LogisticsPEOPLE

LogisticsPEOPLE
01/2014
Stability
in a Changing World
16
26
32
Interview
Attractive for Local
and Global Customers
Rhenus and Western Arya set up a joint venture in India
Sectors
Not A One-Way Street
A well-functioning recycling management system
requires efficient logistics concepts
Cities
Barcelona – Vibrant Port City
on the Mediterranean Coast
A dynamic business centre with Mediterranean flair

CONTENTS 01/2014
26
08 32
Not A One-Way Street
A well-functioning recycling management
system requires efficient logistics concepts
Stability in a Changing World Barcelona – Vibrant Port City on the Mediterranean Coast
The Rhenus Group offers reliability A dynamic business centre with Mediterranean flair
04
08
16
18
20
22
26
30
32
36
Rhenus in Brief
Stability in a Changing World
The Rhenus Group offers reliability
Attractive for Local and Global Customers
Rhenus and Western Arya set up a joint venture in India
Secure to the Very End
A great leap forward in quality levels for destroying files and data
storage media
“Logistics Experts Can Often Provide More Efficient
Solutions”
Companies rely on (partial) outsourcing once they reach
capacity limits
Coal Hub on the North Sea Coast
Rhenus Bulk Terminal Wilhelmshaven a long-term partner of
energy suppliers
Not A One-Way Street
A well-functioning recycling management system requires
efficient logistics concepts
Developing Individual Services
Furniture and logistics services so that you can relax
Barcelona – Vibrant Port City on the Mediterranean Coast
A dynamic business centre with Mediterranean flair
Impressions
Legal Notice
Logistics PEOPLE
Rhenus Group customer magazine
Issue 01/2014
Publisher:
Rhenus SE & Co. KG
Rhenus-Platz 1
59439 Holzwickede
Germany
Contact details:
Tel: +49 (0)2301 29-0
Fax: +49 (0)2301 29-1215
Email logistics.people@de.rhenus.com
www.rhenus.com
Responsible for the concept and editorial work:
Verena Schäfers
Marketing & PR
Editorial work:
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Matthias Arnhold
Heike Nicolaisen
Astrid Unverricht
www.mar-berlin.de
Design:
gimmickmedia GmbH
Hamburg
www.gimmickmedia.de
Photos:
Rhenus SE & Co. KG, iStockphoto.com/rhenus, fotolia.com,
VerkehrsRundschau/Miguel_Perez, Contargo GmbH & Co. KG,
Thomas Sassen, Medienbüro am Reichstag, Dirk Hasskarl/vor-ort-foto.de,
IHK Rhein-Neckar, Cuxport GmbH, EJOT Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Published:
Twice a year
Languages:
German, English, Spanish, French
Online version:
http://de.rhenus.com/logistics-people
It is only possible to use extracts or reproduce any contents of this publication
after prior permission has been granted by the editorial office and
only if the source is specified and a specimen copy of your magazine is
sent to us.
02
Titel Contents

Dear readers,
Logistics specialists constantly face new challenges: bridges are closed as
the state of motorways deteriorates and this disrupts carefully coordinated
time frames at the loading ramps; extremely rapid growth, for example, in
e-commerce, threatens to ruin planned warehouse capacity; new rules on
the outer borders of Russia create traffic jams that last for days; and strikes
at locks on inland waterways prevent the punctual delivery of coal to power
stations. Logistics experts then need to develop solutions very quickly or
provide new or adapted plans. The logistics expertise that we have gained
in more than one hundred years of business helps us serve our customers.
Klemens Rethmann
CEO
What enables the Rhenus Group to provide this flexibility that is repeatedly
required in the market place? The answer is: the stability that singles out responsibility for their ongoing business. They are the contact persons for our
the company itself. The values that characterise a family business like customers. Those responsible can grow with their business units and with
their customers. They do not need to leave the company to develop
“The flexibility to best meet our
customers’ requirements grows out
of the stable structures that are a key
feature of Rhenus as a company.”
their personal career or their field of responsibility. In addition,
they obtain the skills developed within the cooperation arrangement.
As the individual business units grow, so does Rhenus as a whole –
both in its depth and breadth of services and its geographical setup.
The individual business units learn from each other. They support
each other and therefore offer customers flexibility when they need
it most. After all, the Group’s complete, efficient network is available
to cope with any task presented us by a customer.
ours create trust in the relationships between customer and services provider.
We are not geared towards quarterly results in the short term, but
invest in training for our employees and the quality of our services and the
equipment that is used over fairly long periods of time. This approach,
which we adopt because there is no conflict between the management and
shareholder interests – i.e. to leave the profits generated by the company
within the firm so that we can continue optimising our services – gives us
a sense of resilience for the future. This conservative reinvestment policy
has provided the framework for the rapid rise of Rhenus during the past
fifteen years.
Logistics experts working as services providers for their customers must
respond promptly, but in a level-headed manner, and be able to cope with
all the uncertainties that arise because of the business. They are able to do
this better if their own company has a solid foundation. In this new issue of
our customer magazine, we would like to introduce you to some examples
of how the Rhenus Group is able to meet customer requirements because
of its stable structures.
Stability is based not least on the reliability of the people performing the
work. The high levels of personnel continuity in management structures
both at the Rhenus Group and at individual company units means that our
customers are not surprised by sudden changes and our managers take
Klemens Rethmann
CEO
Editorial Titel 303

Rhenus in Brief
Takeover
Rhenus Data Office has expanded its network of
business sites in Germany. The document logistics
specialist took over the destruction services for
files and data storage media previously provided by
the Döring company in Braunschweig in November
2013. This provides greater proximity to customers
in North Germany and enables faster response
times. In addition to its stationary facilities, Rhenus
Data Office also offers secure mobile destruction
services.
Integration
Offshore
The tri-modal terminal operator Contargo has completed its work
integrating the Pöhland Group. The following companies, Pöhland-
Spedition, Pöhland-Transport, Pöhland-Lager and Pöhland-
Container, have merged to become part of Contargo Network
Logistics GmbH. By purchasing the Pöhland freight forwarding
company, which has its headquarters in Döhlau in Bavaria,
Contargo has reinforced its links to destinations further inland,
particularly in Southern and Eastern Germany.
The Lower Saxony port operator Cuxport is continuing to expand its
business activities in the offshore sector: the hotel vessel “Regina
Baltica” was loaded with goods and equipment at the Steubenhöft
Terminal in Cuxhaven between the spring and autumn of 2013. It
served as the supply platform for constructing the BARD Offshore
I wind park and as a floating hotel for assembly workers and specialists.
Cuxhaven has also won the contract to act at the base port
for the “Amrumbank West” offshore wind park operated by E.ON
Kraftwerke.
04
Rhenus in Brief

AEO certification
Rhenus Freight Logistics obtained AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) certification for all its
business sites in France in June 2013. The business centres at Le Blanc Mesnil, Dijon, Lyon,
Bordeaux, Angers and Toulouse have been able to make use of the advantages of having AEO
status since that time; they include simpler procedures for customs formalities. AEO certification
acknowledges that a company is particularly reliable and trustworthy.
Joint venture
The Rhenus Group established the Rhenus Logistics India joint venture with the Indian freight
forwarding Western Arya Group in the autumn of 2013. As a result, Rhenus has increased its
business presence in India and provides comprehensive and high-quality supply chain solutions
with its partner.
Change of legal status
The international development of the Rhenus
Group was reflected in a change in its status
under company law in April 2014. The Rhenus
Group’s parent company, which operated under
the “Rhenus Verwaltungs AG” name in the past,
has been changed to the new legal form “Rhenus
Verwaltungs SE”. “Societas Europaea” status (SE
or European Society) makes it easier to achieve
cross-border cooperation between companies
within the European Union and it underlines the
Group’s international focus. “Rhenus SE & Co.
KG” therefore plays a role in ensuring a standard
identity for the Group across Europe.
Rhenus in Brief
05

Laying the foundation stone
Rhenus Contract Logistics is building a new logistics centre in
the Swiss city of Schaffhausen. The foundation stone for the new
building was laid in November 2013. The modern logistics centre
will have high-shelf storage facilities, a picking area and an office
building. The plans not only cater for 10,000 pallet storage spaces,
but also a picking and block storage area measuring 5,000 square
metres and 2,500 square metres of handling space.
Modernisation
On-board computers launched
A new face and a new name: following the completion of a four-year
extension phase for the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty at the north German
port of Wilhelmshaven, the terminal has been known as Rhenus Bulk
Terminal Wilhelmshaven since October 2013. The modernisation work now
enables the bulk commodities terminal to handle the largest Capesize
class bulk carriers. New unloading equipment, more efficient conveyor
belts and a reconstructed railway wagon loading facility make it easier for
the terminal to handle coal deliveries.
Rhenus Veniro launched a real-time project for local rail passenger
services in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate in October 2013.
This enables five companies within the local rail passenger services group
to locate and track its vehicles on their journeys and offers passengers
continuous travel information. 220 vehicles operated by Rhenus Veniro
have now been equipped with on-board computers.
06 Rhenus in Brief

Third logistics centre
Rhenus Logistics France opened a third logistics
centre near Lyon in September 2013. Rhenus now
has about 75,000 square metres of warehouse
space in the Rhône-Alpes region to be able to cope
with the high level of customer demand. Rhenus
Logistics France particularly specialises in the food
industry, the health sector, e-commerce and energy
in south-east France.
New line
Rhenus Veniro will take over operations on the Moselwein line between Bullay
and Traben-Trarbach in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate when the
timetable changes at the end of 2014. The only owner-managed local railway
passenger service group was able to win the bidding procedure, which
was published across Europe. Rhenus Veniro will operate services on the
line, which is about 13 kilometres long, using Regio Shuttle diesel multiple
units made by Stadler.
Award
The Rhenus brand is extremely popular in Germany. This was the
result of a study conducted by the Kleffmann marketing research
company on behalf of the VerkehrsRundschau logistics magazine;
the survey questioned 400 managers at trade and industry companies
about five logistics sectors. Klemens Rethmann, CEO of
the Rhenus Group, accepted the Image Award in the “Industrial
third-party logistics” segment in February 2014. Rhenus emerged
as the winner in this sector, competing against 87 other logistics
brands.
Rhenus in Brief
07

Stability in a Changing World
Stability
in a Changing World
The Rhenus Group
offers reliability
08 Stability in a Changing World

Stability in a Changing World
09

The rapid changes in the markets,
evolving customer expectations
and technical progress
demand a high degree of flexibility
from companies. Rhenus
can successfully cope with
these challenges thanks to its
stable structures and values.
“The person, who stands still,
falls over in a rolling ship, not
the one who keeps moving”
Ludwig Börne
Writer
Stability creates dependability and trust. It
is an important foundation for the long-term
success of any company – and not just in uncertain
economic times. Customers and partners
expect reliable cooperation with constant quality,
despite the fact that the general circumstances
are constantly changing. At the same time,
employees want a secure job with both stable
conditions and scope for initiative. After all,
stable processes, reliable structures and values
form the foundation for long-term growth. “The
person, who stands still, falls over in a rolling
ship, not the one who keeps moving”, according
to the German writer Ludwig Börne. Figuratively
applied to companies, this means maintaining
stable liquidity and profitability levels
despite seasonal and economic fluctuations,
new competitors, changes in customer expectations,
special delivery conditions and technical
progress.
10 Stability in a Changing World

“Retaining what has
proven reliable and
daring to take new steps”
When the RETHMANN Group took over
Rhenus in 1998, it had already had a history
going back 85 years with numerous takeovers,
mergers and restructuring projects. The new
management concept of the family-managed
RETHMANN Group proved very successful.
Short decision processes, flat hierarchies and
open communications have been the hallmarks
of the corporate culture since that time. The
success is mirrored in the figures: Rhenus has
been able to increase its turnover tenfold from
a figure of DM 850 million at that time.
Using the motto “Retaining what has proven
reliable and daring to take new steps”, Rhenus
has expanded into new markets using tried
and tested structures and products or has
transferred processes, which have proved their
worth for one product, to other items that
have similar basic features. Rhenus looks to
establish long-term cooperation arrangements
with its customers, partners and employees.
The stable values practised at Rhenus include
aspiring for sustainable growth, deliberately
gearing itself to the wishes and requirements
of customers, paying attention to trends,
focusing on service quality and responding to
changes quickly and in a flexible manner.
Stability in a Changing World
11

“The general conditions and the
contact persons at Rhenus
have remained the same”
Udo Oeler
Managing Director of RTB
Continuity for customers
Stability and flexibility at Rhenus are primarily dictated by the needs
Germany
and wishes of customers. Rhenus is constantly seeking to achieve high
France
Basel
quality in its services and products in order to satisfy customers. This
gives rise to close and long-lasting customer relationships.
Zurich
Rhenus initially took over the management of the warehouse space for
RTB Rohstoff Terminal Basel AG in the Swiss city. Rhenus was gradually
asked to provide other services like transferring scrap metal from various
modes of transport, processing railway wagons and it now even handles
railway and inland waterway transport services. “The general conditions
and the contact persons at Rhenus have remained the same,” says Udo
Oeler, Managing Director of RTB, summarising the cooperation arrangement;
“We appreciate the close cooperation between the companies and
the solution-oriented actions of this strategically important partner.”
Bern
Italy
Austria
12 Stability in a Changing World

“Relationships with our customers
are our major focus”
Michael Boos
Managing Director of Rhenus Midi Data GmbH
Partners on an equal footing
Whether it involves a takeover, a joint venture
or different kinds of cooperation arrangements,
the managers at Rhenus maintain their focus
on companies that fit the Rhenus Group and
can be maintained without any interruption,
if at all possible, once the purchase has been
made. One example is the successful ongoing
management of the former high-tech operations
at Wincanton; this is now a focussed
unit within the Rhenus Group following the
takeover of Wincanton’s continental European
business activities. It has been operating under
the trading name of Rhenus Midi Data GmbH
since the beginning of 2012. As a result,
the family company, which was founded in
1967 and used the business name Midi Data
GmbH, has almost returned to its original label.
Rhenus Midi Data has its own distribution
network for high-value, sensitive products,
some of which are not packaged, and it offers
its customers a comprehensive portfolio of
services at the point where the products are
finally put to use, including pre-assembly and
pre-installation services and deploying technicians
on the spot. At the time, it was one of the
pioneers in this sector; now Rhenus Midi Data
has a market-leading position in Germany and
Europe.
“Relationships with our customers are our
major focus,” says Michael Boos, Managing
Director of Rhenus Midi Data GmbH. “Our
employees acquire the necessary knowledge
about products during the course of time so
as to be able to provide complex services for
our customers. This is the only way that we’re
able to offer precise solutions for companies’
individual requirements.” The success of this
concept is evident through the fact that almost
all the customers of Rhenus Midi Data have
been working with the high-tech specialist
for many years. Some of them have been
relying on the services provider for two or three
decades. NCR, which needs to have cash
dispensing machines delivered and assembled,
is still a satisfied customer, 40 years after the
first delivery.
The Rhenus Group has been able to significantly
expand its existing high-tech special
logistics business through this takeover.
Rhenus Midi Data benefits from the compact
network and the willingness to invest at
Rhenus. “We’re very satisfied with the development
of our company since it’s been linked
to Rhenus,” says Michael Boos, with a smile
on his face. “We’ve continued to aim for
reliability, even if we’re using a new logo that is
recognised in the market place. We’ve also modernised
our IT system and expanded into new
markets. As a result, we can continue offering
our customers high-quality services – and our
employees continuity and fresh opportunities.”
Stability in a Changing World
13

Creating win-win situations
Matching ideas and goals and stable personal relationships are also
important foundations for any successful international cooperation. One
example of this is the development of relationships between Rhenus
and Mierka Beteiligungs GmbH (MBG), which holds 100 percent of the
shares in Mierka Donauhafen Krems GmbH & Co. KG (MDK). Rhenus
increased its share in MBG to 51 percent in 2013 and further increased
its nominal capital. Rhenus is continuing to pursue its goal of establishing
a compact network of business sites along the river Danube and has
obtained a partner that is well established in the market place in the
shape of Mierka Donauhafen Krems; the latter is also a family-managed
business. MDK is now able to continue developing away from being just a
local port handling company into an important component on the Rhine/
Main/Danube waterway between the North Sea and the Black Sea, thanks
to its incorporation in the Rhenus network.
Rhine
Main
Ludwig Canal
Danube
Rhine Danube
“This works so well, because the two
companies have stable structures
and stand for similar values”
Vivek Arya
Managing Director of Rhenus Logistics India
Proof that this strategy works even thousands of kilometres away can be
found in the cooperation arrangement initiated between Rhenus and the
Pro-Log Group in Asia in 2010. This commitment was further enhanced
in India in 2013 with the founding of the joint venture known as Rhenus
Logistics India. Rhenus chose a family-managed company, Western Arya,
which has been a well-established name in the Indian market for many
years, in order to expand its own network on the subcontinent. Nothing
much changed for the customers as a result of the cooperation deal with
Rhenus, except that they now have access to the global supply chain
solutions of the Rhenus Group too. “This works so well, because the two
companies have stable structures and stand for similar values,” Vivek
Arya, Managing Director of Rhenus Logistics India, explains. “These
common values, among other strengths, help in maintaining and creating
high levels of customer loyalty.”
Danube
14 Stability in a Changing World

Attractive for the best employees
Services at the highest level, sustainable growth and a flexible approach
to evolving general conditions are only possible with the help of highly
motivated people. Only they are prepared to shoulder the ongoing
adjustments. As a result, Rhenus views good initial training and deliberate
further training for its employees as the foundation for its corporate
success. Employees are quickly handed their own projects, they obtain the
opportunity to grow within the company and managers receive high levels
of responsibility in line with the principle of having “entrepreneurs within
the company”. This makes Rhenus attractive to the best employees,
who then enable special growth with satisfied customers.
“We view stability as the basis for flexibility at Rhenus,” Klemens Rethmann,
CEO at Rhenus, explains. “Stable finances enable healthy growth, in
Eastern Europe or in Asia, for example, where the Rhenus Group is
consolidating its network organically or through acquisitions. Appropriate
returns on the invested capital enable further investments and innovations.
The capital that’s invested is used as efficiently as possible in order
to offer our customers excellent quality in terms of products and services
at attractive prices. By investing in research, development, technology
and training, we’re safeguarding our company’s position in the long term.
Flexibility and stability are therefore not mutually exclusive categories in
our view, but complement each other.”
Jürgen Froese (58) has been working as a clerk in
the cargo department in Nordenham since 1 July
1976.
The trained shipping agent has been a stable factor at “his”
company for the past 38 years, but he has seen many changes.
“Everything’s changed since then – not just my work, but the
technology too. I started handling break bulk cargo and army shipments.
We began handling tropical wood in 1979. These volumes
declined at the end of the 1990s, but we started handling plate
slabs from Mexico and break bulk cargo; we’re now coping with
bulk commodities and materials for the offshore wind industry too.
I’ve also seen how we’ve switched from typewriters and matrices
to computers. Jürgen Froese is very happy with his work and his
employer. “I like the fact that my work’s very varied. And I believe
it’s very positive that we’ve been in closer contact with other
branches and colleagues during the last few years. We work on
joint projects or meet at events. That creates stronger ties.”
“We view stability as the basis
for flexibility at Rhenus”
Klemens Rethmann
CEO
Stability in a Changing World
15

Interview
Attractive for Local and
Rhenus and Western Arya
set up a joint venture in India
Global Customers
New Delhi
Ahmedabad
Kolkata
Mumbai
The locations of Rhenus
Chennai
16 Interview

India is one of the most vibrant economies in the world in terms of growth. Rhenus set up the joint
venture known as Rhenus Logistics India with the Indian company Western Arya in September last
year. Uwe Oemmelen, a Member of the Rhenus Management Board, who is also part of the joint
venture management team, and Vivek Arya, Managing Director of Rhenus Logistics India, talk about
their expectations and the challenges facing the joint company.
Mr Oemmelen, what role does the Indian market play for the Rhenus Group?
What are the greatest logistics challenges in India at the moment?
Uwe Oemmelen: Developments in India during the last few years have
been extremely dynamic: it’s impossible to ignore an emerging market
in a country that’s as large as a continent and has more than one billion
people. Countries like Germany, Great Britain, Russia and Italy have been
trading partners with the subcontinent for many years. Our business sites
in Asia are becoming more and more important too. But we should not
overlook the fact that more goods are exchanged between China and
India than any others within Asia. The Rhenus Group now has more than
20 business centres in these two countries. So we have a network with
huge potential – and this is very attractive for our international customers
too.
What are you specifically expecting from the Rhenus Logistics India joint
venture?
Vivek Arya: The size of the country with its
28 autonomous federal states and seven
areas under federal control is a challenge
in its own right. The logistics sector only
caught the attention of the general public
at the turn of the millennium, but most of it
has not yet been organised in a professional
way. Many people working in the freight forwarding
sector have not received adequate
training. That’s why Rhenus Logistics India
employs trained specialists, who are able
to advise and support customers in a professional way. Many logistics
companies may undercut us with very low prices, but they only offer a
very limited range of services without any additional benefits. We, on
the other hand, are focussing on providing extensive customer solutions.
Uwe Oemmelen: It feels as if we’re more than a joint venture; we’re more
like a large family with common goals. We can offer extensive supply
chain solutions through the structure that now exists. And they’re
naturally not just available to local customers, but also for blue chip
companies with global operations, which come to India to set up their
industries here. Our almost unparalleled coverage of the country and our
ability to combine overland transportation, warehousing and organise
freight forwarding provide us with many opportunities to offer customers
our specialist services.
Mr Arya, why did you decide to go into partnership with Rhenus?
Vivek Arya: I’m proud that the Rethmann family selected us in 2007. We
initially worked together in the freight forwarding sector. But we’ve now
extended our partnership to include overland transportation. I come from
a family that’s been working in the transport business for more than 60
years. It was the right time for us as the third generation of managers to
elevate our business to an international level. Rhenus can also look back
on a long history and shares our values as a family-managed company.
Our partnership with the global logistics specialist provides us with the
opportunity of gaining a stronger foothold in the European and Asian
markets. In return, Rhenus benefits from the business presence of what
was the Western Arya Group across India. Our local expertise and the
international know-how available at Rhenus complement each other in an
ideal way. As a result, we’re able to expand our range of services together.
In which direction do you want to take Rhenus Logistics India together?
Uwe Oemmelen: Our top priority is that companies
should view us as a reliable services
provider and we want our customers to be
satisfied. We want to tap into more international
trade routes and boost our presence
in India. Investments in employees and
sales are therefore very important, because
we have excellent products. It’s now our job
to persuade the local market and customers
wishing to expand to India that we’re able
and willing to offer them what they need.
Our advantage lies in the fact that we can make use of the expertise and
network within the complete Rhenus Group.
Vivek Arya: That’s correct. We’ll prove that we’re a competitive, integrated
logistics services provider, which meets the highest standards. Together
we have significant warehouse space at strategically important business
sites in India.
Interview
17

Markets
Secure to the Very End
A great leap forward in quality levels for
destroying files and data storage media
“The new thing about the standard is the exact
formulation of the technical and organisational
measures when destroying files and data storage
media in line with the data protection laws”
Gerhard Friederici
Security Data Officer
DIN benchmarks guarantee a high degree of
standardisation for work processes so that it is
easier for the different participants in the business
world to deal with each other. The German Institute
for Standardisation draws up results for the individual
problem areas with the help of specialist
experts from the business sectors involved.
The standards also enjoy great recognition internationally.
18
Markets

Unlocked doors, freely accessible file cupboards or documents
discarded in domestic waste all too often allow unauthorised
persons to easily gain access to information not intended for their
eyes. Professional services providers like Rhenus Office Systems
prevent any data spills like these. They can even make use of
a new DIN standard covering the destruction of files and data
storage media.
Once any confidential data has reached the public arena, there is
no going back. Human beings’ digital memory, the Internet, does
not forget anything. “The goal must be not having to deal with the
consequences of any data spills, but creating structures in advance
so that these situations do not occur in the first place,” says Gerhard
Friederici, who is responsible for security and quality at Rhenus Office
Systems, expressing his pro-active approach in no uncertain terms.
Client and patient files at lawyers‘ practices and hospitals, research
and patent documents at industrial companies and universities, Gerhard Friederici
account details and wage slips from bank customers and employees –
all these and many other documents are subject to the relevant data protection laws until they have
been destroyed at the prescribed point in time. “We not only offer companies and public bodies
the opportunity to outsource documents to a specialist like ourselves, but we also provide our
customers with support for the secure destruction of data storage media,” says Gerhard Friederici.
“Based on our commitment to help establish the new DIN standard, we’ve taken into account the
widespread view that information at knowledge-based societies and service companies remains a
commodity that is worth protecting, even at the end of its life cycle.”
DIN 66399 sets standards
Acceptance of quality standards boosted
The DIN standard 66399 came into effect at the start of 2013. Rhenus
Office Systems played a major role in its launch; the standard takes into
account the need to destroy files and data storage media in line with
the data protection laws. The three-part yardstick, which is based on
the latest technology, defines protection classes and security stages and
material categories. The holder of data can select the desired options for
the destruction process from these terms of reference.
“The new thing about the standard is the exact formulation of the technical
and organisational measures when destroying files and data storage
media in line with the data protection laws,” Gerhard Friederici explains;
he was a member of the responsible DIN working committee. “It goes
without saying that there’s some leeway within the standard between
the principles of what is appropriate and cost-efficient, once the degree
of protection and the security level have been selected. Regardless of
how the customer decides in an individual case, the standard sets the
appropriate framework for action for all the working steps that have to be
completed.”
Black sheep among services providers have not been driven from the
market overnight by the introduction of the new yardstick and the quality
measures associated with it, but the head of security and quality believes
there is growing acceptance for the modernised standards. “We want to
create transparency for customers and raise the threshold even higher
than in the past in terms of competition. We’ve managed to do this by
working with other data protection experts,” says Gerhard Friederici. In
future, there will be a need to raise the profile of the existing guidelines
domestically and particularly on the international market. If this happens,
it will be possible to further reduce the number of data spills that do such
damage to a company’s image.
Markets
19

In Greater Detail
“Logistics Experts Can Often
Provide More Efficient Solutions”
The EJOT Group is Europe’s market leader for fastening technologies for industry and construction. More than 2,400 employees in 30 national
companies are continuing to write the company history, which goes back more than 90 years. Companies in the automobile and supplier
industries, telecommunications, entertainment electronics and the construction sector use the medium-sized company’s fastening elements.
20 In Greater Detail

Companies rely on (partial) outsourcing
once they reach capacity limits
Any outsourcing of logistics services to an outside provider requires close
communications between the two partners and a huge level of trust. Michael
Brockhaus, a Member of the Rhenus Board, and Wolfgang Bach, Managing
Director of the EJOT Group, talk about the challenges of maintaining a stable
cooperation arrangement in the logistics sector.
When does it make sense for a company to outsource logistics activities?
Michael Brockhaus: There’s no magic formula, because each company
is different. Each firm, which could generate more wealth by using its
own resources in other departments, should examine whether it might be
worthwhile outsourcing parts of its business. We sit down with potential
customers and try to find the best solution based on the expertise that
we’ve gained in a broad range of sectors. This may not involve the
complete outsourcing of logistics services, but just parts of it.
Wolfgang Bach: Our experience in our daily business operations is the
best indicator that the moment has arrived when we face too many
challenges, many of them new ones, in our logistics operations. We
then need to decide whether we can still handle them in-house, which
may tie up further resources, or whether we need the help of an expert.
Restructuring measures and efforts to expand were the factors that led us
to partially outsource our services.
What kinds of additional benefits, which are different from in-house solutions,
can logistics experts offer?
Michael Brockhaus: Logistics experts learn
a great deal in many different projects and
introduce this accumulated knowledge
in each new project. We can take over
many value-added services because of our
in-depth product knowledge. Customers can
then transfer the resources that have been
freed up to their core business. Multi-user
logistics centres are also better able to cope
with seasonal or growth fluctuations. And
many customers use Rhenus’ international
position as the starting point for expanding their business. It’s vital to
keep the communications channels open with the customer and receive
assistance at every level, because even the best planning will fail without
reliable information and support.
Wolfgang Bach: We’re a company specialising
in innovative fastening elements. A
well-established logistics company can offer
much more efficient solutions for issues
related to warehouse management. But if
there’s a strong link between logistics and
the core business, the company may be able
to handle the former. As a result, we’ve taken
back tasks that we’d outsourced, from
Rhenus too, if the outsourcing solution was
no better. So we check our processes all the
time. We have internal and external logistics concepts – and are very
happy with both.
What other issues are important for a stable logistics partnership?
Michael Brockhaus: Open and reliable relationships between the managers
are the key, because there are always hiccups at certain times. It goes
without saying that little is achieved without efficient processes and the
necessary IT and personnel concepts. But if both sides provide the right
amount of pragmatism and flexibility, it’s possible to overcome obstacles.
After all, it’s not a question of imposing our ideas on the customer, but
developing suitable solutions for it.
Wolfgang Bach: We naturally benefit first-hand from innovative ideas in
the field of logistics by working with an experienced services provider like
Rhenus; we then test these ideas in our partnership and may adopt them.
Trust is an important issue in a sensitive area like outsourcing work that
was previously performed in-house. We awarded the EJOT supplier prize
in the services category to Rhenus two years ago and that was the clearest
indication in the public arena that Rhenus has now achieved high quality
levels within the cooperation arrangement.
In Greater Detail
21

Report
Coal Hub on the
North Sea Coast
Rhenus Bulk Terminal Wilhelmshaven
a long-term partner of energy suppliers
22 Report

When the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty in
Wilhelmshaven was opened in 1972, business
operations initially focused on handling salt and
sodium hydroxide solution. The first coal-carrying
vessel arrived at the Rhenus Midgard terminal
five years later. More than 40 years later, the
Niedersachsenbrücke jetty is now known as
Rhenus Bulk Terminal and it has been extensively
expanded during the last few years. More than
800 coal carriers have docked at the pier since
the facility was opened and Rhenus has already
unloaded more than 56 million tonnes of coal.
Niedersachsenbrücke jetty
29
Wilhelmshaven
210
210
Wilhelmshaven
Hamburg
Jade Bay
Bremen
The German state of Lower Saxony invested in the construction of a new
mooring area at Wilhelmshaven in the early 1970s. This was because
the Swiss company Alusuisse wanted to build the world’s largest alumina
factory in Wilhelmshaven. The initial stage involved constructing a chemicals
factory where salt was processed into sodium hydroxide solution. Salt
was imported through the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty by coastal vessel
from 1972 onwards; it was treated and sodium hydroxide was shipped
overseas. But the positive business development was only short-lived –
the Swiss company withdrew from the business site in 1974 even before
the alumina factory had been built. So new business had to be found.
This marked the start of coal handling operations at the Niedersachsenbrücke
jetty; the Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke energy supplier
– now known as E.ON Kraftwerke – built a coal-fired power station at
the port. 22 April 1976 was the key date: the first motor vessel laden
with coal, the “Kopainia Zofiowka”, berthed at the port. “That was the lifesaver
for the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty,” says one man, who
experienced the early days and is still involved with Rhenus
Bulk Terminal, Siegfried Roock; he is a former captain and
retired operations manager at the Niedersachsenbrücke
jetty and he still supports his colleagues on a free-lance
basis.
Report
23

Extensive expansion work at the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty
“A great deal has happened in the past 38 years,” the 75-year-old confirms. In addition to the
E.ON coal-fired power station, a second energy supply company has been convinced of the benefits
of using the Rhenus Bulk Terminal Wilhelmshaven: the global company, GDF SUEZ, has recently
built a coal-fired power station here. Both E.ON and GDF SUEZ have signed long-term contracts
with Rhenus. “These partnerships are a success story and are based on a huge degree of mutual
trust,” says Matthias Schrell, who is now Managing Director of Rhenus Midgard in Wilhelmshaven.
The Niedersachsenbrücke jetty gradually obtained permits to handle larger and larger vessels.
A boom in imported coal for generating power in Europe was expected a few years ago and this
was a crucial factor leading to the decision to turn the Niedersachsenbrücke jetty into one of
the largest coal terminals in Germany. The Rhenus shareholders specifically want to see the
Niedersachsenbrücke jetty continue operating for many decades to come. The Rhenus
Group therefore invested EUR 90 million in the facility from 2009 onwards to
further increase its handling capacity.
“We’ve created the best
technical conditions as a
result of the latest expansion
work at the Rhenus
Bulk Terminal”
Matthias Schrell
Managing Director of Rhenus Midgard
Wilhelmshaven
“We’ve created the best technical conditions as a result of the latest expansion
work at the Rhenus Bulk Terminal,” Matthias Schrell adds. Two high-performance
slewable luffing cranes and a second conveyor belt have been installed and new
storage areas created. The railway tracks have also been upgraded and there is
now a railway wagon loading facility with the capacity to handle up to 4,000
tonnes per hour.
Stable political situation is crucial
The state of Lower Saxony has also been involved in improving the infrastructure
and has had the mooring basin deepened. As a result, Capesize
ships – the largest coal carriers in the world with up to 250,000 tonnes
on board – can now dock at the Rhenus Bulk Terminal Wilhelmshaven.
“We offer our customers huge nautical benefits and we’re reducing the
logistics costs,” says Michael Appelhans, Managing Director of Rhenus
Midgard, summarising the latest developments. Coal handling operations
prior to the expansion work totalled approx. 1.6 million tonnes; that
figure had grown to more than 3 million by 2013 – a new handling
record at the Wilhelmshaven bulk goods terminal.
“We’re expecting further increases in volumes. But it’s essential to
ensure that the political situation remains stable,” says Michael
Appelhans, issuing an appeal. Despite the change in energy policy,
Europe will depend on fossil fuels in the energy mix for several
decades to come. “The closure of German coal mines is only
possible if the fall in output is balanced by imported coal,” the
port logistics expert adds. “We’re ideally positioned for this and
offer a genuine alternative to the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam
and Antwerp.”
24
Report

COAL’S JOURNEY
TO THE
POWER STATION
The Capesize vessel “SHAGANGFIRST POWER”, which is almost 300
metres long, had 156,000 tonnes of coal on board for the E.ON energy
company when the vessel left the Columbian port of Puerto Nuevo
at the end of September 2013. Its destination was the Rhenus Bulk
Terminal Wilhelmshaven. The vessel reached the German Bight 16
days later. But there are still plenty of steps to be completed before the
coal can be used to supply current to the power grid:
1. Clearance
As the authorised port agent, Rhenus Midgard maintains contact
with the vessel all the time, supports the shipping company and
knows when the vessel can dock once it has entered the German
Bight. It orders the sea and port pilots, who will guide the Capesize
vessel through the navigation channels. As the Capesize ship cannot
dock on its own because of its enormous size, the agent orders
five tugs. They ensure that the ship can approach the pier without
any damage taking place. As soon as all the ship’s ropes have been
firmly secured, the gangway is let down.
2. Customs clearance
The port agent has also ordered the customs officer, who is now
the first person to go on board and check the goods. There is no
customs duty on imported coal in Germany, but import turnover
tax has to be paid. The goods may only leave the port once this
has been handed over. The port agent accompanies the customs
officer on board.
3. Unloading
The vessel cannot be unloaded haphazardly; otherwise there is a
risk that the vessel could break in two. So the terminal manager
at Rhenus Midgard discusses the stowage and the unloading
programme with the captain. Three powerful cranes, which can
carry up to 40 tonnes per scoop, are available at the terminal for
unloading purposes. The unloading work takes place round the
clock using a three-shift system. The ship’s foreman keeps his eye
on which crane operator is working on which hatch. As the ship is
emptied, wheel loaders are used to pile up the coal at the bottom
of the hatches. Workers shovel up the remaining coal. The signalman
takes care of the necessary safety and keeps his eye on the
cranes and port workers at all times.
4. Storage
The cranes are used to transport the coal at the pier on to the twokilometre
long conveyor belt. About 4,000 tonnes can be moved
ashore every hour. The conveyor belt divides at the first transfer
tower and moves the fuel to a storage area measuring 80,000
square metres. 71,000 tonnes of the coal shipped by the MS
“SHAGANFIRST POWER” are initially stored here using a
combined unit known as a stacker/reclaimer, before the fuel is
later transported by rail. If required, the stacker/reclaimer picks
up the coal again from the storage area to move it to the wagon
loading facility.
5. Railway transport
A private railway company conveys the coal to the Heyden E.ON
coal-fired power station near Minden in Westphalia. Each rail
shipment can transport 3,200 tonnes of coal distributed in 51
wagons. The railway company completes the journey 22 times in
order to transport the coal shipped by the Capesize vessel and put
it into storage. Two shunting robots haul the train through the stateof-the-art
wagon facility to complete the loading operation. It takes
90 minutes to accomplish this task. Thanks to the sophisticated
weighing and filling technology, which can fill a wagon precisely to
a figure within 50 kilogrammes – a European record – it is possible
to make full use of the wagons and therefore achieve low-cost
freight rates for the customer.
6. Power generation
The remaining 85,000 tonnes of Columbian coal are fed directly
to the local E.ON power station in Wilhelmshaven via a conveyor
belt link. The coal is initially stored here too before it is fed to the
coal pulverisers in line with needs, ground down and blown into
the furnace for combustion purposes. The E.ON power station in
Wilhelmshaven burns approx. 1.6 million tonnes of coal every year
to generate electricity.
Report
25

Sectors
Not A
One-Way Street
26 Sectors

A well-functioning recycling
management system requires
efficient logistics concepts
Rhenus does not just transport raw materials or semi-finished materials and
distribute industrial and consumer goods. The company also organises endto-end
logistics concepts to cover the complete life cycle of products. This
offers solutions for the disposal sector and reverse logistics services, for
example.
Rhenus recycles waste glass
According to information published by the European Commission, EU
citizens create more than 3 billion tonnes of waste every year. Logistics
services providers like Rhenus support local authorities, but also the
private sector in the disposal work triggered by these amounts.
More and more national economies in the world are increasingly relying on
recycling concepts, as deposits of non-renewable raw materials are limited
by their very definition and the continual rise in living standards in many
countries is also triggering greater consumption and therefore greater
quantities of waste products. If technically possible, waste disposal
is now a thing of the past in individual sectors. It simply involves obtaining
raw materials, production and commercial processes, consumption and
disposal directly at a waste tip. But a recycling system tries to find a way
to reuse the individual components of industrial and consumer goods for
production purposes once they have been consumed and disposed of.
The recycling operations for glass and paper are some of the best known
examples.
“Rhenus regularly empties 44,000 glass containers in Germany. This
is mainly conducted by collection vehicles operating for the complete
RETHMANN Group. As a result, we serve more than 12 million residents
from Hamburg to Stuttgart and from Mönchengladbach to Leipzig,” says
Maximilian Kremers, the manager responsible for logistics at Rhenus
Recycling. Impurities are removed from the collected waste glass at
seven business sites and the glass is processed to produce pure grades of
fragments. The secondary raw materials obtained for the recycling sector
are then transported to glass works, which use them to make new bottles
or glasses.
Sectors
27

Complex disposable packaging deposit services
Another business area for Rhenus Recycling also illustrates that the
logistics provider’s services go far beyond just transportation. With its
solutions for so-called deposit clearing, the services expert forms an
important link in the return system established in Germany for disposable
drinks packages with a deposit. Rhenus looks after the complex clearing
system for PET bottles and cans in the reverse vending machines used
by the food retail sector – for example, at supermarkets and discount
stores. The disposable packaging experts are also responsible for picking
up from retailers and properly recycling what is known as “crunchware”,
i.e. the invalidated PET bottles and cans from reverse vending
machines.
Rhenus Recycling transports the disposable packages, which are
manually accepted at petrol stations or other small shops, to its regional
counting centres with its own fleet of vehicles and uses the subsequent
counting operations to provide the necessary clearing, including endto-end
documentation. “Once the deposit clearing process has been
completed, the single-use containers have to be invalidated and turned
into pure grade briquettes by high-compression compaction. The
compressed secondary raw material is then frequently transported to
the RETHMANN Group’s processing centres for PET and aluminium and
steel waste,” says Christoph Bildstein, the manager responsible for the
counting centres at Rhenus Recycling.
“A well-functioning recycling management system guarantees longterm
access to resources. This is not possible without efficient logistics
operations. That’s why we use the term “recycling logistics” as a
services provider,” Sascha Hähnke explains. He is responsible for the road
operations at Rhenus Port Logistics and looks after the full load business
for bulk commodities and solids, including the materials and products
in the recycling management system. “Our transport services close the
gap between recycling at the sorting centres and production using the
secondary raw materials that were previously obtained - in the case of
waste glass, waste wood and waste paper, for example.”
Close cooperation with REMONDIS
Many of the tarpaulin-sided vehicles used by Rhenus’ own transport
companies or trucks with sliding floor trailers or roll-off tippers and skip
handling vehicles are on the road for REMONDIS, which is also part of the
RETHMANN Group. REMONDIS is one of the world’s largest companies
in the water supply and recycling management sectors. “There are often
points of contact between the services provided by the two companies
in the individual sectors. That’s why we often sit down together in order
to examine whether we can offer a joint solution for projects. The waste
paper segment is one example of this stable cooperation in handling
logistics tasks,” says Thorsten Feldt, Managing Director of REMONDIS
Trade and Sales. “The waste paper collected by the company is sorted
at our business sites so that it can be used in production processes at
paper factories at a later stage. Rhenus operates all the transport services
between the REMONDIS branches and the paper factories that we’re
unable to handle with our own fleet.”
In order to prevent empty runs,
both REMONDIS and Rhenus
search for options so that the
driver can deliver new paper from
the factory directly to the manufacturer’s
customers again. “This
works out on many occasions and
we’ll press ahead with this to a
greater degree in future,” says
Thorsten Feldt, looking ahead.
Sascha Hähnke adds, “Using the
trucks to the greatest possible degree also helps save resources in the
same way as recycling operations and it reduces the logistics costs for
our customers too.”
28 Sectors

Managing reverse logistics operations successfully
The waste paper business is increasingly subject to everyday digitisation;
for example, this leads to reductions in print runs for newspapers, magazines
or catalogues and it therefore cuts the associated paper consumption. This
development creates changes in the material and transport cycles and
also has effects on another business field at Rhenus: the strong growth
in e-commerce requires an increasing number of cartons for packaging.
“The growing volume of online business creates a challenge of a different
kind for a logistics services provider; it’s found in the supply chain after
the delivery of the product has taken place. In e-commerce, reverse
logistics has developed into its own business sector where we can also
demonstrate our efficiency to customers,” Tobias Kaulfuss, Managing
Director of Rhenus Fulfillment Solutions, emphasises. “The online business
should not be viewed as a one-way street as a result of consumers’
right to return goods, as enshrined in German law; this sector needs
specific solutions.”
The size of an item returned by a consumer, its state, the associated
checking and processing services and the reverse transfer of the money
to the person placing the order, for which Rhenus receives access to its
customers’ accounts, all need to be coordinated. “The simpler it is for
final customers, the more they enjoy online shopping and this process
also creates customer loyalty with a shop. As a logistics expert, it’s our
task to effectively plan and manage these processes in the background
so that this level of satisfaction emerges and can grow,” Tobias Kaulfuss
adds.
Similar services are required in the B2C and B2B sectors. In the latter,
Rhenus manages the unsold returns for a chain of bookstores and is
responsible for returning products that have not been sold from the
individual specialist shops for a toy wholesaler. The fact that the packaging
cartons used by Rhenus for this purpose often land in REMONDIS
collection containers again is more than a passing comment and it illustrates
the links between recycling management and recycling logistics.
Sectors
29

Companies
Developing Individual Services
Furniture and logistics services so that you can relax
30
Companies

Dynamic growth is the key feature of the cooperation
arrangement between the international
fashion company “Fashion For Home” and
Rhenus Home Delivery. The logistics services
partner supplies “Fashion For Home” customers
in Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries
from its central warehouse located near Berlin.
Many factors ideally play a role in ensuring that people really feel at
home in their own four walls. One of them involves the furniture that
is installed there – and it is definitely an important issue. The Internet
age and the move away from classic settings have increasingly created
individual living styles, even when it comes to purchasing furniture items
and positioning them in homes too.
Satisfying customer requests
Complete service package
The “Fashion For Home” furniture company has very successfully adapted
to this trend with its products. “Our design teams, which consist of
renowned design specialists, are increasingly developing new collections
in order to meet our customers’ wishes for beautiful and functional furniture,”
says Christoph Cordes, one of the two founders of the company,
which was set up five years ago. “As the production of the individual
goods only starts after an order has been placed, we depend on a fast and
flexible logistics services partner to deliver the goods at a later stage.”
Rhenus Home Delivery, the specialist within the corporate group for
distributing and assembling furniture, electric appliances, large items of
sports equipment and mattresses at the point where the final customer will
use them, has been handling this role since February last year. “Buyers
in Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries receive the furniture from
us once the items have been consolidated at our central warehouse and
the agreed delivery date has been fed into our branch network,” says
Nicolas Rottmann, Managing Director of Rhenus Home Delivery, outlining
the order of events. “We work closely with courier, express and package
services for smaller items of furniture; they pick up the “Fashion For
Home” packages that are briefly stored in Hoppegarten and then deliver
them. But if the items are fairly large, we deliver them directly to the final
customer using our own vehicles and 2-man teams.”
“If the goods involve several packages, as is the case with cupboard
walls, for example, online customers can also order our assembly
services. Skilled employees from our company ensure that the furniture
items are assembled properly at the place where the customer wishes to
have them,” says Dr. Kirstin Hüttner-Tong, who manages operations with
“Fashion For Home” at Rhenus Home Delivery.
But the complete logistics package does not finish there. Rhenus Home
Delivery also takes the packaging materials away and organises the
reverse logistics if the customer does not like the items; this is an
important part of the work, particularly in the online mail order business.
“By keeping in close contact with Rhenus, not least when it
comes to stable packaging for our goods, we’ve been able to create
distribution processes to ensure that the number of damaged goods
and returns is declining all the time. This naturally increases customer
satisfaction,” Christoph Cordes, Operations Manager at “Fashion For
Home”, underlines. “The flexibility that Rhenus showed when fitting out
our showrooms in German cities was another important element at the
start of our excellent cooperation arrangement.”
Marc Appelhoff and Christoph Cordes launched the “fashion4home” online shop for designer furniture in 2009. The Internet portal based in
Berlin has been operating under the “Fashion For Home” trading name since July 2011. After launching operations in Germany, the company
later opened other national sites in Austria, the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States of America. “Fashion For Home” acts both
as the manufacturer and the retailer, so that the company is solely responsible for the design, quality and prices of items in the interests of
meeting customer requirements.
Companies
31

Cities
Barcelona
– Vibrant Port City on the Mediterranean Coast
32 Cities

A dynamic business centre
with Mediterranean flair
Sun, the beach and the sea – plus plenty of sport, art and culture: Barcelona
has a bit more of each on offer than other European cities. Catalonia’s capital
casts its magic spell on millions of tourists year by year. But there is more to
Barcelona: Spain’s second-largest city is also an important industrial centre.
The headquarters of the Spanish companies, Rhenus Logistics and Rhenus
Tetrans, are located in the city’s metropolitan area too.
Spain
Madrid
Barcelona
The cityscape in Barcelona is dominated by many familiar sights known to
people around the world. It is no accident that the city on the Mediterranean
coast has the largest number of buildings on the list of UNESCO’s
World Heritage Sites. The most famous buildings were designed by the
architects Antonio Gaudí and Lluis Domènech i Montaner. The city’s
most imposing landmark is the “Basilica and Expiatory Church of the
Holy Family”, Gaudí’s life’s work. It is a monumental structure, which
is supposed to be finally complete in 2026, the 100th anniversary
of Gaudí’s death, after 144 years of construction work. Many pioneers of
modern art like Pablo Picasso, who spent some of his youth here, Joan
Miró or Salvador Dalí have left their mark on the city too.
Portugal
Valencia
Cities
33

Cultural melting pot
Highly industrialised
“Each district in Barcelona has an extraordinary, individual character,” says
Francisco Domingo, Branch Manager of Rhenus Logistics Barcelona,
describing the city where he has lived
since his childhood. “Look at the square
housing blocks in Eixample, the winding
lanes in the Gothic District, Barceloneta
with its popular beach promenade or the
village of Gracia, which used to be separate
from the city and is particularly attractive
to artists and students nowadays.” Barcelona, which has a population of
1.6 million people, is Spain’s second-largest city after Madrid and is a
cultural and economic melting pot thanks to its many immigrants.
“Seny i rauxa,” healthy common sense with a touch of foolish recklessness
is the way that Catalans try to describe their own mentality. They view
themselves as a transnational cultural community and are proud of their
language, which is one of the oldest Romance languages. But the greatest
source of pride for Barcelonans is their football club, FC Barcelona;
world-class individuals like Lionel Messi, Xavi or Johan Cruyff have all
played for the team. Camp Nou, Barça’s home stadium, is the largest in
Europe with space for 98,000 people.
“Each district in Barcelona
has an extraordinary, individual
character”
Barcelona and the surrounding area, which benefit from excellent transport
links, produce more than one quarter of all Spanish export goods.
There are major transport routes to the
Pyrenees and to France, to Madrid and
the interior of the country and towards
Valencia and south-east Spain. The port
is the connecting link for flows of goods
between the mainland and the islands
and between Europe and Asia. The international
airport is also located ten kilometres south-west of the city. The
“Plaza Cataluña” is the central traffic intersection. The connecting point
between the old city and the Eixample district is also the starting point
for the famous Rambla, Barcelona’s most prominent pedestrian zone.
Catalonia was one of the first industrialised regions in Europe – led
by the textile industry. The first steam-powered factory in Catalonia, a
textile factory, was built in Barcelona in 1832. The most important textile
companies still have their headquarters in the city. Barcelona is home to
many other industrial sectors, ranging from shipbuilding to the metal,
printing and paper industries and even the chemicals, pharmaceuticals
and automobile sectors. Many other international firms operating in the
automobile industry have set up in business in the city alongside the
vehicle manufacturer SEAT.
Tourism, publishing and the financial sector also play an important role
here. “The region is highly industrialised and Rhenus is a partner for all
the sectors represented here. We’ve particularly specialised in the textile
and automobile industries, which we’re able to support with our many
years of expertise in all the processes relevant to production,” Rubén
Ruiz, General Manager of Rhenus in Spain, points out; he is responsible
for the Rhenus Tetrans and Rhenus Logistics companies there.
34
Cities

C16
B23
B20
B20
A17
C17
B20
Branches
The Rhenus Group has four branches, including two logistics centres, in the Barcelona metropolitan
area. The headquarters of Rhenus Logistics are located in El Prat de Llobregat, about ten
kilometres away. The company, which was founded in 1967, particularly specialises in the automotive
and fashion sectors. Rhenus Logistics handles project management operations, sourcing
and distribution logistics, pre-assembly work and value-added services for the automobile industry.
Rhenus Logistics provides logistics services for major customers in the sports and textile sectors
at the two logistics centres with about 10,000 square metres of warehouse space where Rhenus
manages stocks and labels goods, for example.
L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
Barcelona
The headquarters of Rhenus Tetrans are situated about five kilometres from Barcelona in L’Hospitalet
de Llobregat. The company organises transport operations between the Iberian Peninsula and the
Canary Islands, the Balearics, the Azores, Ceuta, Melilla, Gibraltar, Andorra, Madeira and Morocco
and is the market leader for these destinations. A team of specialists look after the necessary
customs formalities.
El Prat de Llobregat
Barcelona
El Prat Airport
Worth a visit
The huge towers of the “Santa Maria del Mar” church rise above the centre of the old city. It has a
reputation as the most beautiful Gothic church in Barcelona. The structure of the church built by
the master builder Berenguer de Montagut in the 14th century set a new trend at the time.
Tip: The novel “Cathedral of the Sea” by Ildefonso Falcones describes the period covering the
building of the church in a striking manner and allows readers to experience the “Gothic District”
in a new way.
Eating and drinking
Catalans are gourmets, so lunch and dinner are hearty meals that people prefer to eat with other
people – but not until late. The custom of sitting together at the table after a meal is known as
“Sobretaula”.
Tip: Try the traditional hot chocolate and churros, a pastry made of fried dough, at “Café Pallaresa”
on Calle Petritxol 11.
Evening entertainment
Nights in Barcelona are long. The city offers many locations for people to go out and celebrate,
whether in the Gothic District, along the beach promenade or the avenue known as Avinguda
Diagonal. As Spaniards eat late in the evening, the clubs usually fill up well past midnight.
Tip: The “Moon Bar” on Plaça del Sol 21 is one of the smartest bars in Barcelona where the best
DJs in the city are regularly seen.
Shopping
The “Las Arenas Shopping Mall”, a former converted bullfighting arena on the Plaza de España, is
now one of the most popular shopping centres in the city.
Tip: A visit to the roof terrace is an absolute must. You will be rewarded by a panoramic view of the
local hill, Montjuic, the National Palace and the trade fair centre.
Cities
35

Russia Business Day,
November 2013
Lower Saxony Port Day
in Nordenham,
September 2013
36 Impressions

EWEA OFFSHORE
Frankfurt,
November 2013
Impressions
37

Presentation of the
Image Award by the
VerkehrsRundschau
magazine,
February 2014
Rhenus eonova
press conference,
October 2013
38 Impressions

Signing the MoU for
berth no. 4 at Cuxport,
February 2014
And in the next issue
of Logistics PEOPLE:
General theme
Read about how the Rhenus Group is breaking new ground in the next issue:
our general theme will be “Innovations”. This is associated with the
idea of “renewal”. Renew your view of Rhenus and gain inspiration from
our newly introduced products and services, optimised ways of working
and the customer processes that we have introduced.
Competition
“Join in the lottery!”
– with the Rhenus scratch card
You will find a personal Rhenus scratch card in the next issue of the
magazine.
Join in and win one of many great prizes related to the logistics services
provided by the Rhenus Group.
Outlook
39

Rhenus SE & Co. KG
Rhenus-Platz 1
59439 Holzwickede
Germany
Phone +49 (0)2301 29-0
Email logistics.people@de.rhenus.com
www.rhenus.com
EN-60-01-0414