imperial - Panopa

News 1-08-2 englisch:News 2/05.2 30.04.2008 17:43 Uhr Seite 2
2 E D I T O R I A L
Dear employees,
dear customers,
The calendar year 2008 began with a
very sad event for the Imperial Group:
Bill Lynch, the much respected former
CEO of Imperial Holdings Limited, died
on 21st January at the age of 64 follow -
ing a serious illness. We recently re -
ceived further bad news telling us that
the chairman of the supervisory board
of Imperial Holdings Limited, Leslie
Boyd, had passed away unexpectedly
on 28th March after a short illness at
the age of 71.
Bill Lynch and Leslie Boyd both had a
huge influence on Imperial Holdings
Limited.
Under the leadership of Bill Lynch,
Imperial Holdings Limited grew over
the last 30 years from a vehicle trading
business to become the successful en -
terprise we know today, with global
operations and some 44,000 em -
ployees. Bill Lynch also constantly promoted
the fortunes of our corporate
group in Europe since the takeover of
ThyssenKrupp in 1999. He was always
a reliable and far-sighted partner for
us.
Hubert Brody, the successor to Bill
Lynch, has been the new CEO of
Imperial Holdings Limited since
November 2007. Thulani S. Gcabashe,
who joined the supervisory board in
January 2008, took over as its chairman
with effect from 1st April.
We are facing gigantic challenges in
Europe. The volume of goods traffic in
the European Union, with its 27 member
states, will increase by around 60
per cent up to 2020. In Germany alone,
a doubling of goods traffic on the roads
can be expected. The railways, inland
waterways and trucks will be required
in equal measure to move the massive
volumes of goods. The on-going expansion
of the EU since the 1990s has
turned Germany into the hub for trade
and logistics in Central Europe.
Germany's foreign trade looks set to
grow at an average rate of 9 per cent
per annum and the majority of German
foreign trade, namely 75 per cent, takes
place in Europe.
There is thus a huge potential for
growth in inland shipping and terminal
handling for a logistics provider such
as the Imperial Logistics International
Group. We will furthermore exploit
new growth markets. That is why the
Imperial Logistics International GmbH
recently made two strategic acquisi -
tions to secure a share in the markets
for short sea shipping and the bulk
transport of liquids with sites in
Sweden, Poland and Hungary. At this
point I would like to cordially welcome
the employees of Amadeus Schiffahrtsund
Speditions GmbH in Duisburg and
FoodTankers AB in Karlshamn/Sweden
to our company.
South Africa, too, is reaping benefits
from the global expansion of the
markets for raw materials and the rise
in trade. In view of the enormous
potential for growth on the African
continent, we intend to further expand
our logistics activities and car hire and
vehicle trading operations there. With
the aim of focussing on our strengths in
logistics and automobiles, Imperial
Holdings Limited disposed of its avi -
ation and tourism businesses at the
start of the financial year. The resulting
cuts will nevertheless enable renewed
growth in our core fields over the long
term.
Imperial Logistics International has
therefore set itself the target of tripling
its result and earnings in Europe
within five years. We expect to achieve
this ambitious target with the help of
our highly motivated workforce and
thanks to the trusting ties we have
with our customers and suppliers.
Gerhard Riemann
Executive Director of Imperial Holdings
and Chief Executive Officer of
Imperial Logistics International GmbH