2012 saw prizes awarded to VTL Vernetzte-Transport-Logistik GmbH with registered office in Fulda and several partner companies. In July VTL received the “Growth Champion 2012” award. This prize is awarded to companies that both grow more strongly than their competitors over the course of several years and are willing to share the factors involved in this success. In this way they serve as encouraging role models for other companies.

In order to prevail in the hard-fought transport market VTL invests continuously in IT and has established its own Total Quality Management concept on the basis of the quality and environmental management concepts (ISO 9001:2008; 14001:2004). VTL offers a broad readership insight into this recipe for success on the portal www.wachstums-champions.com.

With its sustainable form of corporate management and willingness to set an example to others the company fulfilled both prerequisites for the prize. The company subsequently received the award “Growth Champion 2012”.

The prize is awarded by the management consultancy Kalkbrenner-Unternehmensberatung, with the aim of encouraging companies to strategically address the subject of “above-average growth” and reveal ways in which this can be achieved.

Further success stories from the network

Success was also achieved by Kontinent Spedition GmbH, de Rooy of the Netherlands and Delamode Baltics of Lithuania.

Kontinent won the competition “SME Grand Prix – 2012”, organised and judged by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation. Last year the company reached the final, this year it won the prize for the state of Thuringia. The assessment of the nominated companies is conducted on the basis of commercial key data and the overall development of the company, the creation and safeguarding of jobs and apprenticeships and exemplary performance and responsibility for the competition criteria of innovation/modernisation, involvement in the region and service/customer proximity.

De Rooy received a total of four awards this year: the best company, the transport prize, prevention prize and health prize. The prevention prize is awarded for the successful reduction of CO₂ emissions, illness, damage to vehicles and goods as well as theft. De Rooy has a number of vans that operate in an environmentally-friendly manner and is also involved with a forest that balances out CO₂.

Delamode Baltics received an award for the strongest growing company in Lithuania in 2011. Delamode is involved in the “Gazele” project, organised by Verslo žinios, which awards prizes to small and medium-sized companies. The objective is on the one hand to pass on know-how, on the other to reveal the new market leaders and encourage companies to exchange experiences.

The courses at the VTL Akademie found great interest among partner companies in 2012. Reason enough to expand the range of themes for the coming year. In the field of leadership/personality training the courses “Change management – managing change actively”, “Successful meetings” and “Burn out – managing stress” are set to be added. However, the range of offers has also been augmented in other key areas. New seminar topics include “Professional sales II – enduring success in sales”, “Economic success factors in planning” and “Warehouse organisation – the view from above”. The courses in customs law and hazardous goods law deserve particular mention. These training sessions provide information about changes in 2013.

Further training not only supports the specialisation of employees, it also serves to bind them to their employers. In addition, the VTL Akademie also represents an opportunity to maintain contacts with other partners and discuss problems.

In order to keep the effort for the participants as manageable as possible next year will see the seminars held primarily in the regional hubs North and South. This saves on travel time and reduces costs.

The training offered can be financed by the Federal Office for Goods Transport (BAG), where the company satisfies the prerequisites for this. From 01 October 2012 until 28 February 2013 at the latest you can apply for funding of the seminars, with funding distributed following receipt of the applications. Depending on the prerequisites, the funding may cover 43-50 percent of the total costs. More precise information can be found on the BAG homepage at www.bag.bund.de.

VTL partners can find an overview of the various courses and detailed information regarding venue, time and content of the training online or request this from Ms Christiane Fink at system headquarters.

Excellent training results are the consequence of future-oriented training and further training with an eye to Europe

The groupage freight co-operation VTL Vernetzte-Transport-Logistik GmbH is proud of its two new employees, who have concluded their training as “Commercial Clerk for Freight Forwarding and Logistics” at the VTL headquarters in Fulda: Carina Kling, 22 years old, took her examinations early on the basis of good work and was already taken on as National and International Planning Clerk in January. Tobias Schäfer, also 22 years old, passed his exam with the grade “very good” and joined the Quality Management team in June.

Four further trainees have also become part of the European logistics network, commencing their apprentices as “Commercial Clerk for Freight Forwarding and Logistics” at VTL on 01 August 2012. They have an exciting and varied apprenticeship ahead of them, as VTL raises its sights above the immediate surroundings, enabling two trainees from the 2nd and 3rd years to undergo a 4-week placement at a logistics company in Poland.

VTL offers future-oriented training and further training: this includes the exchange of trainees between German and European partners, internal company training, high chances of being taken on at the end of the apprenticeship and the possibility to undertake dual studies following training.

Trainees in Poland

The “Mobility in Logistics” project is offered by Grümel GmbH in Fulda for trainees from Fulda and the Fulda district. This year two 2nd and 3rd year trainees from VTL took part in the programme. Following the linguistic and intercultural preparatory phase they left for Poland at the beginning of October in order to meet up with their tutor. The tutor supervised them throughout the entire four-week period and was on hand with help and advice for the apprentices.

The objective of the project is to develop the willingness to be mobile, expand intercultural knowledge and understanding for the differences in mentality as well as improving language skills. In addition, the stay abroad also helps in learning and expanding relevant professional skills, as international expertise and international experience are of increasing significance for both business and the individuals themselves.

During the course of recent months VTL has succeeded in acquiring six new partners. First up was UTi Logistik Deutschland GmbH in Mannheim, followed by VTA Logistik GmbH in Karlstein and Deutsche Transport-Compagnie Erich Bogdan GmbH & Co.KG in Nuremberg. Since autumn 2012 there have also been three new European partners on board: Delamode Balkans d.o.o. in Belgrade, Serbia, Accelerator AS in Oslo, Norway and Arco Spedizioni S.p.A. in Monza, Italy.

UTi Logistik Deutschland GmbH

Pfingstweidstraße 1

DE – 68199 Mannheim

Tel.: +49 (0)621 80396-0

Web: www.go2uti.com

Partner since 01 March 2012

Founded in 1926 as Union Transport  – 15 subsidiaries in Germany – over 500 offices and over 100 logistics centres worldwide in over 135 countries – more than 20,000 employees worldwide – areas of activity: air and sea freight, customs, warehouse and distribution, contract logistics, national and international partial and complete loads, courier and special trips, supply chain planning and optimisation/consulting.

VTA Logistik GmbH

Seligenstädter Straße 100

DE – 63791 Karlstein

Tel.: +49 (0)6188 954-2000

Web: www.vta-logistik.de

Partner since 01 April 2012

Grouped cargo distribution in the Rhine-Main district – national and international grouped cargo transport via the VTL collaboration – national and international partial and complete loads – special trip logistics – procurement logistics – warehouse logistics – hazardous goods transport.

Deutsche Transport-Compagnie Erich Bogdan GmbH & Co.KG

Donaustraße 126

D – 90451 Nürnberg

Tel.: +49 (0)911 9962-0

Web: www.dtc.de

Partner since 01 April 2012

245 employees – national coverage via daily scheduled and hub transport – 72 routes in 35 European Union countries – air and sea freight – own fleet with Euro 5 standard – 11,500 m2 transshipment area, 11,000 m2 logistics area, 4,700 m2 logistics area with high rack (7,800 storing positions on 2,700 m2 plus 2,000 m2 order picking area) – express service A, CH, F, I and TR – hazardous goods transport ADR class 1-6, 8, 9 – approx. 85,000 shipments per month.

Delamode Balkans d.o.o.

115v Bulevar Mihajla Pupina

RS – 11070 Belgrad

Tel.: +381 (0)1131 224-22

Web: www.delamode.rs

Partner since 10 September 2012

Weekly grouped cargo shipments between the western Balkan states and Hungary, Germany, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Great Britain – reliable delivery service in Serbia (24 hours) and the neighbouring western Balkan states (72 hours) – 1,500m2 warehouse on the E75 motorway with state-of-the-art infrastructure and IT – warehousing, cross docking, collection and packaging service, shipment administration – FCL and LCL shipments can be sent to and from overseas via a global sea cargo network.

Accelerator AS

Pottermakerveien 12-14

NO – 0974 Oslo

el.: +47 (0)22 9011-40

Web: www.accelerator.no

Partner since 17 September 2012

Europe-wide import and export – textile warehouse – 10,000 m3 pallet warehouse.

Arco Spedizioni S.p.A.

Via Buonarroti 203

IT – 20052 Monza

Tel.: +39 (0)39 20675-13

Web: www.arcospedizioni.com

Partner since 01 October 2012

Founded in 1974 – one of the leading freight forwarders in Italy – specialises in the transport of hazardous goods (ADR) – over 70 subsidiaries throughout Italy – headquarters in Monza, north of Milan – total warehouse area 138,000 m2, 3,200 m2 in Monza – certified to UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 – regular departures to 73 European destinations – 253 long-distance vehicles – 742 vehicles for delivery – 2,620,773 shipments per year – 624,989 t.

Numerous prizes and distinctions were awarded at this year’s VTL system meeting.

95 participants from Germany, Benelux and Switzerland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Italy came together in Luxemburg on 19 October for the annual family gathering of the Europe-wide grouped cargo collaboration. Alongside operational subjects, the focus was also upon outstanding performance and new system partners.

Award for quality goes to the Netherlands

Claassen Logistics B.V., VTL partner with headquarters in the Dutch town of Tilburg, received this year’s Best Quality prize. The specialist for distribution in the Benelux countries excelled in several quality criteria such as truck punctuality and complete information and seamless shipment tracing within the network. www.claassen.nu

Hoss Spedition is double prize winner

In 2012 the Siegburg freight forwarder Hoss won the award for the category Strongest Growth. The VTL partner shone in both 2010 and 2011 with growth of over 20 percent respectively. The double prize winner could also celebrate winning the prize for the category Highest Communications Quality. In this the jury was rewarding the comprehensive integration of the VTL media offers into the company’s own communication. www.spedition-hoss.de

Innovation prize goes to Baden-Württemberg

The prize for the category Innovation went to Spedition Otto Bächle of Villingen-Schwenningen. With this the jury was recognising the establishment of a weighing and measuring facility that guarantees the controlled management of quantities and quantitative and qualitative consignment controlling. Visible proof of the company slogan: Perfect logistics. Day after day. www.baechle-spedition.de

Award for longstanding partners

Recognition for 10 years of membership of the VTL CargoFamily went to BTG Internationale Spedition GmbH with its branches in Neuss and Frankfurt and Spedition Wüst GmbH & Co. KG with headquarters in Weissenburg, Bavaria.

VTL (Vernetzte-Transport-Logistik GmbH) has calculated its network carbon footprint (NCF) for a second time and has successfully achieved an overall reduction in its freight operation’s C0₂ emissions.

In May 2011, VTL became the first freight handling system to have a TÜV-certified CO₂ network carbon footprint, a NCF, for the calculation of which non-transportation processes, CO₂ equivalents and upstream links were also taken into account. Since August 2011, the network has also been using a standard consignment table, which contains the CargoFamily’s average figures and thus makes it possible to derive CO₂ emissions for consignments. In comparison to 2010, the NCF per consignment in 2011 has gone down by 1.14% or 0.42kg of CO₂e per consignment.

A clear improvement, namely of over 23% year on year, was achieved in the handling operations of the 4 VTL hubs, equating to 112,285 kg of CO₂e. While in 2010 the figure was still 769,477.8 kg, in 2011 with a simultaneous increase of 11.4% in consignment numbers (i.e. 146,217 consignments) it was only 657,192.8 kg of CO₂e. This more than positive result was primarily achieved through savings in electricity and reduced use of fuel gas. An equally positive effect was produced by the numerous measures to optimise the lighting, new low and high forklift trucks and optimised processes.

LOXX, GARBE Transport, barth Logistikgruppe, Hintzen Logistik and Spedition Müller are all very active in saving energy and the protection of natural resources. They have invested in energy-saving lighting, in solar power systems and ‘green building’ and are involved in environmental protection.

NordSüd Spedition and Hamacher Logistik use bivalent drive technology (diesel and gas) and Kraftverkehr Emsland monitors its vehicles’ tyre pressure using a special measuring system. VTL partners barth, Hoss and Kontinent are testing and comparing the possible use of a software-based short-distance planning programme. In parallel with this, tyre pressure sensors are in test use to gain information on further potential savings.

“We are already very pleased with what has been achieved,” says VTL Managing Director Andreas Jäschke. “However,” he explains, “through further measures that are currently being tested by us and our partners, we want and will be able to reduce CO₂ emissions still further.”

In the collection and evaluation of data and with the TÜV certification in July 2012 VTL was once again assisted by Steinbeis-Beratungszentrum Spedition und Logistik (SBZ SL) of Heilbronn.

In 2012 VTL partner Hintzen Logistik GmbH has already managed to save 73 tonnes of CO₂ , the majority via the use of new lighting technology.

This involved replacing all of the fluorescent tube lighting with LED technology and ECO tubes, leading to a 37 percent saving in electricity. In addition, intelligent presence sensors with self-learning running times were installed, enabling economical switching of the warehouse lighting. This achieved a further 22 percent saving.

Beyond this, a photovoltaic unit was also installed. This also brought success: during the day so much electricity is generated that the requirements of the administration building are fully met. In addition, the use of renewable energy contributes to a clear reduction in CO₂ – 17,100 kg per year.

The results are impressive: energy costs for the illumination of the transshipment hall were lowered by 59 percent and the combination of all measures saves a total of 73 tonnes of CO2 per year. Further information can be found at www.hintzen.de/greenlogistic.html.

The VTL partner Hintzen Logistik GmbH took part in the working group “Green Logistics I and II”. Following this meeting, which was reported in spring 2012, it was decided to take various measures in order to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Janine Breuer

Assistant of logistics

Hintzen Logistik GmbH
Hermann-Hollerith-Straße 1
D – 52249 Eschweiler

Tel.: +49 (0)2403 8785-0
eMail: janine.breuer@hintzen.de
www.hintzen.de

“We don’t talk about climate protection, we act.” TGS Spedition made this its goal. As heavy CO₂ emissions cannot be avoided in the logistics and freight forwarding sector and can only be partially reduced using new technologies and more efficient route planning, TGS Spedition began to operate active climate protection in the form of reforestation.

The search for a suitable partner proved somewhat difficult, as TGS Spedition had the following requirements:

1. The projects should be able to be realised primarily in Germany.

2. The projects should involve primary planting.

3. The projects should be implemented in a “grandchildren-friendly” manner.

The decision was ultimately taken to co-operate with Klimanko gemeinnützige GmbH, as its projects satisfied all of the requirements.

Klimanko is a non-profit-making limited company based in Munich, founded in February 2012. It set itself the goal of raising the awareness of the population regarding climate protection. To achieve this, public relations work is carried out in schools and kindergartens.

At www.klimanko.de private individuals and companies have the opportunity to calculate their own CO₂ consumption for various fields and can also find information about how CO₂ emissions can be reduced or compensated.

TGS Spedition supports Klimanko in its project in Notzinger-Moos near the river Altach. Here, on a site of over 5,000 m², the primary planting was carried out by Klimanko. The project is characterised by an optimal location with water links and is conducted in an area that has already been renaturised. White willows and ash comprise the primary planting, tree cultivation for honey locusts is already under preparation. Further information can be found at www.tgs-sped.de/gogreen.html.

Thomas Gemsjäger sen.

Managing director

Thomas Gemsjäger GmbH
Sonnenstraße 7a
D – 85764 Oberschleißheim

Tel.: +49 (0)89 1472779-0
eMail: t.gemsjaeger@tgs-sped.de
www.tgs-sped.de

Logitrans, Istanbul, 15/11-17/11/2012

According to a survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle, Turkey is in the forefront of the coming logistics markets for the next five years. More than a quarter of the Supply Chain Managers surveyed in Europe named the country in the top 3 of new logistics locations in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Logitrans – Logicity Transport Logistics Fair in Istanbul – is a trade fair for logistics and transport. Leading national and international manufacturers from the industry present new and innovative products and services. In addition, the fair also offers a perfect opportunity to strengthen existing business contacts and make new ones. VTL was there, and was able to establish contacts with potential customers and business partners and present the network in the scope of a forum.

transport logistic, Munich, 04/06-07/06/2013

Valuable contacts, future technologies, trends in the sector, growth markets and a comprehensive conference programme. In the past three decades the transport logistic has established itself as the leading global fair for logistics, mobility, IT and supply chain management: VTL will be present there with a partner stand.

Participating in the stand will be the companies Garbe Transport GmbH, Kraftverkehr Emsland GmbH, barth Spedition GmbH, Delamode with various sites, Otto Bächle GmbH and Otto Briem Speditions-GmbH.

Sebastian Giesecke, 35

“I have been employed in Quality Management at VTL since 01 May 2012. My private interests are mostly related to sports and two wheels. When the weather is fine I like to ride my bicycle or take a trip on my motorbike. When I have enough time I like to travel and I enjoy experiencing new countries and cultures.”

Ina Sachs, 41

I have been working in hub co-ordination at VTL since 18 June 2012. In my free time I am primarily a mother, taking care of my son. If I have any spare time, I spend it with our horses.”

For the first time, the contents of the NewsTrailer has been compiled by our 1st year apprentices, under the leadership of Anna-Maria Haasmann in co-operation with Herzig Marketing Kommunikation. We would like to introduce the trainees involved here:

Philipp Bausewein, 18

“After completing my Fachabitur qualifications in spring I have been training at VTL since 01 August 2012. Following several weeks in national planning operations I moved to international planning. In my free time I enjoy football, whether this is playing myself or refereeing the games of other teams. In addition, I’m also a member of the volunteer fire service in my home town of Rönshausen.”

Philomena Grosch, 20

“I also began my training at VTL on 01 August 2012, after passing my Allgemeine Hochschulreife university entrance qualifications this year. I am currently working in Quality Management but will soon be expanding my knowledge in another department. Outside of VTL I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. I relax with music. I dance and play instruments, particularly piano. My hobbies also include drawing and occasionally reading. My favourite books are thrillers.”

Anna Haasmann, 19

“In the first two months at VTL I was in the Project Management department, then on 01 October I switched to hub co-ordination. When I’m not working I like spending time with my boyfriend, reading and going riding once a week. I will complete my training at VTL in just two years, as I am offsetting my school time in the form of the Abitur qualification.”

Anne-Kathrin Olbrich, 17

“I am the youngest person at VTL, as the training as Commercial Clerk for Freight Forwarding and Logistics followed on directly from my Mittlere Reife qualifications. The job has always interested me, which is why I began my training here on 01 August. Like Philipp, I work in the Planning department, but at national level. Outside of VTL I am usually involved in sports, either handball or squash.”