IMPERIAL NEWS - Panopa

Issue 27 02/2012
ImperIal News
N E W S F O R S T A F F A N D C U S T O M E R S + + + N E W S F O R S T A F F A N D C U S T O M E R S + + + N E W S F O R S T A F F A N D C U S T O M E R S
BMW awards
Gillhuber contract
for production supply
Page 9
Provaart Logistics
transports bridge
components
Page 10
Laabs gets
new boss and
new look
Page 11

Editorial
2 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
Content 3
Dear Employees,
Dear Customers,
The economic situation in Germany in 2012 is better than forecasted at the
beginning of the year. The German economy grew by 1.7 percent in the first
quarter compared to the same period in the previous year and thus
significantly eclipsed forecasts going for only 0.7 percent annual growth.
The unemployment rate is substantially below seven percent. According to
the latest studies, Germany scores among the ten strongest and most
competitive economies in the world, leaving numerous neighbouring
European countries behind.
Exports of industrial goods are still Germany’s strength – around 60
percent of these exports go to countries of the European Union, with a
clear North-South divide as far as demand is concerned. Greece, Italy, Spain
and Portugal are declining considerably in economic growth, impairing
growth prospects in Europe accordingly. Germany’s main trade partners,
however, are Eastern Europe, our direct neighbours France and the
Netherlands as well as China with a constantly growing share.
Thus, for the IMPERIAL Logistics International Group there is no reason to
worry since export business to Asia in particular is boosting the German
economy. Our customers in the automotive industry, the mechanical and
plant engineering sector as well as the raw material processing industries
profit from this. We therefore expect good results in Europe and are
focusing on integration of the LEHNKERING Group.
There is strong agreement among the management of both companies
that the Group has to come together more closely organisationally and
even the current organisation of the IMPERIAL Logistics International
Group will undergo changes. As a consequence, LEHNKERING will become
the specialist for chemical logistics with the Road Transport, Warehousing
and Distribution and Chemical Manufacturing Divisions. The company
name will be retained.
In a further step LEHNKERING Euro Logistics and LEHNKERING Steel
Logistics will be operationally allocated to the Panopa Group in the new
financial year. The majority shareholding ALS GmbH operationally belongs
to the neska Group while the road transport enterprises Laabs and Food-
Tankers will be allocated to the LEHNKERING Group in future.
Centralisation of the Finance and Accounting, Human Resources and IT
Departments will represent a much bigger step.
Within a few months trailblazing decisions were made to forge a functioning
unit out of the very different companies of the new IMPERIAL Group.
The faster we can complete integration, the sooner we will be able to
devote ourselves witheven more strength and energy to our actual
mission, namely providing our customers with the sophisticated and profitable
services they are accustomed to.
The future success of our Group does not lie solely in the hands of a few
executives, but is decided by the employees in market competition each
and every day. Here I extensively count on your further positive commitment.
In this phase of the merger of two large corporations I would like to thank
our customers for their loyalty and trust. Especially since the IMPERIAL
Group has increased in size and we can offer a broader variety of options
in a larger number of sectors, we are confident of achieving even greater
customer satisfaction in the future.
Yours,
Gerhard Riemann
Gerhard Riemann,
Executive Director of IMPERIAL Holdings Ltd. and
Chief Executive Officer of
IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. & Co. KG
LEHNKERING and
IMPERIAL ready for
joint future
AC Q U I S I T I O N S A N D C O O P E R AT I O N S
Joint future on a solid foundation
All inland shipping activities
4
concentrated in IMPERIAL Shipping Group
6
Growth potential on the Lower Danube 7
IMPERIAL Logistics expands in Africa 7
IMPERIAL Shipping Group newsticker 7
B U S I N E S S A N D P R O J E C T D E V E L O P M E N T
Container and conventional shipments:
worldwide logistics solutions from a single source
Substantial show of confidence by BMW 9
Contract with ThyssenKrupp Veerhaven extended 9
LEHNKERING strengthens chemical logistics 10
Bridge components transported to the Netherlands 10
Investment in new extruder unit 11
L O C AT I O N S
Page 4
neska offers worldwide logistics solutions
from a single source
Page 8
Laabs: new boss and new look 11
neska newsticker 12
IMPERIAL Shipping:
Robert Baack new
Chief Operations Officer
8
P E O P L E AT I M P E R I A L
The newcomer is an old friend 12
Congratulations on 60th 12
New responsibilities at Panopa 13
Christof Marx new at Gillhuber 13
Jubilees 13
Promotions 13
E V E N T S
Page 6
LEHNKERING boosts
commitment in
chemical logistics
Page 10
IMPERIAL Logistics
augments presence on
African continent
Page 7
Success through quality and passion 14
National and international presence 14
75 years of Hansmann – bright prospects ahead
Hansmann celebrates
75th birthday with
more than 100 guests
Page 15
LEHNKERING among top companies offering traineeships 15
Publisher: IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. & Co. KG
Kasteelstrasse 2 • 47119 Duisburg
Phone +49 203 8005-0 • Fax +49 203 8005-168
E-mail: imperial@imperial-international.com
Editor: IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. & Co. KG
AD HOC Gesellschaft für Public Relations mbH
Title photo: LEHNKERING Divisions
Road Logistics & Services, Chemical Manufacturing Services
and Distribution Logistics & Services
15

Acquisitions and Cooperations
4 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
Acquisitions and Cooperations 5
approx.
€ 600 million
approx.
€ 400 million
Joint future
on a solid foundation
>> The time has come: within a few months the structures of LEHNKERING and IMPERIAL have been
coordinated to the extent that a solid foundation is now in place for a joint future. The goal was to structure the
divisions in such a way that the strengths of both corporate groups can develop freely, thus generating even greater
performance potential for the market.
LEHNKERING will therefore be integrated
into the IMPERIAL Group as an independent
division responsible for chemical
logistics. To strengthen road logistics, the
IMPERIAL activities of Laabs GmbH in Hildesheim,
Germany and FoodTankers AB in Karlshamn,
Sweden will be part of the LEHNKERING
Division in future. At the same time LEHNKERING
Steel Logistics and LEHNKERING Euro Logistics
will form a unit together with the matching
activities of the Panopa Divisions. The only port
handling company at LEHNKERING, the majority
shareholding in ALS in Duisburg, will
expand the portfolio of the port terminals of
the neska Group in future. LEHNKERING’s
shipping activities were combined with the
activities of IMPERIAL Reederei to form the
IMPERIAL Shipping Group in the past months.
More on this in the article on page 6.
approx.
€ 390 million
As of July 1, 2012, the LEHNKERING Division
will be headed by current Managing Directors
Uwe Willhaus, Dr. Bernd Müller and Walter Steinig.
Gerhard Riemann will step down from his
office and take over as Chairman of the
Supervisory Board, which shall be reconstituted.
Uwe Willhaus will take over as Chairman of the
Management Board of LEHNKERING GmbH and
will also be appointed to the Management Board
of IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. & Co. KG.
Besides his function as CFO, Walter Steinig will
additionally become a member of the Management
Board of Panopa Logistik GmbH and also
take over the CFO function for the Panopa
Group. Moreover, he will be deputy to Thomas
Schulz in the latter’s function as Group CFO.
Thomas Schulz will additionally be CFO in the
neska and IMPERIAL Shipping Divisions, a
position that is currently vacant.
approx.
€ 210 million
The organisational chart shows the current structure of the group and sales of the individual divisions.
approx.
€ 60 million
approx.
€ 4 million
To create clear structures in terms of administration
as well, LEHNKERING Holding GmbH
will be merged into LEHNKERING GmbH. Independent
of the acquisition of the LEHNKERING
Group, IMPERIAL already centralised the
Human Resources and Accounting Departments
in the IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. &
Co. KG as of January 1, 2012.
The key advantages of the centralisation are
that employees can be assigned more flexibly
in larger units, replacement can be effected
more easily and the know-how of the
employees can be utilised better. In addition, it
is possible to make all relevant procedures
more process- and service-oriented. The employees
from the Human Resources and
Accounting Departments of the LEHNKERING
Group will also be integrated into the central
departments.
In future Wolfgang Kortus
will head the Human
Resources Department as
Director Human Resources
and Labour Law. He will be
assisted by Raimund
Vollmer, Head of Human Resources. The lawyers
Rainer Wüstenfeld and Marcus Bastian will join
IMPERIAL’s existing Legal Department headed
by Tobias Vogt. Rainer Wüstenfeld has also
been designated as Assistant Manager under
Tobias Vogt and will additionally become head
of the newly created central Compliance and
Corporate Governance Department. The physical
fusion in the respective central Human
Resources, Accounting and Legal Departments
will be implemented in the coming months.
At the moment a team headed by Uwe
Willhaus is examining the extent to which
organisational amalgamation of the various IT
departments could increase performance
potential. Carsten Taucke, CEO of the IMPERIAL
Uwe Willhaus Dr. Bernd Müller Walter Steinig
Shipping Group, is developing an appropriate
concept for the future alignment of Marketing
and Purchasing in cooperation with the other
divisions.
The work on the concept has already confirmed
that the two corporate groups fit in well together.
Deviations from the basic alignment have not
occured anywhere and both sides appear to
think in a very similar way. The best example
and evidence of this consensus was the
in-house trade show in Duisburg at the end of
March, 2012. Executives of all companies had
the opportunity of getting to know eachother
better. At the end Gerhard Riemann summarised:
“The in-house trade show as an internal contact
exchange was a complete success. It was
LEHNKERING will be integrated into the IMPERIAL Group as an independent division responsible for chemical logistics.
important for us to communicate
our philosophy to the
new employees so they feel
comfortable with it sooner.
Above all, however, we wanted
to show that IMPERIAL is
interested in the people and how they work together
– even though we operate under different
brands.”
Executives from middle to top management,
project staff as well as employees from the
central departments of IMPERIAL Logistics
International were invited to the in-house trade
show. Altogether more than 250 participants
from the IMPERIAL Shipping Group, the
Panopa, neska and LEHNKERING Group as well
as from Brouwer Shipping & Chartering GmbH
and Regent Insurance Brokers (Europe) GmbH
met at Haniel Academy in Duisburg.
The ideas and contacts developed jointly during
the in-house trade show can now be implemented
in daily work – and all signs point to success.

Acquisitions and Cooperations
6 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
Acquisitions and Cooperations 7
All inland shipping activities concentrated
in IMPERIAL Shipping Group
>> In the course of acquisition of the LEHNKERING Reederei, IMPERIAL Reederei GmbH incorporated
the newly added inland shipping activities into the group and restructured the division. For this purpose the former
IMPERIAL Reederei Group was moulded into IMPERIAL Shipping Group under the management of IMPERIAL Shipping
Holding GmbH.
Reederei has pronounced
competence in the inland shipping
“IMPERIAL
sector and is the market leader in
Europe. For this reason it made sense to combine
the two shipping divisions into a single
operating unit,” explains Carsten Taucke, Chief
Executive Officer of the new IMPERIAL
Shipping Group. “This benefits the customers
of both companies, who profit from the extended
offerings and a broader service portfolio.”
Organisationally the new corporate structure
is now divided into five divisions altogether.
Three of them, the operational segments comprising
Dry Bulk Services, Chartering Services
and Liquid Cargo Services, are concentrated in
IMPERIAL Shipping Services GmbH – formerly
IMPERIAL Schiffahrt GmbH now operating
under the new company name. Parallel to that,
the former IMPERIAL Reederei & Spedition
GmbH was also merged into IMPERIAL
Shipping Services GmbH, effective as of
1 March 2012, and is thus completely dissolved.
The fourth pillar is the Short Sea & Special
Robert Baack (63), the new Chief Operations Officer of the
IMPERIAL Shipping Group, was responsible for the Shipping
Logistics & Services (SLS) Division in his function as Managing
Director at LEHNKERING since 2009. His professional career
started initially as Controller at the Hamburg-Süd Group in
Hamburg.
In 1979 the business administration graduate then joined the
management team at Carl Robert Eckelmann AG only to return
to the Hamburg-Süd Group in 1983. There he assumed various
areas of responsibility up to 1999 – including a stint in the US
Robert Baack
where, as a member of the Management Board at Columbus
Line USA Inc., Jersey City for 13 years, he played a key role in the development of the company.
His last position, still in Jersey City, was Deputy Managing Director on the Management
Board of Hamburg-Süd.
In 1999 Robert Baack was then appointed to the Management Board of Carl Robert Eckelmann
AG, Hamburg. After this position – from 2003 until he joined LEHNKERING – he was
spokesman of the Management Boards at Odratrans S.A., Breslau and Deutsche Binnenreederei
AG, Berlin.
Services Division, in which five of the 24 subsidiaries
cover all services relating to coastal
shipping as well as heavy-lift and project
logistics. The corporate structure is rounded off
by the Admin Services Division, which encompasses
Strategy, Marketing, Controlling and IT.
By integrating LEHNKERING’s activities, the
IMPERIAL Shipping Group has further expanded
its leading position in the Europe inland
shipping sector with current annual sales of approx.
600 million euros, a transport capacity of
more than 60 million tons and a fleet of approx.
700 company-owned and chartered vessels. The
company is headed by Carsten Taucke as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) and Robert Baack as
Chief Operations Officer (COO).
The Management Board of the IMPERIAL
Shipping Group is rounded off by Andreas
Grzib, Jürgen Helten and Dr. Roland Pütz.
The Management Board of IMPERIAL Shipping
Services GmbH has been boosted to include
Thomas Küpper and Roberto Spranzi, who previously
worked as Managing Directors at
IMPERIAL Reederei & Spedition GmbH.
Growth potential
on the Lower Danube
>> To further expand its Danube activities, primarily
on the Lower Danube, the IMPERIAL Shipping Group has acquired 49
percent of the shares in the Bulgarian shipping company Rubiships
Shipowners, Brokers & Agents, headquartered in Ruse: “Our West European
clients, especially in the agricultural sector, have motivated us to a
commitment in the Black Sea region,” says Roberto Spranzi, Managing
Director of IMPERIAL Austria GmbH. Even before acquisition of the shareholding
the two companies worked closely together for three years:
“The present participation offers great growth potential, particularly in
Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. We can network the services better in future
and operate as a single solution partner,” emphasises Peter Jedlicka,
Chairman of the Board at MULTINAUT Donaulogistik GmbH, a subsidiary
of the IMPERIAL Shipping Group, headquartered in Vienna. He and Robert
Radoslavov round off the Rubiships Management Board.
Want to jointly boost growth potential on the Lower Danube (from
left): Robert Radoslavov (Managing Director of Rubiships LTD), Peter
Jedlicka (Managing Director of MULTINAUT Donaulogistik GmbH)
and Roberto Spranzi (Managing Director of IMPERIAL Austria GmbH).
The Joint Venture Buss IMPERIAL Logistics
GmbH & Co. KG got off to a successful start.
“We managed to put together an efficient team
that guarantees smooth continuation of the
previous port cargo handling operations,”
Location Manager Ehrenfried Reemer is pleased
to say about the successful launch. The joint
venture established by former IMPERIAL
Reederei, Duisburg, and Buss Ports, Hamburg,
operates the plant port of Hüttenwerke Krupp-
Mannesmann (HKM) in Duisburg-Huckingen
with 65 employees.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IMPERIAL BARIS GmbH has expanded its
chartering services for special tonnage in
the heavy-lift segment and stationed the
ro-ro push barge “Europa 1” in Magdeburg for
operations in the eastern river and canal
system. “Our objective here is to meet the
rising needs of the market for ro-ro equipment
in the Elbe, Oder and in particular Berlin region
and broaden the range of services offered by
IMPERIAL BARIS in international heavy-lift and
project logistics,” explains Managing Director
Ralf Maehmel. The push barge has a 64 metre
long and 8.44 metre wide cargo hold and a
load capacity of 1,780 tons.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The IMPERIAL Shipping Group presented itself
at the logistics exchange in Duisburg as an attractive
employer offering traineeships.
Under the motto “Staying on the move”
numerous logistics companies introduced
IMPERIAL Logistics
expands in Africa
>> IMPERIAL Logistics is increasing its presence and footprint
on the African continent. In pursuing this goal, the South African
logistics specialist has acquired the international, cross border transporter
IJ Snyman Transport, an established carrier that operates in Angola, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
Known for cross-border delivery efficiencies, Snyman strengthens the
Group’s African presence and capacity. Furthermore, the logistics provider
has acquired a majority stake in Kings Transport. This load consolidation
business, with its 80 year track record, strengthens the ability of IMPERIAL
Logistics to service customers that move less than full truck loads from
source to market. Through these two acquisitions IMPERIAL Logistics continues
its course of expansion in Africa. “Growth into Africa will mainly be
driven by selective acquisitions and following our customer base into the
continent,” Marius Swanepoel, CEO of IMPERIAL Logistics, justifies this step.
imperial shipping group newsticker +++ imperial shipping group newsticker +++ imp
themselves to interested visitors there and provided
information on employment and career
opportunities. Qualified staff is in demand more
than ever nowadays in view of the demographic
trend. That is why the Federal Employment
Agency hosted this event. Many young people
took advantage of the opportunity to find out
more about the wide variety of offerings.

8
Business and Project Development
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
Container and conventional shipments:
worldwide logistics solutions from a single source
>> neska’s Düsseldorf branch office offers the entire chain of logistics services for container and
conventional shipments in both the export and import segment – starting with loading and extending from precarriage
and customs clearance all the way to discharge in the country of destination.
Whether palletised goods, paper products,
steel goods or bulk cargo like
ferrochrome and ore – neska’s
Düsseldorf branch office provides international
transport from a single source. “We are able
to offer the complete range of services thanks
to access to the entire expertise available in
the neska Group,” explains authorized signatory
Frank Tittel. “Our advantages over larger
competitors include a well functioning international
network and the comprehensive
service we offer our customers.”
For clients in the paper or steel industry the
staff members of the “Shipping and Freight
Forwarding for National and International
Shipments” department organise both the
actual transport via seagoing vessel (scheduled
and charter) as well as pre-carriage and postcarriage
via inland vessel, truck and rail. Fiscal
representations and worldwide storage capacities
offer the possibility for neska to load the
goods in the country of origin, ship them,
discharge them at the port of destination, clear
them through customs, store them or transport
them to the inland routes as required. The advantage
for the client is that a fixed contact
person is always available to take care of the
actual transport as
well as all formalities.
Breaks in
communication
between different
service providers
and costly delays
are thus ruled out.
The know-how
and close coope-
Frank Tittel
ration with the
on-site partners make even door-to-door shipments
from China and Thailand to Saudi Arabia
possible.
To make even more efficient use of the
established international contacts in the
IMPERIAL Group, too, neska will focus more
intensively on so-called cross trade, i.e. binational
imports and exports, in the future. “We
are primarily focusing on reciprocal flows of
goods between the Far East and Saudi Arabia,
Germany and Brazil as well as Germany and
Turkey,” states Frank Tittel.
On behalf of its customers, neska shipped 6,000
TEU to and from South America, South Africa,
Saudi Arabia, the Mediterranean, China and the
Far East last year. A total tonnage of 170,000
tons was moved using all means of transportation.
Frank Tittel: “And the international
markets are showing continued growth.”
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 Business and Project Development 9
Substantial show of confidence by BMW
>> Gillhuber Logistik GmbH has been contracted by the BMW Group to handle just-in-time and just-insequence
(JIT/JIS) supply for its automobile plants in Bavaria and Saxony. The placement of this exceptionally sensitive order
is another substantial show of confidence in the long-standing cooperation of the two partners.
March of this year we have
been supplying the required
“Since
production parts directly from the
truck to the line or in precise sequence to the
production process,” so Christof Marx, head of
Transport Organisation Division at Gillhuber.
Every day Gillhuber in Neufahrn additionally
provides approx. 220 complete loads, which
have to be transported from the various
suppliers all over Germany to BMW’s Bavarian
plants in Munich, Landshut, Dingolfing, Regensburg
and Wackersdorf as well as to Leipzig
in Saxony. Around 50 trucks – both companyowned
and contractor-supplied – are employed
for the routes that vary from less than 100 kilometres
to over 500 kilometres. “For JIT/JIS
supply to BMW production in Leipzig, for
instance, we utilise the competence of our
affiliate Hansmann,” explains Christof Marx.
In the automotive industry JIT/JIS logistics processes
are required when extremely varied and,
at times, large-volume components have to be
provided for final assembly of the vehicles
because production using, in many cases,
thousands of different variants of a component
in stock would be too expensive. At the same
time JIT/JIS supply to production is a highly sensitive
field for car manufactures since time plays
a particularly crucial role. Christof Marx: “We
have to keep the timelines of BMW 100 percent.”
For this reason BMW, Gillhuber and the suppliers
jointly discussed the respective route fact sheets
right from the preliminary phase of the order
and precisely specified, for example, the truck
volume and defined the time slots at the loading
ramps. However, Gillhuber is also prepared for
unforeseen circumstances – whether unplanned
urgent needs or a possible technical defect on a
truck.
“Just in case, we keep standby vehicles available
at central points,” says Christof Marx. “So
we can respond quickly and flexibly and meet
the time specifications even in the case of
fault.” Thus far, the transport and logistics
specialist has accomplished this 100 percent.
Contract with ThyssenKrupp
Veerhaven extended
>> IMPERIAL Shipping Services GmbH continues its
cooperation on a basis of trust over many years with shipping company
ThyssenKrupp Veerhaven B.V. For this purpose the two companies have
extended their employment contract by another four years to the end of 2015.
“This ensures operation of two push boats and 20 push barges on a longterm
basis,” states Managing Director Dr. Roland Pütz, who is responsible for
this segment at IMPERIAL Shipping Services GmbH. All push boats annually
transport together with Veerhaven 20 to 25 million tons of iron ore and coal
for steel production at ThyssenKrupp Steel between the ARA ports and the
plant’s Schwelgern port in northern Duisburg.
The push boats transport 20 to 25 million tons of iron ore and coal a year
for steel production at ThyssenKrupp Steel.

10
Business and Project Development
LEHNKERING strengthens chemical logistics
>> LEHNKERING
continues to expand its involvement
in chemical logistics. LEHNKERING
Chemical Transport (LCT), which is
part of the Road Logistics & Services
(RLS) Division, already recorded
strong growth in the past years. It
aims to continue on this course in
the future through targeted further
strategic development of chemical
logistics and, in particular, chemical
transports.
Hans van den Bosch (l.) and Steffen Bauer
LCT’s growth is also reflected by a new
management structure: Steffen Bauer (32)
has bolstered the management team of
the Chemical Transport Division since the end
of February. As Operational Managing Director,
he is responsible for strategic development of
the division while Hans van den Bosch (50),
who joined the LCT management back in 2008,
is in charge of commercial management.
Steffen Bauer, who studied and received a
degree in business administration, has held
various positions at LEHNKERING since
February 2004. Most recently he was Assistant
of the LEHNKERING Holding Management.
“The expansion was necessary because of the
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
size the company has now attained,” emphasises
Uwe Willhaus, a member of the LEHNKERING
Holding GmbH Management Board and responsible
for the RLS Chemical Transport Division,
among other things. “The broad management
base enables us to actively further extend
our activities and exploit the growth opportunities
that arise in the best way possible.”
LCT offers its customers tailored and productspecific
logistics solutions for liquid chemical
products and is specialised in Europe-wide
shipments of hazardous goods via road tankers.
The company transports, for example, acids and
bases as well as special products, such as liquid
sulphur, solvents and liquid waste.
Bridge components transported to the Netherlands
>> In its final form it will
be 600 metres long and 13 metres high. The
reference is to the new four-lane
bridge over the Ramsgeul, a
branch of the IJsselmeer. Provaart
Logistics B.V. transports the concrete
parts for it. Work started in
the second half of January when
the subsidiary of the IMPERIAL
Shipping Group transported 42
components having a length of 50
metres and a weight of 150 tons
each. The four push barges employed
for this purpose were
loaded and discharged twice on
the 210 kilometre long route from
Oosterhout near Breda via Wilhel-
minakanaal, Amer, Dordtsche Kil, Noord, Lek,
Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal, Markermeer, IJssel-
A total of 210 concrete components weighing tons are necessary for construction
of the 600 meter long bridge. Provaart Logistics B.V. handles the transport.
meer and Ramsdiep to Rampsol near Zwolle.
Since the heavy concrete elements could only
be supported in the front and
rear section of the push barges,
individual sections of the push
barges were pumped full of
water for stabilisation purposes.
In April delivery of another 84
pieces followed with three motor
vessels while the third and last
shipment of 84 components is
planned for summer.
The bridge over the Ramsgeul is part
of national road 50, which links
the two Dutch cities of Zwolle and
Emmeloord to each other. It is to
replace the old two-lane bridge.
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 Business and Project Development 11
Investment in new extruder unit
>> Schirm GmbH, part of the Chemical Manufacturing Services (CMS) Division of the LEHNKERING
Group, is investing around a million euros in a new extruder unit at the Wolfenbüttel location. Using this machine,
which looks like a huge meat grinder, the company plans to produce highly active plant protection agents on behalf
of the chemical industry in future.
So-called extrusion is a method for processing
fine powder into granulate. In
this process the powder is first ground
very fine and then mixed with water and aggregate
to form a viscous mass. This mass is
The machine in Wolfenbüttel, which is
slated to go into operation in December,
will look like the laboratory extruder in
this photo.
then pressed through a perforated plate in the
extruder unit forming approx. one centimetre
long rods that are dried and filled into sacks,
bags and other trading units. “The product
extruded in this way is extensively dust-free. If
you put it in water, it quickly breaks down into
its primary powder particles, which then unfold
their effect,” Project Manager Dr. Hagen Kniep
explains the advantages of the process.
“Extrusion is frequently used for the production
of plant protection agents.”
Implementation of the project, which also includes
construction of an upstream ultra-fine
grinding facility, started back in February. Employees
of Schirm GmbH are responsible for the
planning. Commissioning is scheduled in
December. “With the new extruder unit at the
Wolfenbüttel location the Schirm Group will
meet the increasing demand for extruder
Laabs: new boss and new look
granulate and continue to share in growth in
the market,” states Dr. Dieter Schustolla, head
of the CMS plant in Wolfenbüttel. The CMS
Division produces plant protection agents and
fine chemicals as a contract manufacturer at
four locations in Germany and one in the US.
>> April showers bring May flowers, as the saying goes. Laabs GmbH, an affiliated company of neska
Schiffahrts- und Speditionskontor GmbH, was an early bird, however, and came up with new flowers already in April. On
the one hand, Jürgen Lenz became managing director of the tank logistics specialist in Hildesheim. On the other hand,
the company revamped its logo.
Jürgen Lenz
has been
working for
Laabs since 1993
and was appointed
authorized signatory
in 1997.
As managing
director, he
replaces Dieter
Jürgen Lenz
Kahns, who retired
from the company after 23 years of service.
In his new function Jürgen Lenz is responsible
for around 150 employees. He sees his main
task in strengthening the company on its
growth course on a long-term basis. “We are
on the right track,” the managing director
emphasises. The list of clients who contribute
to the company’s development includes the
British oil corporation BP, the special chemicals
enterprise Hansen & Rosenthal in Hamburg, the
industrial lubricant manufacturer Petrofer in
Hildesheim as well as food producers Bahlsen,
Krüger and Cargill, for whom Laabs transports
sensitive liquids.
The dried granulate will be filled into sacks
and bags. Dissolved in water, it breaks
down into powder particles that unfold
their effect as plant protection agents.
Locations
Jürgen Lenz was born in Hildesheim and describes
himself as “steadfast and rooted to the
soil like the Lower Saxons”. The 51-year-old is
married and the father of two grownup
children. After work he likes to ride around the
region on his large scooter.
Parallel to the change in managing director,
Laabs modified the corporate logo. The black
lettering of the company name became blue
and was brought into line with the colours of
the IMPERIAL Logistics International Group. The
revised logo is not only found on the company’s
business paper and website, but also on its
vehicles, which additionally display the wordpicture
brand “We are IMPERIAL”. The first of
the 150 tanker trucks have already been redesigned.
The rest will follow by spring 2013.

Locations
12 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
People at IMPERIAL 13
neska newsticker +++ neska newsticker +++ neska newsticker +++ neska newsticker +++
The shuttle train connection between the
Krefelder Container Terminal (KCT) operated
by neska intermodal and Mortara in
northern Italy was launched in January 2012.
The train provided by Dutch rail operator
Shuttlewise runs on this section five times a
week. Capacity utilisation is currently around
90 percent.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pohl & Co. GmbH in Berlin, which belongs to
neska Group, has been operating as the
in-house logistics provider for Tetra Pak
GmbH & Co. KG for ten years. That was celebrated
fittingly on 1 April. Both partners agree
that the many years of commitment are proof
The newcomer is
an old friend
>> Richard Schroeter has been
bolstering the expanded management team
at neska Schiffahrts- und Speditionskontor
GmbH in Duisburg since 1 January 2012. This
marks the return of an old friend since
Richard Schroeter was after his training as a
freight forwarding specialist at Haniel Spedition
in Cologne part of the neska family back in
the period from 1990 to 1996 – that time his
last position was Deputy Manager of the
Richard Schroeter
Cologne branch. After working in the cathedral
city, the now married father of a family held various positions at such
companies as Krupp Shipping and J.H. Bachmann that took him to Japan,
Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Today, at the age of 47, he is an avid
triathlete. His great goal: the Iron Man over the full distance. Richard
Schroeter is thus well acquainted with endurance and ambitious goals.
of how well they work together in carrying out
the complex processes involved in manufacturing
food packaging.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
neska in Mannheim has opened a new
logistics warehouse in Edingen-Neckarhausen.
It manages the building on behalf of
its client, Jungbunzlauer Ladenburg GmbH, a
leading worldwide manufacturer of naturally
based ingredients for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical
and cosmetic industry. For Jungbunzlauer
neska takes care of storage, cargo
handling and shipment of citric acid on an area
of 4,500 square metres.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Provided the cartel office gives its approval,
establishment of European Bulk Hub (EBH),
headquartered in Duisburg, will be implemented
as of 1 July. The managing directors of the
new company are Ralf Kirion from CTS
Container-Terminal GmbH in Cologne, which is
part of neska Group, and Michael Pütz from
Karl Schmidt Spedition.
Pohl & Co. GmbH, which belongs to neska
Group and has branch offices in Hamburg, Berlin,
Dresden and Cologne, has received the
F (Full) version of the certificate as an
“Authorised Economic Operator”, or AEO
for short. The company is thus considered to be
a reliable member of the international supply
chain.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The two large steel bandsaws that went into
operation in August 2011 are running at full
speed at neska in Düsseldorf. This supplementary
service is a further successful step on
the way from a cargo handling enterprise to a
full service provider.
People at IMPERIAL
Congratulations on 60th
>> Heinz Bartels had
every reason to celebrate as the
Chairman of the neska Management
Board turned 60 at the end of April.
On this occasion he invited his closest
staff members and colleagues to a
little drink at a restaurant in Duisburg
with a view of the Rhine. Heinz Bartels
was not only delighted about the
many birthday wishes, but also about
the very personal gifts the guests had
brought with them. Together with the
well-wishers he drank a glass of
champagne to his 60th birthday.
New responsibilities at Panopa
Christian
Boschner
Michael
Günschmann
>> Several staff changes
at Panopa Logistik GmbH:
Christian Boschner has taken over as manager
of the Bischofsheim location, where Panopa
operates an automatic wheel mounting facility.
Since 2008 the 33-year-old has been working
for the company in different functions. He
started at the Supply in Line Sequence Centre
in Ginsheim, initially as shift manager and then
as head of operational logistics. Most recently
the qualified industrial manager was branch
manager there and took over the position of
assistant manager in Bischofsheim. Christian
Boschner succeeds Michael Günschmann,
the new location manager at the Electrical
Steel Logistics Centre in Bochum. The latter
joined Panopa in 1996 and had already held
executive positions in Bochum and Eisenach
before he transferred to Bischofsheim in 2002.
From there the now 51-year-old helped to build
up the Ginsheim location, seven kilometres
away, where Panopa, just like in Bischofsheim,
works for Opel in Rüsselsheim. In Ginsheim
Axel Winekenstädde has taken over as location
manager. The master mechanical engineering
technician sees his main function in further
developing business relations to Opel as a
Axel
Winekenstädde
Ömer
Kurutlu
Kinga
Odrzywolska
major client. Prior to joining Panopa, the 48year-old
was employed at Stute, a logistics provider
in Bremen, where he worked as branch
manager in Bad Kreuznach and Edenkoben and
as process engineer for seven locations in
Germany.
The new location manager at the Steel Logistics
Centre in Bochum is Ömer Kurutlu. The now
43-year-old started working for Panopa at the
Spare Parts Logistics Centre in 1999 and then in
2000 transferred to Bochum, where he was initially
employed as foreman, later as a member
of the commercial staff and most recently as
assistant location manager. Ömer Kurutlu replaces
Jürgen Weinbörner, who has retired. The
Steel Logistics Centre in Bochum released 1.2
million tons of steel from stock last year.
Kinga Odrzywolska has been head of Quality
Management at Panopa Logistik Polska since
the beginning of the year. She started there as
assistant to the Management Board in 2000.
A year later the now 37-year-old transferred to
the Quality Management Department. In 2007
she became QM Department Manager for the
Poznań location. In her new function she is
now responsible for the quality management
at all Panopa Logistik Polska locations.
Christof Marx new at Gillhuber
>> Christof Marx has taken over management
of the Transport Organisation Division at Gillhuber Logistik GmbH in
Neufahrn. The 42-year-old sees his function primarily in expanding
existing business with key accounts in the automotive sector and
winning over additional shipments and segments. Prior to taking on
the new position, Christof Marx headed the Hamburg branch office
of DB Schenker subsidiary TRANSA and was responsible for international
transport development. His predecessor, Rainer Vosbeck, now
heads the Operational Logistics Division for Mechanical and Plant
Engineering as company officer at Panopa in Herten. Christof Marx
J U B I L E E S
CONGRATULATIONS TO
IMPERIAL Shipping Group
25 years of service
Wim Kwakernaak, WIJGULA Wijnhoff &
Van Gulpen & Larsen B.V., Druten
Panopa Group
30
25 years of service
Jörg Bäumer, Panopa, Krefeld
Anja Buch, Panopa, Herten
Hüseyin Koc, Panopa, Bochum EBLZ
neska Group
25 years of service
Uwe Cobarg, Laabs, Hildesheim
Manfred Heinen, RRT Duisburg
35 years of service
Dieter Hladky, dbt Duisburg
35
Michael Wittmann, neska, Köln
IMPERIAL
Logistics International
25 years of service
Dorothea Lux, Duisburg
The jubilees of LEHNKERING Group
will be published in the next issue.
P R O M O T I O N S
CONGRATULATIONS TO
neska Schiffahrts- und
Speditionskontor GmbH
Michael Kleifges and Andreas Stolte
became Company Officers with commercial
power of attorney for the neska headquarters
in Duisburg as of 1 January 2012 and
are thus members of the extended Management
Board along with Richard Schroeter.
Effective as of 1 January 2012, Joachim
Hagemann became Company Officer with
commercial power of attorney for the neska
branch office in Düsseldorf and uct Umschlag
Container Terminal GmbH in Dormagen.
Timo Hagenbach from neska’s Mannheim
branch received commercial power of
attorney as of 1 January 2012.
IMPERIAL Shipping Group
Dennis Bentmann from WGL Tankschiffahrt
GmbH in Duisburg has had commercial
power of attorney since 1 January 2012.
Matthias Krizak from WIJGULA Wijnhoff &
Van Gulpen & Larsen B.V. in Druten also
received commercial power of attorney as
of 1 January 2012.

14
Events
Success through
quality and passion
>> “The 2010/2011 financial year developed
positively for our corporate group and closed above target.”
Rüdiger Buß, Chairman of the Management Board at Panopa
Logistik GmbH, conveyed this bottom line of success to
around 100 executives at the company’s 21st Annual
Meeting.
For the current financial year, too, he is
confident that the good development will
continue – not least because of the
numerous new orders and contract extensions
already obtained from existing customers.
Thomas Hüttemann (l.) and Rüdiger Buß
were among the first who put their handprints
on paper.
>> During transport logistic
China IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. &
Co. KG presented trade visitors a varied range
of services, which has been extended thanks to
the LEHNKERING acquisition, at a joint stand in
the German country pavilion. “The Chinese
logistics market is booming and gaining increasing
significance. That’s why we targeted
Shanghai in setting up our first location here,”
so Gerhard Riemann, Chairman of the Management
Board at IMPERIAL Logistics International,
explains the background of the
expansion. Altogether around 480 companies,
100 of them alone Chinese exhibitors, were represented
in Shanghai.
At the panel discussion on the topic “When
will the BRICS states overtake the G8?”, which
In the first quarter of
2012, for example,
Panopa took charge of
central spare parts
logistics for one of the
largest distributions in construction and material
handling equipment in Europe. Further
business was generated internationally as well,
especially in Poland and Hungary.
However, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels, says
Rüdiger Buß. In the future, too, the company
should continue to achieve its goals with quality
and passion, both values that characterise
Panopa today. To communicate this self-image
visibly to the public, the motto “Quality and
Passion“ was presented to the participants for
the first time as the new corporate slogan at
the Annual Meeting. The executives demonstrated
their approval in form of a joint handprint
under the new motto.
National and international presence
also examined growth
in China, Jürgen
Hasler, Head of Corporate
Development at
IMPERIAL Logistics
International, pointed
out the importance of
functioning and highquality
logistics for the
success of a region like
North Rhine-Westphalia
(NRW) and its companies.
The platform for discussions was the
first Foreign Trade Day in NRW in May at the
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in
Essen. The participants in the conference,
initiated for the first time by the Foreign Trade
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012
Quality and passion: The picture with the new claim and handprints in
company colours will be made available to all locations of the Panopa
Group. In the future, too, the company should continue to achieve its
goals with quality and passion.
The focus for the future is on a sustainable increase
in customer satisfaction and earnings,
development of new markets as well as
promotion of employee satisfaction and qualifications.
Of equal importance to the executives are
continuous improvement of the level of quality,
more efficiency in occupational safety and
active environmental protection measures.
Based on its combined strength and the good
results of the past financial year, all signs at
Panopa point to further success.
Jürgen Hasler (l.) during the panel discussion with representatives
from industry, politics, associations and press.
Association of North Rhine-Westphalia, included
personalities from industry, politics and
associations and trade unions. The event was
supported, among others, by IMPERIAL
Logistics International as a platinum sponsor.
IMPERIAL NEWS 02/2012 Events 15
75 years of Hansmann – bright prospects ahead
>> The guests were quite astonished when three “Hansmann employees” rocked the stage at the Phaeno in
Wolfsburg with musically garnished anecdotes from 75 years of company history. However, the trio didn’t come from the
company’s own ranks, but belonged to Hamburg’s Scharlatan Theater ensemble that entertained the over 100 invited
anniversary guests with a humorous journey through time.
The Scharlatan Theater ensemble entertained the more
than 100 invited guests with a humorous journey
through Hansmann’s 75-year company history.
Heinrich Hansmann founded the transport
enterprise in Wolfsburg-Ehmen with
26,000 reichsmarks 75 years ago and
thus laid the foundation for the present corporate
group. One of the original clients is Volkswagen
AG, for which Hansmann supplied the
stones for setting up the plant. “Hansmann has
been tied to Volkswagen since then and we presume
the company will continue to support us,”
said Thomas Zernechel, head of Volkswagen
Group Logistics, who recalled the beginnings of
LEHNKERING among top companies offering traineeships
>> LEHNKERING numbers
among the most successful companies offering
traineeships in Germany. In the knowledge competition
Best Trainee in 2012 held by the journal
“Verkehrsrundschau” the logistics specialist ranked
13th among more than 200 companies. Every year
the publication tests the know-how of prospective
junior freight forwarding and logistics managers
in eight rounds of ten multiple choice
questions each. The results form the basis for
the ranking of the best companies. “Our ranking
shows once again the importance we attach to
the in-house training programme,” Human
Resources Manager Rainer Wüstenfeld is pleased
to say about the company’s successful performance.
Currently LEHNKERING employs 141
trainees in twelve training occupations.
the cooperation.
The company’s history offered the
actors from Scharlatan Theater plenty
of material for their journey through
time. It extended from the introduction
of the IT system in the 1970s
to the change of generation when
Bernd Hansmann took over the company
in 1988 right through to
extension of the range of services in
the 1990s – a varied show that not
only came across well with intelligent
comedy, but also provided the
opportunity of wallowing in
memories.
The well-wishers included Ehmen’s Mayor Peter
Kassel and Bernd Albrecht, Vice President of the
Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Lüneburg-Wolfsburg.
The latter presented Hansmann
Managing Director Helmut Schniederjohann
with a certificate of honour from the Chamber
of Industry and Commerce and recalled Bernd
Hansmann’s commitment to initial and professional
development. Rüdiger Buß, Chairman
of the Board at Panopa Logistik GmbH, put it in
a nutshell: “Hansmann is a treasure trove – full
of reliability, flexibility and quality consciousness.”
The Wolfsburg enterprise has been complementing
Panopa’s portfolio in the automotive
logistics segments for four years. And this
success story will continue. Gerhard Riemann,
CEO of the parent company, IMPERIAL Logistics
Engaged in conversation (from the left):
Thomas Zernechel, head of Volkswagen Group
Logistics, Rüdiger Buß, Chairman of the Panopa
Management Board, and Helmut Schniederjohann,
Managing Director of Hansmann.
International, is convinced of that: “In the
future, too, the name Hansmann will stand for
top quality, solid market success and tailored
logistics services for the automobile and supplier
industry.”
15 prospective junior managers for freight forwarding and logistics, who are completing their
training at LEHNKERING in Duisburg, took part in the competition. Among them were (rear,
from left): Marius Lindenbeck, Stefan Floryszczak, Dominik Sainer, Lea Kostansek, Dennis Ewert,
Tim Janoschek, Patrick Buse and Carina Demmer; (front, from left): Svenja Becker, Mohamed
Zrikih and Maria Eshrati. The following are not in the photo: Klaus Kümmel, Randi Baum, Laura
Schmithüsen and Christoph Niemczek. They took part in the competition too.

IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. & Co. KG
Kasteelstrasse 2
47119 Duisburg
Phone +49 203 8005-0
Fax +49 203 8005-168
E-mail: imperial@imperial-international.com