
and services,” says Gottfried Buchinger. At the
heart of the project is a new special warehouse for frozen
food and pharmaceutical products, which is over
8,000 square metres, and which will be built right next
to the ingate. Planning work is in full swing, and construction
should begin in mid-2019.
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VIEWPOINTS
COLLABORATION BETWEEN
MAN AND MACHINE
Krone is increasingly working with automated production. This process
has far-reaching consequences throughout all areas of the company.
Photos: Linz AG, Krone
To what extent are Krone’s production processes already
automated?
Krone currently manufactures its components using either
fully or semi-automated processes. This ensures greater process
stability and efficiency, which leads to consistent quality
of our vehicles and reliability of our products and delivery services.
Automation has long been an interest of ours, even as
early as 2004 as we constructed our cool storage production
facility in Lübtheen. We developed robotics and conveyor
technology for this purpose and networked the site machinery,
creating a real “Industry 4.0” facility. This automation process
is being developed and rolled out to all of our sites.
Is it true that there are certain requirements that must be
considered during the automation process?
Automation is a highly complex process which has farreaching
consequences across all levels of our company.
It requires careful coordination of the interfaces, presenting
a challenge for all those involved. In the past,
manual operations were what shaped our production
processes. If robots take over these jobs in future, all of
these processes will need to be precisely interwoven –
from development right up until the vehicle is handed over.
How are you involving your employees in this
process?
Demographic changes are making it increasingly difficult
to find skilled workers. Automation partially solves this
issue as it means we will generally require fewer employees.
However, these changes bring new challenges: Our
employees will need to become even more specialised.
We draw on the skills of staffing experts early on in order
to find the most qualified skilled workers.
What potential do you see in automation for Krone
and the industry as a whole?
Our customers are predominantly from within the logistics
industry. Just as we are, they are required to connect
objects, people and systems. This is the only way we can
create company-wide, added-value networks which
function dynamically, independently and in real time.
We are working together closely within the Group and
are introducing universal standards for production and
logistics processes. In doing so, we take the individual
needs of each specific site into consideration. In this
regard, we are still hard at work – further investment is
expected.
ABOUT THE PERSON
Jens Ficker was born in 1973, joined Brüggen in 1991
and worked in the logistics and production departments of the
company, while studying administration. Today he is Managing
Director of Brüggen Oberflächen- und Systemlieferant GmbH
and since 2016 he has been a member of the management
board of the vehicle plant and in charge of production
at the Krone Nutzfahrzeug Group.
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