Transfer - Geis Group
Transfer - Geis Group
Transfer - Geis Group
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The cusTomer and sTaff magazine of The geis group i november 2011 i www.geis-group.com<br />
new in the geis group: general Transport ag<br />
Project logistics<br />
and more
2 | editorial<br />
Dear readers,<br />
Our continued growth regularly presents us with new<br />
challenges. Thus, human resources development has<br />
become one of our most important strategic tasks.<br />
Demographic change in Germany means that people<br />
are having to work or want to work longer, while the<br />
number of young people available to start apprenticeships<br />
and degrees is decreasing. By the year 2035, according<br />
to calculations made by the Federal Ministry<br />
for Education and Research, there will be around one<br />
fifth fewer young people available to join the labour<br />
market.<br />
Youngsters who leave school at the age of 18 can also<br />
naturally join the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> as the first step in a successful<br />
career. On 1 st August/September, for example,<br />
we greeted a total of 72 new trainees at our training<br />
sites throughout Germany. In September four vocational-college<br />
students also began working for <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> as the practical component of their courses.<br />
We are currently training a total of 189 young men<br />
and women, with the most popular apprenticeships<br />
being those for forwarding merchants, logistics executives,<br />
warehouse logistics specialists, clerks and qualified<br />
warehouse staff. At <strong>Geis</strong> they all receive practical,<br />
high-quality professional training that is personally<br />
overseen by a designated contact person. They also<br />
benefit, just like our employees, from the other training<br />
programmes that we offer.<br />
Our concept works well, as confirmed by the feedback<br />
we get from our trainees and external agencies. Two<br />
years ago at the “Bayerns Best 50” awards, for example,<br />
the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs awarded<br />
us one of the two special prizes for companies that<br />
provide large numbers of training opportunities. Such<br />
successes and also the outstanding achievements of<br />
our students (see also page 14) make us even more<br />
determined to expand our training programmes.<br />
Our aim with the training we provide is to fully meet<br />
the future needs of our customers and to offer them<br />
innovative and effective solutions. As usual, this edition<br />
of <strong>Transfer</strong> contains information on the services<br />
our staff currently provides customers and other news<br />
about the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>. We hope you enjoy reading it!<br />
Qualified training<br />
This is naturally also something that the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
will have to deal with. After all, we now employ more<br />
than 3,600 employees at our network and logistics<br />
sites across Europe. Every single one of our employees<br />
– whether a warehouse worker in Germany, a<br />
truck driver in the Czech Republic or a site manager<br />
in Switzerland – has complex and sometimes highly<br />
differentiated tasks to fulfil. And in future there will<br />
be a whole new range of tasks to carry out.<br />
We therefore offer in collaboration with vocational<br />
colleges the possibility of completing academic training<br />
while working. For office-based employees, training<br />
is offered in IT, telephone communications and<br />
foreign languages. The standard training programme<br />
for drivers and warehouse employees includes practical<br />
training in load securing, dangerous goods handling,<br />
special packaging, etc. And in future these programmes<br />
will be expanded to reflect the ergonomic<br />
needs of older employees.<br />
Yours sincerely,<br />
Hans-Georg <strong>Geis</strong> and Wolfgang <strong>Geis</strong>,<br />
Managing Partners of the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>
04<br />
08<br />
10<br />
13<br />
top story – GeNeral traNsport aG<br />
04 Project logistics and more<br />
05 World heavy-lift record<br />
loGistiCs serviCes<br />
06 Tailor-made fashion logistics in Kürnach<br />
08 Solar logistics in the whole of Europe<br />
08 Siemens Healthcare‘s ‘Supplier of the Year’<br />
09 2011 Expert Dialogue: Innovations live<br />
09 A strong 10-year alliance: Avaya and <strong>Geis</strong><br />
road serviCes<br />
10 Roller-bearing round-trip deliveries for SKF<br />
11 “<strong>Geis</strong>” brand now more present<br />
11 New scanners on board<br />
12 New online<br />
12 Transport services for tea services<br />
12 Ejpovice: successful expansion<br />
air + sea serviCes<br />
13 Transformer successfully transported<br />
13 Logistics for adventure holidays<br />
GeNeral NeWs<br />
14 Training at <strong>Geis</strong>: exciting and practical<br />
14 Four new authorized signatories<br />
15 <strong>Geis</strong> runs for a good cause<br />
15 A job that packs a punch<br />
15 Anniversaries<br />
Published by<br />
Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH + Co Internationale Spedition<br />
Rudolf-Diesel-Ring 24, 97616 Bad Neustadt/Saale<br />
Phone: +49 9771 603 0, Fax: +49 9771 603 109<br />
www.geis-group.com<br />
Responsible for the contents<br />
Management of the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
Editorial<br />
STROOMER PR | Concept GmbH<br />
Christian Stephan, Katharina Segl<br />
Rellinger Straße 64a, 20257 Hamburg<br />
Phone: +49 40 853133 0, Fax +49 40 853133 22<br />
E-mail: mail@stroomer-pr.de<br />
CoNteNts |<br />
3
4 | top story<br />
KaNBaN-Belieferung: in solchen Fließregalen wird immer<br />
automatisch das nachgefüllt, was entnommen wird, damit ständig<br />
genügend produktionsmaterial für die Montage von<br />
telefonanlagen zur verfügung steht<br />
five Star logiSticS:<br />
general tranSport ag<br />
Since April this year, General Transport AG has been a member of the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>. Under the registered brand name Five Star<br />
Logistics ® the Swiss company, with a long tradition behind it, offers a wide range of services.<br />
image (top):<br />
a General transport aG team<br />
recently demonstrated<br />
their expertise in heavy-lift<br />
transportation<br />
he new member of the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> offers<br />
five-star service all along the line – whether<br />
in contract logistics, transport by road, rail,<br />
air and sea or logistics for major events and humanitarian<br />
services in crisis zones. Global partnerships mean<br />
that the company can call on a world-wide network for<br />
transport and logistics solutions. The long-established<br />
company has acquired special know-how in the field<br />
of industrial plant and project logistics, and in this sector<br />
the company General Transport has been a market<br />
leader for many years.<br />
experTs for heavy TransporT. One speciality<br />
of the Swiss company is the complex supply chain for<br />
heavy freight from manufacturer to installation site,<br />
most frequently with several carriers, country borders<br />
or even continents to consider. Only recently, two<br />
high-volume heavy transports were successfully completed<br />
by road from Aigle in Switzerland near Montreux<br />
to Montpellier in France. “The loads weighed 62<br />
tonnes each, and in particular due to their length of<br />
44.5 metres each, the two lorries were a real challenge<br />
on normal roads, above all in the preparations. For one<br />
thing, a bridge which the transport was supposed to use<br />
was closed only a short time before the move was due<br />
to be made. For us, this meant replanning the whole<br />
route, regauging everywhere and applying for approvals<br />
all over again. Apart from that, not every village in<br />
France was terribly thrilled at the length of the transports,<br />
which made some intensive negotiations and<br />
a whole lot of convincing necessary”, says Christian<br />
Labhardt, Manager Road Services Europe. “But we’re<br />
used to it now – it’s virtually routine!”
a show of sTrengTh. In intercontinental transport,<br />
the company tackles some really heavy work: at the<br />
beginning of this year, General Transport delivered<br />
two generator circuit breakers from manufacturer<br />
ABB Hochspannungstechnik in Zurich to a large<br />
power station in Japan. Two road low-loaders started<br />
the transport off in quick time from Zurich to Leipzig/Halle<br />
airport where it was loaded on a plane for<br />
Tokyo, and for the last 180 kilometres to the destination,<br />
lorries were again used. In this project, as usual,<br />
the company called on the service of reliable local<br />
partners with the necessary expertise and equipment<br />
to accomplish special tasks. “The colleagues from<br />
SDV Tokyo inspected the route in advance in a very<br />
short time and prepared a “Road Survey Report” for<br />
ABB project management”, says Air Freight Manager<br />
Bernhard Zaugg. “Although we were only allowed to<br />
cover 40 kilometres per day, we completed this part of<br />
the transport in only five days.”<br />
well-known name, new services. After joining<br />
the alliance with the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>, General Transport<br />
will continue to act independently in the market. The<br />
established name and the branding Five Star Logistics ®<br />
will be retained, as well as the staff structures. “In cooperation<br />
with the <strong>Geis</strong> companies in Germany, Luxembourg,<br />
Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and<br />
Slovakia we will continue to extend the service portfolio<br />
and the customer base of General Transport AG”,<br />
says Andreas Speiser, CEO General Transport AG.<br />
“We are particularly looking forward to extending the<br />
services offered in the sector of land transport and contract<br />
logistics.” —<br />
the General transport aG,<br />
established in 1947, has its<br />
headquarters in Basel and a<br />
branch in Zurich. appointed<br />
in april 2011, Ceo is andreas<br />
speiser who has already held<br />
a number of senior positions<br />
within the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>.<br />
the company employs around<br />
75 staff, and revenues for the<br />
2011 business year are expected<br />
to be about 90 million swiss<br />
francs (around 74 million euro).<br />
Heavyweight<br />
world record<br />
Two years ago, the transport of a 187.6-tonne generator,<br />
organised by the General Transport AG in an Antonov AN-<br />
225 from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport to Armenia, earned the<br />
company an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the<br />
heaviest item ever to be carried by aeroplane. The record<br />
remains in place today.<br />
The record flight with the biggest transport aeroplane in the world began<br />
on the evening of 9 August 2009. On board there was only the one item<br />
of freight, but that was some item! The generator turned the scales at a<br />
total weight of 187.6 tonnes. Its destination: a gas-fired power station in<br />
Armenia. The flight represented the final sprint in a round-the-world<br />
trip which the generator had started weeks earlier in Korea.<br />
top story | 5<br />
From collection to customs clearance, General Transport had prepared<br />
all the steps in the minutest detail. The generator was collected on the<br />
first stage in Korea and shipped to Rotterdam, where it was transhipped<br />
onto a platform trailer. Using a load-carrying pontoon, the journey continued<br />
via the Rhine and Moselle to Longuich (near Trier). This was the<br />
only place with a suitable ramp over which a heavy-haulage lorry unit<br />
could manoeuvre the trailer off the ship and back onto the road. The last<br />
kilometres of the transport to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport with a gross load<br />
of 302 tonnes were mastered thanks to two tractor units. Two cranes<br />
finally loaded the generator onto the loading ramp of the Antonov, from<br />
where it was gradually slid into the belly of the aeroplane – truly a millimetric<br />
piece of work. —
6 | loGistiCs serviCes<br />
photo: drykorn
tailor-made<br />
faShion logiSticS<br />
t the start of April, the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
brought the logistics facility in Kürnach<br />
near Würzburg into operation. One<br />
month later the first containers with Drykorn products<br />
arrived. Not only is the fashion label, which<br />
is based in Kitzingen in Bavaria, the first tenant in<br />
the new logistics facility, it is also a new customer<br />
for <strong>Geis</strong>. “We’re delighted that an international customer<br />
based in our region has opted for <strong>Geis</strong>”, says<br />
Henry Portisch, Site Manager at Kürnach.<br />
The new logistics terminal has a total area of 7,800<br />
square metres and a clear height of 10.50 metres.<br />
It has a shelf area, flexibly-sized order picking and<br />
handling areas, as well as a block storage area. Nine<br />
loading and unloading bays are available as well as a<br />
ground-floor access bay. Drykorn goods are stored in<br />
an area measuring around 1,200 square metres with<br />
2,500 lower shelf spaces. The fashion label occupies<br />
the “modern premium men and women” segment,<br />
i.e. higher-priced clothing for fashionable, discerning<br />
customers. Each delivery season <strong>Geis</strong> picks and<br />
packs around 140,000 articles, all of them flat packs.<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> employees take care of goods receipt, quality<br />
control, storage, packing, individual pricing for fashion<br />
store chains, and shipping for the fashion label.<br />
millimeTre-accuracy. The Drykorn containers<br />
delivered to Kürnach primarily originate in Europe,<br />
with some arriving from the Far East. <strong>Geis</strong> employees<br />
unload the boxed goods, take inventory and<br />
check the quality of the products. “Our employees<br />
measure, for example, whether sweater sizes correspond<br />
exactly with the specified dimensions”, explains<br />
Henry Portisch. They also attach price labels<br />
to the products, pack them as desired, and pick items<br />
for consignees throughout Europe and the world.<br />
Goods are distributed from the logistics terminal in<br />
Kürnach via parcel service providers. Drykorn has<br />
three own-brand shops in Berlin, which are run in<br />
conjunction with a local partner. Elsewhere its products<br />
are sold via high-class fashion retailers, boutiques<br />
and fashion houses – more than 1,000 in total<br />
loGistiCs serviCes | 7<br />
Short collection cycles predominate in the fast-moving fashion world. The demand in textile logistics<br />
therefore is for flexibility and a strong customer focus – simply a matter of course for the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>.<br />
Since May 2011, it has managed the entire logistics for international fashion label Drykorn from its new<br />
logistics centre in Kürnach.<br />
drykorn – from bavaria<br />
into the wide world<br />
founded in 1996, fashion<br />
label drykorn is based in<br />
kitzingen in mainfranken.<br />
corporate governance,<br />
administration, design,<br />
product management<br />
and logistics are all<br />
overseen from here.<br />
each year, drykorn<br />
introduces two ladies‘<br />
and men‘s collections<br />
onto the market.<br />
The products are sold<br />
in over 1,000 shops<br />
worldwide, including<br />
in germany, austria,<br />
switzerland, italy, great<br />
britain, the usa, canada,<br />
australia, Japan and china.<br />
Certified drykorn quality: in the logistics Centre in Kürnach,<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> employees make sure that garment sizes match the<br />
specified dimensions<br />
in all four corners of the world. Since 2010 it has also<br />
had its own online store.<br />
The chemisTry is righT. From Drykorn’s point of<br />
view, there were several arguments in favour of the<br />
collaboration with <strong>Geis</strong>. “Right from the start the atmosphere<br />
was very positive”, says Gerrit Voss, Managing<br />
Director of Drykorn Modevertriebs GmbH &<br />
Co. “We noticed that <strong>Geis</strong> employees were always<br />
obliging and true to their word. A medium-sized,<br />
owner-managed logistics service provider from our<br />
region which is also very customer-oriented, innovation-driven<br />
and curious about the new is precisely<br />
the right partner for Drykorn.” —
8 | loGistiCs serviCes<br />
Solar logiSticS in<br />
the whole of europe<br />
Since May of this year, <strong>Geis</strong> supports international solar company SCHOTT Solar AG, based in Mainz,<br />
with the logistics management of photovoltaic products.<br />
he services that <strong>Geis</strong> provides to SCHOTT<br />
Solar at its Erlangen-Frauenaurach site<br />
include loading and unloading trucks and<br />
containers, warehousing, distribution, customs management<br />
and continuous quality control.<br />
The goods arrive at the Logistics and Technology<br />
Centre in Frauenaurach from a manufacturing plant.<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> then distributes them to wholesalers throughout<br />
Europe. The employees process up to 30 loads of the<br />
sensitive solar components per day at goods inwards<br />
and outwards. <strong>Geis</strong> also runs, via Czech subsidiary<br />
Feico, daily scheduled round-trip deliveries between<br />
SCHOTT’s Alzenau plant near Frankfurt am Main<br />
and the company’s plant in Valašské Meziříčí in the<br />
east of the Czech Republic.<br />
“In solar logistics, business fluctuates greatly on a daily<br />
basis. The goods we deal with are also highly sensitive”,<br />
explains Hans-Peter Schneider, Sales Manager<br />
of <strong>Geis</strong> Industrie-Service GmbH. “Thanks to<br />
our longstanding experience, the challenges in this<br />
area have become routine for us by now. Our broad<br />
expertise and high degree of flexibility mean that we<br />
can guarantee our customers the best-possible quality<br />
at all times.” —<br />
Siemens Healthcare’s ‘Supplier of the Year’<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Ersatzteil-Service GmbH has been awarded “Supplier of the Year 2011” by Siemens Healthcare CS ML. The prize was<br />
awarded for outstanding performance, reliability and flexibility.<br />
Since 2007, <strong>Geis</strong> Ersatzteil-Service GmbH has run<br />
the World Distribution Centre (WDC) in Neu-<br />
Isenburg for Siemens Healthcare. In the logistics<br />
hub with 25,000 square metres, <strong>Geis</strong> employees<br />
organize the worldwide distribution of and returns<br />
logistics for spare parts. Inside the WDC, <strong>Geis</strong> permanently<br />
stores around 36,500 different spare parts<br />
for distribution to Siemens engineers around the<br />
world – ranging from tiny electronics components<br />
to the four-tonne hoist used to repair CTs. —<br />
photo: sCHott solar<br />
siemens awards <strong>Geis</strong> (from<br />
the left): dr. Frank debus<br />
(siemens), Christian sörgel<br />
(<strong>Geis</strong> industrie-service GmbH),<br />
Harald Maier (siemens),<br />
Michael pierer v. esch<br />
(siemens), Hans-Jürgen König<br />
(siemens) and Jochen Maul<br />
(<strong>Geis</strong> industrie-service GmbH)
Expert Dialogue 2011:<br />
A fresh breeze for contract logistics<br />
Once again this year the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> presented “Innovations live”:<br />
Under this motto, <strong>Geis</strong> invited logistics industry executives to Erlangen-<br />
Frauenaurach and Nuremberg to experience, both in theory and practice,<br />
innovative contract logistics.<br />
The location was the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>’s new Logistics<br />
and Technology Centre in Frauenaurach Industrial<br />
Park. This is where <strong>Geis</strong>, among other things, is<br />
implementing an outsourcing project for Siemens<br />
Enterprise Communications. “The customer has<br />
outsourced not only the entire distribution and spare<br />
parts logistics to us, but also the configuration of telephone<br />
systems”, said <strong>Geis</strong> Managing Director Dr.<br />
Johannes Söllner.<br />
soluTions for invenTory and cosT reducTion.<br />
The subsequent presentations by experts took place<br />
in the Hotel Schindlerhof in Nuremberg. The topics<br />
on the agenda were returns management, inventory<br />
financing and European distribution. Using<br />
the example of global telecommunications solutions,<br />
Dr. Andreas Knierim, Senior Vice President Supply<br />
Chain Management and Global Customer Interface<br />
at Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH &<br />
Co. KG, outlined the logistical demands that would<br />
need to be met in the future. The second expert lecture<br />
focused on inventory management and financing.<br />
Dr. Uwe-Peter Hastedt, Managing Director of MHB<br />
<strong>Group</strong>, presented an off-balance-sheet solution for<br />
inventories. “This solution will allow the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
to free up the balance sheets of its customers by a significant<br />
degree as an additional logistical service”, said<br />
Dr. Hastedt.<br />
“meTropolis same-day” for norThern europe.<br />
The final talk was given by Thorsten Gensmer, Partner<br />
and Director of Miebach Consulting, who discussed<br />
how logistics service providers can optimize<br />
their networks in Northern Europe to be more<br />
service-oriented. His innovative solution is called<br />
“Metropolis Same-Day”, and involves same-day delivery<br />
to the regions surrounding metropolitan areas.<br />
Dr. Johannes Söllner was once again very happy with<br />
the high level of interest in this year’s expert dialogue,<br />
and is therefore not excluding the possibility of holding<br />
the event again next year as a means of bringing a<br />
fresh breeze to the contract logistics sector. —<br />
loGistiCs serviCes | 9<br />
Fred Hayes, vice president of supply Chain at avaya (left)<br />
presented the supplier award to dr. Johannes söllner<br />
a Strong<br />
10-year<br />
alliance<br />
Communications company Avaya and the <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> look back on a decade of successful<br />
cooperation, now crowned with an award.<br />
eis and Avaya recently celebrated the 10 th anniversary<br />
of their successful cooperation at the<br />
site where it has taken place – the Avaya Logistics and<br />
Technology Centre in Dietzenbach near Frankfurt<br />
am Main. This is where 125 <strong>Geis</strong> employees take care<br />
of the entire logistics for new materials, spare parts<br />
and returns for Avaya, while another 55 Avaya employees<br />
are responsible for order processing and the<br />
core telephone-configuration business at the same<br />
site. In April Avaya also awarded an Supplier Award<br />
to the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> at the “1 st Avaya Supplier Day” in<br />
Singapore.<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Managing Director Dr. Johannes Söllner has<br />
overseen the cooperation since it was launched ten<br />
years ago: “Our joint success is due to the combination<br />
of our strengths, which complement each other<br />
perfectly. Up until now we’ve been a strong unit, and<br />
want to continue being so in the future too.” The<br />
foundations for this have already been laid, with the<br />
two companies recently agreeing to extend their cooperation<br />
by several years. —
10 | road serviCes<br />
roller-bearing round-trip<br />
Two plants – one solution: In Schweinfurt and in the Italian town of Airasca, SKF manufactures a whole range of different<br />
types of roller-bearings. <strong>Geis</strong> now organizes just-in-time round-trip deliveries between the two plants.<br />
Balls, cones,<br />
and the like<br />
The term ball-bearing<br />
is often used colloquially<br />
as a synonym for rollerbearings.<br />
Strictly speaking,<br />
however, ball-bearings<br />
are only one type of<br />
roller-bearing. This is<br />
because the rolling<br />
elements inside a rollerbearing<br />
come in a range<br />
of different shapes:<br />
cones, cylinders, needles,<br />
barrels – and balls,<br />
of course.<br />
even in the morning in Schweinfurt. In SKF’s<br />
largest factory anywhere in the world, preparations<br />
are underway for the next roller-bearing<br />
round-trip delivery. SKF employees load a <strong>Geis</strong><br />
truck with pallets holding wooden crates packed with<br />
roller-bearings. And they’re heavy! Once loaded, the<br />
trucks, at around 24 tonnes, are usually at their weight<br />
limit.<br />
puncTual & TransparenT. A short time later, the<br />
vehicle heads south. After a maximum of 23 hours it<br />
reaches its destination, some 800 kilometres away in<br />
the Italian town of Airasca near Turin in northwest<br />
Italy, where SKF Italy has a production site. The roller-bearings<br />
from Schweinfurt are either used directly<br />
in the factory or are handed to an Italian forwarder,<br />
who transports the goods to customers or distributors<br />
– and herein lies the challenge: “As the forwarder<br />
needs to start delivering the goods on the same day,<br />
shipments to Italy have to be just-in-time operations”,<br />
explains Peter Gayer, Head of Key Account Management<br />
at Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH. “To guarantee this, we<br />
track the location of our trucks between Schweinfurt<br />
and Italy and pass on this information to SKF Italy,<br />
Germany and the head office in Sweden. We also do<br />
the same in the opposite direction, between Airasca<br />
and Schweinfurt. This means that the customer is<br />
always in the know as to the current delivery status.”<br />
efficienT roTaTion sysTem. After being unloaded,<br />
the truck starts its return journey. Its return load to<br />
Schweinfurt comprises products only produced in<br />
Airasca and required by SKF plants, dealers and cus-<br />
tomers worldwide. These are mainly roller-bearings<br />
for the automotive industry, as many well-known<br />
luxury and sports car manufacturers are customers of<br />
SKF.<br />
The round-trip deliveries are not always perfectly balanced<br />
however, because demand for the goods from<br />
the other locations varies a great deal. Each day one<br />
or two trucks leave Schweinfurt; from Airasca it can<br />
be up to five trucks. “For the vehicles coming from<br />
Schweinfurt there is usually a return load from Airasca.<br />
There are also individual loads from Airasca for<br />
which there is no return load from Schweinfurt”, explains<br />
Peter Gayer. “The uneven and irregular nature<br />
of the round-trips means that our team needs to be<br />
extremely flexible, with each operation having to be<br />
planned precisely and individually to ensure maximum<br />
transport efficiency.”<br />
on The road worldwide for skf. <strong>Geis</strong> has<br />
been organizing round-trip transportation between<br />
Germany and Italy for SKF since June 2011. The<br />
two companies began cooperating in 2004. Besides<br />
the roller-bearing round-trip transport operation,<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> now also organizes transport services for SKF<br />
to Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Turkey.<br />
Round-trip runs are only organized to Italy, however.<br />
Meanwhile a return load of roller-bearings from<br />
Airasca has arrived in Schweinfurt. SKF employees<br />
unload the pallets from the vehicle, and the truck is<br />
immediately prepared for the next trip to Italy. The<br />
round-trip trucks are never stationery for long. —
photos: sKF<br />
At the start of the 20 th<br />
century, Swedish engineer<br />
Sven Gustaf Wingqvist<br />
invented the spherical<br />
roller-bearing. Shortly<br />
afterwards, to market his<br />
idea, he founded Svenska<br />
Kullagerfabriken or SKF in<br />
short. The company, which<br />
is based in Gothenburg, is<br />
today one of the world’s<br />
leading manufacturers<br />
of rolling bearings, seals,<br />
mechatronics and lubrication<br />
systems. SKF is present<br />
worldwide in over 130<br />
countries and employs more<br />
than 40,000 employees.<br />
SKF‘s main division in<br />
Germany is SKF GmbH,<br />
based in Schweinfurt. At its<br />
sites in Lüchow, Mülheim an<br />
der Donau and Schweinfurt<br />
it produces tapered<br />
roller-bearings, cylindrical<br />
roller-bearings, hub units<br />
for trucks, bulk storage,<br />
automotive specialty<br />
products, and more.<br />
“<strong>Geis</strong>” brand now more present<br />
Parcel logistics, land transportation, air and ocean<br />
freight and contract logistics – when it comes to logistics,<br />
the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> is able to offer its customers<br />
in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the full range<br />
from a single source. And this is now also more evident<br />
to the outside world too, because since 1 October<br />
all companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia<br />
have “<strong>Geis</strong>” included in their company names<br />
aster, more robust, and easier to handle. These are the advantages<br />
of the new Motorola MC 9500 handheld scanner, which as of<br />
this year all <strong>Geis</strong> short-haul drivers have on board. But they are not<br />
just a bonus for the driver: “Thanks to the integrated GPS tracking<br />
function, we can now tell our customers not only that their goods are<br />
on the way, but also where they are and when they will arrive”, says<br />
Maik Niebergall, Scheduling System Administrator.<br />
The system includes an electronic overview map with a location function<br />
for displaying all orders and vehicle locations. New orders can thus<br />
be easily assigned to a driver who has spare capacity and is located in the<br />
vicinity. If a collection is urgent, the scheduler is informed by means of a<br />
flashing indicator on the overview map, allowing him to react immediately.<br />
With these and many other practical functions, the 320 new scanners are<br />
simplifying processes for both drivers and schedulers. —<br />
road serviCes | 11<br />
and logos. General Parcel Čechy, which specializes<br />
in parcel logistics, has now therefore after 16 years<br />
changed its name to <strong>Geis</strong> Parcel CZ, while TEN<br />
Expres Slovakia, which since 2006 has belonged to<br />
the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>, will from now on be known as <strong>Geis</strong><br />
SK. —<br />
new ScannerS on board<br />
photo: Motorola
12 | road serviCes<br />
Ejpovice: successful expansion<br />
Since the summer, the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> has opened two new buildings in<br />
Ejpovice near Plzen in the Czech Republic.<br />
At the end of June, a new depot was opened for more efficient parcel handling.<br />
Covering an area of around 2,000 square metres, it houses a modern conveyor<br />
system and has 40 gates for delivery vehicles and three gates for linehaul trucks.<br />
Over the past few months, there has also another logistics facility been built on the<br />
same site. It primarily expands the existing central warehouse of Finnish tyre manufacturer<br />
Nokian by around 5,000 square metres to approximately 21,000 square metres.<br />
The state-of-the-art facility, which has a clearance height of 9.80 metres and twelve<br />
loading docks, also includes almost 3,000 square metres of complex contract logistics<br />
space for new customers. —<br />
Transport services for tea services<br />
BHS tabletop AG is a customer whose goods quite literally need to be handled with kid gloves, as the company, which is<br />
based in the Upper Franconian town of Selb, is the world‘s leading professional porcelain manufacturer.<br />
photo: BaUsCHer<br />
new online<br />
Following its change of name, SDV<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> has since the start of this year had<br />
a new website. Now that of the <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> has been totally redesigned<br />
too. In addition to a more modern layout,<br />
navigation between the individual<br />
menu items is now easier and clearer.<br />
Take a look for yourself by visiting<br />
www.geis-group.com. —<br />
Bischoff has been carefully delivering the premiumquality<br />
items to hotels and restaurants in Germany<br />
and Western Europe for the past two years, and<br />
recently delivered an entire crockery set for a new<br />
luxury hotel on the German Baltic coast.<br />
But no matter where the cups, saucers and plates are<br />
headed, each delivery requires extreme care. “For<br />
a forwarder there could hardly be a more sensitive<br />
shipment”, says Bischoff Managing Director Andreas<br />
Weinrich. “Our team is therefore extra careful<br />
when it comes to handling BHS products.”<br />
And this care is paying off: Up until now every single<br />
one of the 15,000 to 17,000 annual shipments delivered<br />
by Bischoff has been damage-free. In Germany<br />
they say that broken glass brings luck. Needless to<br />
say, Bischoff and BHS don’t think so. —
Transformer successfully transported<br />
Every order that the SDV Projects team in Hamburg takes on is exciting.<br />
The transportation of a transformer from Istanbul to Flensburg was<br />
particularly ‘electrifying’, however.<br />
logiSticS for adventure holidayS<br />
For the Land Rover Trophy 2011 SDV <strong>Geis</strong> shipped<br />
eleven Land Rovers, including an ambulance<br />
vehicle and a trailer to Bolivia. At the beginning of<br />
March, the customer brought the vehicles to the SDV<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> warehouse in Hamburg. “It was only there that we<br />
found out we also needed to clear the equipment inside<br />
the vehicles for customs”, says Rafael Franke, SDV <strong>Geis</strong><br />
Sea Freight Manager in Dusseldorf. “But we’re a good<br />
team, and can easily cope with tight deadlines.”<br />
Using their expert skills, the drivers placed two vehicles<br />
in each container. The valuable cargo worth more than<br />
340,000 Euros was then shipped to Arica (Chile), where<br />
an SIC Logistica agent organized the onward transportation<br />
of the Land Rovers by motor trailer to Cochabamba<br />
(Bolivia). This marked the end of the easy part<br />
of the voyage for the Land Rovers; now they’ll have to<br />
cope with the rocky terrain themselves. —<br />
air + sea serviCes | 13<br />
A project of this magnitude needs to be planned<br />
carefully, and the SDV Projects team in Hamburg<br />
began working on it at the beginning of January.<br />
After partner SDV Horoz successfully handled the<br />
first stage of the transport operation in Turkey, the<br />
almost 200-tonne transformer reached the port of<br />
Flensburg on 18 April of this year on a charter ship.<br />
Here the project team suddenly faced an unexpected<br />
challenge: The planned use of mobile cranes to<br />
transfer the colossus onto the quayside was prohibited<br />
at the last minute by the Port Authority for safety<br />
reasons. The SDV experts’ solution was to use<br />
the “Enak” floating crane, which can lift a weight of<br />
600 tonnes, to bring the transformer safely ashore.<br />
gianT wiTh a righT of way. On the quay, the<br />
heavy-load transportation operation was continued<br />
using a hydraulic 15-axle trailer with two tractors.<br />
Travelling at a fast walking pace on specially cordoned-off<br />
streets, the trailer conveyed the transformer<br />
to its new destination, the substation in Weding, a<br />
suburb of Flensburg. There the transformer has replaced<br />
the old one, and now connects the Flensburg<br />
area’s 60,000-volt power grid with the 110,000-volt<br />
grid of E.ON Hanse AG. —<br />
Participants in Land Rover Experience journeys explore remote areas of foreign countries in the legendary off-road vehicles,<br />
with destinations including Canada, Botswana, Iceland and the latest addition, Bolivia. SDV <strong>Geis</strong> transports the all-wheeldrive<br />
vehicles safely to the next ‘adventure destination’.
14 | GeNeral NeWs<br />
“Exciting and practical”<br />
A sound apprenticeship opens up excellent career prospects for young people<br />
and ensures that companies such as <strong>Geis</strong> in future have access to the trained workers<br />
they need. Below we interview Bernhard Hofmann, Freight Forwarding Careers<br />
Training Manager in Bad Neustadt.<br />
Bernhard Hofmann isn’t<br />
just Freight Forwarding<br />
Careers Training Manager<br />
at <strong>Geis</strong>’ headquarters in<br />
Bad Neustadt.<br />
He is also in the process<br />
of qualifying to become<br />
a “certified professional<br />
trainer” with the<br />
Chamber of Commerce.<br />
Training involves three<br />
stages, and in March a jury<br />
of the Bavarian Vocational<br />
Academy awarded him<br />
the level 1 certificate.<br />
Now he is preparing for<br />
the second stage.<br />
mr hofmann, why would you recommend an apprenticeship<br />
at the geis group?<br />
Bernhard Hofmann: First of all, due to the wide range of apprenticeships<br />
we offer. We train people to become forwarding<br />
specialists, logistics service specialists, warehouse logistics specialists,<br />
clerks and IT officers, to name just a few. In each case,<br />
young trainees can look forward to diverse and qualified training.<br />
All our logistics and warehouse trainees, for example, regularly<br />
participate in central, all-day training sessions held in different<br />
locations. These cover topics such as sales/marketing, correct<br />
telephone manner and shipping insurance. Interaction and exchange<br />
between the trainees is also important to us.<br />
can you give us an example?<br />
Bernhard Hofmann: Just recently we invited first-year forwarding<br />
trainees from all the company sites to Nuremberg for a “Day By<br />
Trainees For Trainees”. They were taught among other things<br />
about combined road-and-rail transport at the container terminal<br />
at Nuremberg, and given the opportunity to see the loading and<br />
unloading of trailers and containers taking place live. The degree<br />
to which our trainees are motivated by such measures is reflected,<br />
for example, in their great performance in the “Best Apprentice”<br />
competition organized by the Verkehrsrundschau, the German<br />
freight transport and logistics magazine. Five of them were in<br />
the Top 100, and the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> was ranked 7 th in the Top 50<br />
training companies.<br />
how many new trainees started working for the geis group<br />
at the beginning of this training year?<br />
Bernhard Hofmann: Once again we’ve managed to fill all our<br />
training courses in line with our requirements. In total 72 youngsters<br />
started apprenticeships at <strong>Geis</strong>’ and SDV <strong>Geis</strong>’ 18 training<br />
centres, and four students began studying at a vocational college<br />
or university.<br />
depending on the chosen profession, training lasts<br />
two to three years. what are the chances of being taken<br />
on at the end?<br />
Bernhard Hofmann: Basically our goal is to take on every trainee<br />
once they’ve qualified – especially if their performance has been<br />
outstanding. And it’s not just our traditional freight forwarding<br />
trainees that perform well. Katharina Hoch, for example, completed<br />
her office clerk apprenticeship this year with the highest<br />
possible score of 1.0, and was even awarded the Bavarian State<br />
Prize for her achievement.<br />
mr hofmann, thank you very much for talking to us.<br />
four new<br />
authorized<br />
SignatorieS<br />
At the end of September,<br />
four executives of the <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> were appointed<br />
authorized signatories.<br />
Hans-Wolfgang <strong>Geis</strong><br />
has been<br />
appointed<br />
a new<br />
authorized<br />
signatory of<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Industrie-Service<br />
GmbH in Nuremberg. There<br />
he is jointly responsible for<br />
purchasing and controlling and<br />
is the site manager for the Gorenje<br />
and Taiyo Yuden projects.<br />
He joined the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> 12<br />
years ago.<br />
Martin Vonderau<br />
has managed<br />
the <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong>‘s<br />
Construction<br />
and Facility<br />
Management<br />
department<br />
for the past four years. The<br />
41-year-old architect has now<br />
been appointed an authorized<br />
signatory of Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH<br />
+ Co.<br />
Dirk Steinkampf<br />
is National<br />
Forwarding<br />
Manager<br />
and a new<br />
authorized<br />
signatory of<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Eurocargo<br />
GmbH + Co KG, Nuremberg.<br />
The 43-year-old joined the <strong>Geis</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> more than 20 years ago.<br />
Erwin Kraus<br />
has also been<br />
appointed an<br />
authorized<br />
signatory of<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Eurocargo<br />
GmbH + Co<br />
KG in<br />
Nuremberg. He joined the<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong> 12 years ago and<br />
now heads the International<br />
Freight Forwarding division in<br />
Nuremberg.
a JoB tHat paCKs a pUNCH<br />
On 1 st July 2011 Rüdiger Granitza was appointed<br />
the new Managing Director of Georg Lechner<br />
GmbH in Oberhaching. The company, which since<br />
2009 has belonged to the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>, develops and<br />
realizes customized packing concepts.<br />
Rüdiger Granitza brings a wealth of experience of<br />
the sector with him. He worked for nearly ten years for<br />
a packing company, including five years as a director.<br />
Now the 43-year-old industrial engineer is looking<br />
forward to new challenges<br />
and tasks: “Over the next few<br />
years, we as a company want<br />
to expand our customer base<br />
as well as our involvement<br />
in the area of heavy-goods<br />
packing and project management.”<br />
—<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> rUNs For a Good CaUse<br />
A sporting event with a difference: The district of<br />
Rhön-Grabfeld recently bet with Sparkasse Bad<br />
Neustadt that they would get 2,500 local inhabitants<br />
to take part in the 11 th Sparkasse City Run. The<br />
agreement was that, if the bet was won, the Sparkassenstiftung<br />
would give 10,000 Euros to kindergartens<br />
in Rhön-Grabfeld.<br />
In the end, no less than 3,172 participants stood<br />
at the starting line, all of them running for a good<br />
cause, including 32 runners in the <strong>Geis</strong> shirt. On<br />
the nearly ten-kilometre-long main leg, competitors<br />
had to run five times around the city walls of Bad<br />
Neustadt. “All the runners completed the course in<br />
respectable times, but the real winners are the kindergartens”,<br />
says Peter Gayer, Head of Key Account<br />
Management at Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH, who took part<br />
himself. “This year was the first time we have taken<br />
part, but it certainly won‘t be the last, and it would<br />
be great if we had even more people from <strong>Geis</strong> running<br />
next year!” —<br />
Anniversaries<br />
Over the past few months, eight <strong>Geis</strong> employees<br />
have celebrated their 25 th , one his 30 th and three have even<br />
celebrated their 40 th anniversary with the company.<br />
Bernhard Hofmann<br />
began working for Hans<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> GmbH in Bad<br />
Neustadt on 1 August,<br />
1971 as a trainee forwarding<br />
clerk. Today he is Freight<br />
Forwarding Careers Training Manager in<br />
Bad Neustadt, Eichenzell and Salz, and<br />
also Quality and Environmental Management<br />
Officer.<br />
Jürgen Kleinlein<br />
joined Militzer & Münch<br />
in Hof as a trainee<br />
forwarding clerk on 16<br />
August 1971 and was taken<br />
on by <strong>Geis</strong> Logistics + Trade GmbH in<br />
2009, where he works today in the logistics<br />
division.<br />
Roland Weigelt<br />
began working for<br />
Kraftverkehr Schleiz on<br />
1 September 1971.<br />
Since 1991 he has<br />
worked as a long-distance lorry driver for<br />
Spedition Bischoff and is currently working<br />
in encounter and night-time traffic.<br />
Eberhard Erdmann<br />
joined the <strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
in Nuremberg on 1<br />
October 1981.<br />
Just three years later he<br />
was appointed an authorized signatory,<br />
and is now the longest-serving signatory<br />
within the <strong>Group</strong>. Today he heads the<br />
SDV <strong>Geis</strong> branch at Nuremberg Airport.<br />
Heinz Jäkel<br />
began working for Hans<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> GmbH in Bad<br />
Neustadt on 20 May<br />
1986 as a warehouse<br />
worker. He remains there today and<br />
currently works as a forklift operator,<br />
shipper and order picker.<br />
Dieter Weyer<br />
began working as a<br />
long-distance lorry<br />
driver for Hans <strong>Geis</strong><br />
GmbH in Bad Neustadt<br />
on 13 June 1986. Today as Maintenance<br />
Supervisor at Bad Neustadt he is<br />
responsible for all technical matters.<br />
Nicole Zaher<br />
joined SDV <strong>Geis</strong> in<br />
Frankfurt on 7 July 1986<br />
as a running-account<br />
bookkeeper. Today<br />
she works in the bookkeeping/netting<br />
department.<br />
Silke Mörtel<br />
On 21 July 1986 Silke<br />
Mörtel began working<br />
as a clerk in the auditing<br />
section of the Air<br />
Exports department at SDV <strong>Geis</strong> in<br />
Nuremberg. She currently works as the<br />
Site Management Assistant in Stuttgart.<br />
15<br />
Doris Schmidt<br />
began working for Hans<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> GmbH, Bad Neustadt<br />
as a clerk in the<br />
payments department on<br />
1 July 1986. She is currently responsible<br />
for the time recording programme.<br />
Alexandra Eckert<br />
began working for<br />
Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH in<br />
Bad Neustadt on 1<br />
August 1986 as a trainee<br />
forwarding clerk and is now employed in<br />
the service/outbound groupage freight<br />
department.<br />
Hedwig Straub<br />
also started work as<br />
a trainee office clerk<br />
for Hans <strong>Geis</strong> GmbH<br />
in Bad Neustadt on 1<br />
August 1986. Today she is responsible in<br />
the central accounting department for the<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> <strong>Group</strong>’s international accounts.<br />
Helga Ströhla<br />
joined Spedition<br />
Bischoff as a clerk in<br />
the sales department<br />
on 1 October 1986 and<br />
is now responsible for the import/export<br />
service and import procedures.
We open up new horizons.<br />
<strong>Geis</strong> Global logistics<br />
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