News 2-2008 E NEU:News 2/05.2 - Panopa

2/2008 

Imperial News 

S T A F F A N D C U S T O M E R M A G A Z I N E 

Imperial Distinctly 

Extends the 

Container Network 

Multinaut is the 

New Partner of the 

Imperial Reederei 

GmbH in Austria 

Panopa-Workshop 

on Sales Markets in 

East Europe 

neska Cologne 

Ensures Tranship - 

ment of Excavated 

Soil from the South 

of Germany 

Memories of South 

Africa

2 E D I T O R I A L 

Dear employees, 

dear customers, 

the turbulences on the financial markets 

and rising energy and raw mater - 

ial prices are undergoing a global ex - 

pansion which our group also cannot 

completely ignore. In Europe, these turbulences 

have been compensated better 

as a result of the robust economy. But 

here too, rising interest rates and a 

drop in domestic demand are notice - 

able. On the global market of logistic 

services, we are outstandingly prepar - 

ed, with the result that we shall continue 

to stay on a growth course with our 

customers. 

All in all, we have completed a fiscal 

year 2007/2008 full of incidents and 

marked by numerous efforts. The 

restructuring of Imperial Holdings, 

which had been planned for a long time, 

as well as the sale and the closure of 

some activities have been implemen ted. 

On the other hand, rising energy prices 

and the devaluation of the South 

African Rand had a very negative influence 

on consumers' behaviour. 

Imperial Holdings Limited has gained 

strength for the future from this situ - 

ation. Now, three central areas will 

make up the activities of our group: 

logistics and transport, car rental and 

car and financial services as well. For 

the logistics activities in South Africa 

and Europe, this is a forward-looking 

decision, as it expresses a clear commitment 

to the extension of the logis - 

tics and transport area at both loca - 

Imperial News 2/2008 

tions. The logistics and transport section 

in South Africa and Europe contributes 

about one third to the turnover and 

income of Imperial Holdings. Logistic 

business developed very positively in 

the past fiscal year in South Africa and 

in particular in Europe. 

A number of new investments and 

numerous acquisitions contributed to 

the outstanding result of Imperial 

Logistics International. For example, 

the Imperial Reederei Group further 

extended its strategic position between 

western seaports and the Danube 

down to South-East Europe as a result 

of the acquisitions of the Rijn aarde, 

Beuningen/NL, Maxx Thie baut, Aukamp/ 

BE, Amadeus, Duisburg, and Multinaut, 

Vienna, chartering companies. 

At the same time, the neska Group has 

extended its terminal activities in the 

hinterland. The existing terminals in 

Cologne, Dormagen, Düsseldorf and 

Duisburg are being joined by the “Log - 

port II” container and short sea terminal 

in Duisburg and the Krefelder Container 

Terminal. This ensures that the enor - 

mous quantities of containers in the 

western ports can be transported to the 

central European region of industry via 

the Rhine links. The annual growth 

rates for containers continue to be very 

high. And from the current figure of 

one million TEU, the handling volume 

of our group is to be doubled in the 

coming years as a result of these 

strategic extensions. 

We have already reported on the strategic 

alliance in Brouwer Shipping & 

Chartering with ThyssenKrupp Services 

and Alfred C. Töpfer International. 

With the acquisitions of Laabs in 

Germany and Foodtankers in Sweden, 

the Imperial Group has built up its own 

tank logistics fleet with around 250 trucks 

for the transport of liquid chemicals 

and foodstuffs. This new market 

segment is to be extended further in 

the coming fiscal years. 

With the completion of a new ware - 

house for world-wide distribution of spare 

parts from various manufacturers, 

Panopa Logistik has almost doubled its 

capacities. For the new fiscal year of 

2008/2009, automotive logistics has 

been extended by the acquisition of the 

Hansmann Group in Wolfsburg. More 

than 300 employees carry out not only 

transport services, but also complex 

logistic services for the German automotive 

industry. 

At this point, I would like to welcome 

our new employees from the companies 

mentioned here in our group. I would 

like to express my gratitude to all 

employees for their commitment, as it 

is only thanks to them that this out - 

standing result of the Imperial Group 

has become possible. 

On behalf of the management, I would 

like to thank our customers and 

suppliers for the trust extended to us 

and assure them that we are looking 

forward to the continued good cooper - 

ation with them. In this fiscal year too, 

the Imperial Group will consistently 

continue its growth strategy by acquisitions 

and investments, in order to be 

able to offer our customers an even 

more extensive service as a reliable 

logistics service provider. 

Gerhard Riemann 

Executive Director of Imperial Holdings 

and Chief Executive Officer of 

Imperial Logistics International GmbH

IMPERIAL 

Imperial Distinctly Extends the Container Network 4 

Good Weather and a Great Atmosphere at the 2008 Citi Run 5 

15th Ruhrort Port Festival Elates Everyone 5 

It all Started with Bricks ... 6 

Logistic Services are an Elemantary Component Part of the 

Supply Chain Management 7 

IMPERIAL REEDEREI 

New Faces in the Management Board of the Imperial Reederei Group 8 

Further Changes in the Managment Board of the Subsidiaries 8 

Imperial Schiffahrt GmbH with an Invitation to the “Herkules Island” 9 

Imperial Reederei Group Extends Business on the Danube – Multinaut 

Donaulogistik GmbH is the New Partner in Austria 10 

Three New Members of the Fleet of the Imperial Reederei Group 11 

“RHEIN-HAMBURG-LINE“ Started Successfully 12 

The “ILIgators“ Paddle into the Final 12 

PANOPA 

Gillhuber Renews the Fleet and Plans for the Future 13 

Sales Markets in East Europe Were the Main Subject at the 

Automotive Workshop in Wolfsburg 14 

Ten Years of Panopa in Hambach – Successful Logistics for Small Cars 16 

NESKA 

Paper Logistics from Pohl & Co. is Given International Attention 17 

neska Pioneer with a New IT Strategy – Application Software is Centralised 17 

Avoid Traffic Jams with the OWX Ost Westfalen Xpress and Go Gentle 

on the Environment 18 

neska Cologne Ensures Transhipments of Excavated Soil from the 

South of Germany 18 

New Bulk Cargo Warehouse in Duisburg 19 

neska Executives Met in Monheim 19 

IMPERIAL SOUTH AFRICA 

Lions and Other Members of the Family 20 

Dieter Kahns, Tomas Petterson, Guido Roth, Rüdiger Buß and 

the African Winter 21 

Inspired Input, Intelligent Outcome 22 

Annual Accounts Imperial Holdings Limited 23 

Publisher: Imperial Logistics International GmbH 

Kasteelstraße 2 • 47119 Duisburg • Germany 

Phone +49 203 8005-0 • Fax +49 203 8005-168 

E-mail: imperial@imperial-international.com 

Editors: Imperial Logistics International GmbH 

vom Hoff Kommunikation GmbH, Düsseldorf 

3

4 I M P E R I A L 

Imperial Distinctly Extends the 

Container Network 

With two container terminals on the Lower Rhine, Imperial Logistics International GmbH is extending its 

activities in container business, which is undergoing a world-wide boom. In the ports of Duisburg and Krefeld, 

two modern, high-performance terminals with a total operation area of 67,000 square metres are being built to 

dispatch increasingly larger quantities of containers. 

Start of operation for the Kre fel der 

Container Terminal GmbH (KCT), 

a 100% subsidiary of Im pe rial, 

will prospectively be in October 2008. 

On 32,000 square metres, a trimodal 

container terminal with two crane 

systems, which are currently being 

modernised or newly built, is being 

created. The site has been secured 

according to the ISPS code. Coastal 

vessels can therefore head for the 

plant directly by the Rhine without 

further transhipment. 

As a result of the exposed location 

between Duisburg and Düsseldorf, not 

only local quantities of containers, but 

also quantities from other transport 

areas will contribute to the use of the 

capacity of KCT. 

In the first quarter of 2009, the termin al 

in the newly developed port in the 

south of Duisburg, “Logport II”, will 

follow. At the moment, new logistic 

areas, on which the Duisburg port 

company "Duisport" and Imperial are 

jointly investing for the container 

terminal, are being built on industrial 

wasteland. On an area of 35,000 square 

metres to start with, a trimodal con - 

tainer terminal is being built directly 

by the Rhine with four rails of half a 

train length for railway transports. The 

crane for water and rail transhipment 

as well as the wharf 310 metres in length 

will be finished by the end of 2008. 

The transport concept is based on a 

new shipping connection between the 

Upper and the Lower Rhine. Via Duis - 

burg, the Upper Rhine will be connected 

much better to the ZARA ports 

(Zee brügge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and 

Amsterdam) in this way. Quantities of 

containers which are not yet being 


The new container terminal “Logport II” 

transhipped via Duisburg will utilise 

the new terminal because of the shorter 

transport times and the optimum 

connection of the gateway transports. 

In addition, regional feeder trains mo - 

delled on the “Ost Westfalen Xpress”, 

which has been connecting Duisburg 

with Unna five times a week for 

almost a year now, are also being planned. 

These railway shuttles will 

connect customers from the Rhine- 

Ruhr area – and further afield – with 

the European ports. 

Responsibility for the container activities 

is with Heinz Bartels, CEO of the 

neska Schiffahrts- und Speditions kon - 

tor GmbH and member of the Imperial 

management board. 

Under neska, container terminals are 

already being run in the important 

European transhipment hubs of 

Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dormagen and 

Duisburg on a total area of 365,000 

square metres. A total of 13 highperformance 

crane systems and 20 

modern reach stackers and container 

stackers ensure quick and professional 

transhipment of empty and full con - 

tain ers. “These additional terminals 

out standingly match our overall concept 

and strengthen the significance of 

the neska container activities on the 

Lower and Middle Rhine”, said Mr 

Bartels. A further forward-looking in - 

vestment is being pursued with the 

newly planned terminal in North 

Cologne. Here too, Imperial will be taking 

over the management with the neska 

Group. 

The intermodal segment has been given 

a sensible supplement since June this 

year with the Danes Con tainer Trucking 

GmbH (DCT). Danes is likewise a 100% 

subsidiary of Imperial and will be tak ing 

over transports with the focal point on 

local transport for the container termin - 

als in the region. For this, the fleet of 

trucks which has been taken over will 

be successively extended. 

Together with the Alcotrans Container 

Line B.V. shipping line in the Nether - 

lands, Imperial possesses a network of 

terminals and transport fleets on the 

strongly growing container market; it 

is further expanding its leading pos - 

ition on the Lower and Middle Rhine. 

“We wish to double the current transhipment 

quantity of more than one 

million TEU in the next three years”, 

Gerhard Riemann, Chairman of the ILI 

management board, and Heinz Bartels 

agreed.

I M P E R I A L 

Good Weather and a Great Atmosphere at 

the 2008 Citi Run 

This year too, Imperial Logistics 

International GmbH (ILI) was 

one of the premium sponsors of 

the Duisburg Citi Run. The runners 

from the ILI Group have been taking 

part since the first year. “It has almost 

become a kind of tradition for me to 

run here”, says Wolfgang Naroska, 

team captain of the ILI running team. 

On the early evening of 14 August 

2008, over 4,000 participants from 

more than 250 companies started on 

the 4th Duisburg Citi Run. Thus, there 

were almost twice as many runners as 

in 2007 – 27 of them being ILI runners. 

On the course of 5.5 kilometres through 

Duis burg inner city, the runners 

passed the Town Hall, König straße and 

the port, amongst other things. 

In bright sunshine, all 27 ILI runners 

reached the finishing line in front of 

the theatre of the City of Duisburg at 

König-Heinrich-Platz, where they were 

joyfully welcomed by colleagues and 

friends. 

The best female ILI runner had a time 

of 27:46 minutes and was thus amongst 

the Top 100. 

The attractive framework programme 

and the merry after-run party made 

the Duisburg Citi Run an unforgettable 

experience for all the participants and 

the almost 20,000 spectators this year 

as well. An impressive firework display 

crowned this eventful day. 

15th Ruhrort Port Festival Elates Everyone 

For the 15th time, the people of 

Duisburg celebrated their port in 

the district of Ruhrort on the last 

weekend in July. Various bands, street 

theatres and cabaret artists invited 

them to sing along, join in and laugh 

with them. As in previous years, the 

highlight of this year's festival was the 

“Ruhrort in Flames” firework display 

on the first evening. 

Imperial Logistics International GmbH 

(ILI) once again supported this annual 

highlight in the Duisburg calendar of 

events as a premium sponsor. For this 

occasion, the ILI Group led by Gerhard 

Riemann, the CEO, met at an Italian 

restaurant high above the roofs of 

Ruhrort. A magician, a pianist and a 

Mediterranean three-course menu 

ensured a merry atmosphere amongst 

the guests. 


5

6 I M P E R I A L 

It all Started with Bricks ... 

As per 1st September 2008, Imperial Logistics International GmbH has completely acquired the Hansmann Group 

from Wolfsburg. With this acquisition, the automotive logistics section is being consistently enlarged. The 

objective is to extend the existing business of the Hansmann Group and to get a foot in the door in the Wolfsburg 

region. The operative responsibility is in the hands of the Panopa Group, which is already operating numerous 

logistics locations for the automotive industry in Europe. 

The Hansmann Group was founded 

in 1936 by Heinrich Hans - 

mann as a one-man company. To 

this day, Bernd and Florian Hansmann 

continued the business in the second 

and third generation. The original trans - 

porter of bricks has been develop ed 

into a modern logistics service pro vid er, 

reliably attending to transports and 

preliminary assemblies for the automotive 

industry. The family company 

from Wolfsburg-Ehmen has an excel - 

lent reputation – in the automotive 

industry and with Cotrans Logistik as 

well, an alliance of medium-sized forwarding 

companies from Wolfsburg 

jointly carrying out transport tasks for 

Wolfsburg´s automotive manufacturer 

and its suppliers. The Hansmann 

Group employs 245 people in Wolfs - 

burg. As a result of the set-up of a new 

location in Ingolstadt, 120 new jobs 

have been generated. 

On an area of 76,000 square metres in 

Wolfsburg, the employees of the 

Hansmann Group produce complete 

modules of small and very small parts. 


For example, these are shock absorb ers 

with installation sets for lamps, tem - 

perature sensors and covers for the 

family van and the off-road vehicle 

produced by Wolfsburg´s automotive 

manufacturer. In a highly modern, auto - 

matic small-parts warehouse, small load 

carriers with various sizes and 

materials are stored on around 100,000 

slots. Every day, up to 10,000 boxes are 

put into and taken out of store and 

supplied to customers just in time. The 

fully automated storage system works 

absolutely error-free with a sophisticated, 

automatic identification system. 

Over and above this, the Hansmann 

Group is also the exclusive transport 

company for the region from Lüneburg 

to the south Harz Mountains and from 

Bielefeld to Magdeburg within the 

transport system of its main customer. 

With a fleet of 70 towing units and 

with additionally chartered vehicles, 

production and assembly locations of 

the customers are connect ed with each 

other. For their out standing ser vices, 

the Hansmann Group has repeat edly 

been awarded the “Freight Forwarder 

of the Year” prize in the past by automotive 

manufacturers from Wolfsburg 

and Ingolstadt. 

In 1936 Heinrich Hansmann, 25 

years of age at the time, founds a 

transport company with one truck. 

By the start of the Second World 

War, the company has three trucks 

and twelve trailers for the transport 

of bricks. 

In 1946 Heinrich Hansmann re - 

starts the company with a brandnew 

truck (picture) and wins 

Wolfsburg´s automotive manufacturer 

as the main customer. 

In 1971 Bernd Hansmann joins the 

management of the company. 

In 1989 Bernd Hansmann builds 

the first hall for logistics activities 

on the site of the former brick 

works. 

In 1991 the semi-automatic smallparts 

warehouse is built. 

In 1993 Cotrans Logistik is founded 

by eight freight forwarders. 

In 2000 the fully automatic smallparts 

warehouse starts. 

In 2001 Florian Hansmann joins 

the management of the company. 

In 2008 the Imperial-Group takes 

over the Hansmann company following 

careful consideration by the 

former owners.

In accordance with the strategic orientation 

of the Imperial Group, the 

existing structures are maintained in 

company take-overs. This also applies 

to the company name and the company 

logo as well as the management 

I M P E R I A L 

Logistics Services are an Elementary Component 

Part of the Supply Chain Management 

Unpunctual delivery can result 

in financial loss exceeding the 

value of the goods delivered by 

a multiple. Production operation can 

be threatened by costs of losses, contract 

penalties as well as costs of add - 

itional work and personnel waiting 

times; these mean a high financial loss 

for the company. 

In a buyer-dominated market, it can 

additionally mean a loss of image and 

market share. Although this damage 

cannot be measured directly in money, 

the consequences are lasting and can 

only be corrected with great expend - 

iture. The economic damage measure - 

able in money therefore only means a 

part of the overall damage. 

Legislation provides for liability on the 

part of the freight forwarders for 

exceeding delivery periods, although 

the amount has been limited. In this 

way, the survival of small and me - 

dium-sized companies is to be guaran - 

teed in particular. Security of calcu - 

lation of the freight – independent of the 

risk of economic damage – is achiev ed 

and the employees who have been 

loyal to the Hansmann family for many 

years. With the Hansmann company, 

the family name thus vouches for quality 

and fair dealings with one another 

towards customers, suppliers and 

In the course of a low production depth of the shipping trade, the quality of the logistic service provider means a 

decisive competitive advantage. As a result of the reduction of the stocks in hand with the production companies, 

punctual delivery of the goods by the logistics service provider is therefore an integral part of the supply chain 

management. 

in this way. For national transports, 

the liability for exceeding the delivery 

period is limited to three times the 

value of the freight, for transboundary 

transports to the single value of the 

freight. 

But if the freight forwarder acts 

thoughtlessly and in the consciousness 

that damage will probably occur, he 

cannot successfully make reference to 

the statutory limits for liability in the 

event of the delivery period being 

exceeded. This is the case, for example, 

if the freight forwarder has positive 

knowledge of the risk of economic 

damage for its client and does not 

align the scheduling to this. This was 

confirmed by Stuttgart’s higher re - 

gional court in a judgment of May 28, 

2008. 

To avoid incalculable unlimited liability 

for exceeding delivery periods, 

effective risk management is therefore 

necessary. This starts with identifica - 

tion of the risks, training and coaching 

of the employees, an effective consignment 

tracking system as well as a 

employees. This tradition will be continued 

by the Imperial Group at this 

location as well, confirming the trust 

of the former owners. 

systematic emergency concept and 

ends with the accessibility of the responsible 

person. Risk avoidance 

should therefore be regarded as an 

instrument for binding customers 

more closely to your own company and 

generating an added value with a view 

to punctuality of deliveries. 

For provable financial losses of the 

client, a risk transfer to transport in - 

surance is possible. If the freight forwarder 

concludes the transport insur - 

ance via its general freight forwarder's 

policy, there is no recourse against its 

own liability. The active sale of the 

cargo insurance by the freight for - 

ward er is accordingly a compensation 

of interests between the shipper and 

the freight forwarder and minimises 

his own liability risks. 

Udo Griewatz, 

Regent Insurance Brokers (Europe) 

GmbH, 

c/o Imperial Logistics International 

GmbH, Duisburg 


7

8 I M P E R I A L R E E D E R E I 

New Faces in the Management Board of 

the Imperial Reederei Group 

Some things have happened in the management of the Imperial Reederei Group this summer: after Thomas 

Schulz had replaced Manfred Thentie as the managing director of the Imperial Reederei GmbH in May 2007, the 

management board of the Imperial Reederei GmbH was extended as per 1st August 2008 by Dr. Roland Pütz, 

Jürgen Helten and Norbert Meixner. On the other hand, nothing has changed at the top: Karl-Heinz Bellmer is 

still Chief Executive Officer of the Imperial Reederei GmbH. 

Karl-Heinz Bellmer Thomas Schulz Jürgen Helten Norbert Meixner Dr. Roland Pütz 

very confident of being 

able to continue to write the 

„Iam 

success story of the Imperial 

Reederei GmbH together with my colleagues. 

Dr. Pütz, Mr. Helten and Mr. 

Meixner, each responsible for their 

respective sub divisions, have a lot of 

experience and have already been 

active in the Imperial Reederei Group 


for many years”, says Karl-Heinz 

Bellmer. For example, Dr. Roland Pütz 

has been already belong ing to the 

management board of the Imperial 

Schiffahrt GmbH since January 2006. 

The former managing director Manfred 

Thentie retired this summer. Norbert 

Meixner is addition ally managing 

director of WIJGULA B.V. Druten, 

Navitank N.V. Antwerp, and WGL 

Tankschiffahrt GmbH in Duis burg. 

Jürgen Helten is further active as the 

managing director of the Imperial 

Reederei & Spedition GmbH in 

Duisburg, of Imperial-De Grave B.V. in 

Zwijndrecht in the Netherlands as well 

as in the French firm of Transest S.A.S. 

in Thionville. 

Further Changes in the Management Board 

of the Subsidiaries 

Imperial Reederei & 

Spedition GmbH: 

Roberto Spranzi became a 

member of the management 

board of Imperial Reederei & 

Spe dition GmbH on 1st July 2008. 

He replaces Michael Schweiger, 

who has retired. 

Imperial Schiffahrt GmbH: 

Additionally to Dr. Roland Pütz, 

Andreas Grzib became a member of 

the management board of Imperial 

Schiffahrt GmbH on 1st October 2008. 

The qualified controller used to work 

for Lehnkering Reederei GmbH. There, 

he was responsible for the Rheinfracht 

Roberto Spranzi Andreas Grzib Helmut Klapdor 

GmbH for six years. Since 2005, Grzib 

was also a member of the management 

board of Shipping Lux SA. Further - 

more, he became a member of the 

management board of the Lehnkering 

Reederei GmbH in February 2007. 

De Grave GmbH: 

Since as early as 1st June 

2008, Roberto Spranzi has 

been a member of the man - 

agement board of De Grave 

GmbH in Duisburg. Helmut 

Klapdor, who has been work - 

ing for De Grave since 1968, 

was also appointed to the 

management board as per 1st June. 

Rüdiger Wolters retired. 

Transest S.A.S.: 

As per 1st June 2008, Gérard Beck has 

gone into retirement. Since December 

last year, his tasks have been taken 

over by Johannes Merkert.

I M P E R I A L R E E D E R E I 

Imperial Schiffahrt GmbH with an 

Invitation to the “Herkules Island” 

On Saturday, 13 September 2008, Imperial Schiffahrt GmbH invited customers, 

business partners and employees to visit the modernised push boats 

“Herkules II” and “Herkules XVI”. 

The organisers had tied the two 

push boats up on the quay of the 

Vinckekanal in Duisburg to form 

an association of a special kind. 

Between the two powerhouses, a party 

pontoon equipped with its own sandy 

beach, attractions for children and a 

band had been fitted. “We wanted to 

take the opportunity of showing the 

new ships to our new business partners 

and employees together with 

their families”, said Dr. Roland Pütz, 

managing director of Imperial 

Schiffahrt GmbH. 

The completely refurbished “Herkules 

XVI”, the strongest push boat on the 

Rhine with engines of 6,120 BHP, and 

the reconstructed “Herkules II”, formerly 

“A. Auberger”, shone despite the 

slightly cloudy sky and animated 

many of the totals of 550 visitors to 

have a walk-round. 

The crews of each of the ships proudly 

presented their ships and were glad to 

answer any questions. Between the 

visits, there was the chance of helping 

yourself at the barbecue buffet, of 

taking a drink or of having a chat with 

some business partners or colleagues 

or simply listening to the “Schmackes- 

Brass-Band”, which created a good 

mood with their Dixie sounds. 

“The event provided the correct frame - 

work for presenting our ships and for 

spending a nice day with the people 

who are decisively involved in the 

success of Imperial Schiffahrt, are they 

customers or employees”, is the conclusion 

drawn by Dr. Roland Pütz. 

Personnel 

Klaus Reiff had 

been a steerman 

since November 

1969 – at first for 

Mannes mann, 

later for Impe - 

rial Reederei GmbH. On motor 

ships, tug-barges and last of all 

on the harbour push boats 

“Huckingen I” and “Huckingen II”, 

the 64-year-old was out and about 

on various waterways. 

As per 31st August 2008, Reiff has 

now been seen off to his welldeserved 

retirement. As the captain 

and support for customers 

and employees on the “Franz 

Haniel 14”, he will however still be 

remaining with the Imperial 

Reederei Group. The grandfather 

of five is a passionate collector of 

keys and has a distinct love of 

Spain. 

Erwin Weck - 

mann is cele - 

brat ing 35 years 

with the company 

this year. 

In the summer 

of 1973, the 53-year-old employee 

started his career with the Mannesmann 

Reederei. Today, Erwin 

Weckmann works as a material 

planner for the Imperial Schiff - 

fahrt GmbH. He is married and the 

father of a daughter. In this spare 

time, he keeps fit; preferably with 

cycling, volleyball and swimming. 


9

10 I M P E R I A L R E E D E R E I 

Imperial Reederei Group Extends Business on 

the Danube – Multinaut Donaulogistik GmbH is 

the New Partner in Austria 

Multinaut Donaulogistik is the 

youngest member of the 

large family of the Imperial 

Reederei Group. As a typical chartering 

company in inland waterway transport, 

Multinaut organises transports – 

mainly on the Danube – and renders 

also freight forwarding services before 

and after the ship transport. Handling 

of goods and commodities itself is also 

a part of the Austrian company's portfolio. 

The company was founded in Vienna 

in 1995. At this time, Multinaut was 

the first enterprise to transport goods 

from South-East and Central Europe to 

the ARA-harbours (Antwerp, Rotter - 

dam, and Amsterdam) at the North Sea 

with privately owned barges and 

motor barges. Today, Multinaut has 15 

of its own ships and also a number of 

privately owned ships. “Our fleet ranges 

from small, 600-ton ships with a load 

volume of less than 1,000 cubic metres 

right up to large ships with a loadbearing 

capacity of more than 2,000 

tons and a load volume of more than 

3,500 cubic metres”, explains man - 

aging director Peter Jedlicka. For industrial 

companies, trade houses, plant 

constructors, breweries and freight forwarders, 

Multinaut moves about 

300,000 tons a year. Raw materials, 

agricultural goods, feed, fertilisers as 

well as coils or even gener ators are 

amongst the most frequent products 

transported by Multinaut. 


Retroactive to 1st July 2008, the Imperial Reederei Group has acquired 75 per cent of the shares 

in the Austrian inland waterway transport enterprise Multinaut Donaulogistik GmbH. 

Karl-Heinz Bellmer, Chief Executive Officer of the Imperial Reederei Group, says: “This is the 

first step towards our target of increasing our activities on the Danube.” 

Karl-Heinz Bellmer, CEO of the 

Imperial Reederei Group 

Peter Jedlicka, managing director of 

Multinaut 

By purchasing Multinaut, the Imperial 

Reederei Group is distinctly enlarg ing 

its range on the Danube. A total of 30 

further inland barges will be on the 

waterways of Europe for the Reederei 

Group. And the Austrians also profit 

from the new partner quite distinctly: 

the Imperial Reederei Group is runn - 

ing an internet-based ship and consign - 

ment exchange, to which only the en - 

terprises in this group have access. 

The locations of all the barges and the 

free load capacities can be seen and 

processed with this software at any 

time by all the subsidiaries. 

As the managing director, Peter 

Jedlicka, the previous sole owner of 

Multi naut, will continue to pull all the 

strings of Multinaut in Vienna. “Mr 

Jedlicka and his employees know the 

business and the peculiarities of the 

Danube and the customers”, Bellmer 

confirms. He adds that Mr Jedlicka 

was predestined to further extend the 

business on the Danube with the 

financial support of the Imperial 

Reederei Group as a result of his experience 

and knowledge. Peter Jedlicka 

adds: “With a strong partner like the 

Reederei Group, we can im plement a 

lot more ideas and projects than up to 

now. This is a considerable advantage. 

And together, we have a lot of ideas.” 

Above all, these ideas re volve round 

the extension of transports on the 

Danube. Especially, the lower Danube 

and its seaport of Kons tanza will noticeably 

gain influence in the coming 

years – a fact from which the Imperial 

Reederei Group can now profit 

together with Multinaut. Amongst 

others, Multinaut will be working very 

closely with Donau logistik GmbH, a 

further subsidiary of the Reederei 

Group, in the future. 

“With an annual transport volume of 

55 million tons and a turnover of 400 

million Euros per year, we are already 

the largest inland water transport company 

in Western Europe. Now, we also 

wish to grow further in Eastern 

Europe”, Karl-Heinz Bellmer explains 

the corporate strategy of the Imperial 

Reederei Group.

I M P E R I A L R E E D E R E I 

Three New Members of the Fleet of the 

Imperial Reederei Group 

The Imperial Reederei Group has further increased its presence on European inland waterways. 

Since 19 June 2008, the MS 

“Nieder sachsen 22” has been in 

use for NVG Hannover. The ship 

has a loading capacity of 2,300 tons. 

It is mainly used for transports of im - 

port ed coal from the Hamburg seaport 

for operation of the energy supply 

companies in the hinterland. The MS 

“Niedersachsen 22” has a length of 100 

metres, a width of 10.50 metres and a 

maximum loaded draft of 3.16 metres 

with an engine output of 1,520 BHP. 

The push boat “Herkules IX” supplements 

the push boat fleet of the 

Imperial Schiffahrt GmbH. It currently 

cruises the Dutch inland waterways, 

primarily transporting coal and ores. 

With a length of 32 metres and a width 

of 11.40 metres, the push boat has en - 

gines which achieve 3,200 BHP. 

“Herkules IX” started service for 

Imperial on 27 May 2008. 

The MS “Richards Bay” has already 

been in the service of the “Rhine Shipping” department of Imperial 

Reederei & Spedition GmbH since 15 

May 2008. With a length of 105 metres 

and a width of 11 metres, the motor 

barge has a draft of 2.78 metres. In this 

way, up to 2,130 tons can be transported. 

Coal, salt and building materials 

are taken to their destinations via the 

Rhine and Neckar by the “Richards 

Bay” reliably, safely and quickly. 

With the new reinforcement, the transport 

performance, which has been 55 

million tons for the entire fleet of the 

Imperial Reederei Group up to now, 

has been further increased. There is 

only one thing remaining for the future: 

we wish the crews all the best, a safe 

journey and a fair wind at all times. 


11

12 R E E D E R E I 

“RHINE-HAMBURG LINE” Started Successfully 

Since 1st June 2008, heavy and bulk 

cargoes can be transported to the 

North Sea on a new shipping 

route. The Imperial Reederei & Spe di - 

tion GmbH has successfully started 

operating the “RHINE-HAMBURG LINE”. 

The company could get Kübler GmbH, 


a haulage firm from Schwä bisch Hall, 

involved in the project. 

In a weekly rhythm, ships from the 

Imperial fleet travel from the heavy 

cargo terminal in Mannheim and from 

further terminals in Krefeld, Duisburg, 

Gelsenkirchen and Voerde to Ham burg. 

The “ILIgators” Paddle into the Final 

Employees of the Imperial Ree de - 

rei Group, from Panopa and 

neska defied the weather and 

proved their fighting spirits at the 

2008 dragon boat regatta. 

Anything they can do, we can do better: 

that’s what the employees of the 

subsidiaries of Imperial Logistics Inter - 

national GmbH thought. So, they challenged 

the other teams at this year’s 

dragon boat regatta in the Duisburg 

Inner Harbour. 

In hard training units, in which some 

of them even had to learn to paddle 

first, the “ILIgators” got prepared for 

their big day. 

And the big day was 14 June: the team 

booth was set up, the race clothes 

were put on and the boats were prepared 

for the start. Even pouring rain 

was not able to stop the “ILIgators”. 

The participants in the finals were 

determined in three 50-metre heats. 

After the final heat, the joy was enorm 

ous: the “ILIgators” had made it. The 

distance was now twice as long. But 

the team proved its fighting spirit and 

paddled exhausted, but proudly across 

the line. At the start of the training 

unit, the “ILIgators” had not even 

The heavy cargoes are collect ed at the 

inland terminals and then loaded onto 

the ships of the “RHINE-HAMBURG 

LINE”. Individual shipments are also 

possible. If requested, the ships of the 

“RHINE-HAMBURG LINE” can also 

dock at other loading points. During 

the first four weeks, about 400 tons of 

cargo have already been transported 

to the Hanseatic city. 

The “RHINE-HAMBURG LINE” also 

provides further shipments in the 

short-sea area, overseas transports as 

well as implementation of heavy transports. 

Over and above this, transfers 

from terminal to terminal as well as 

transhipment activities in the inland 

harbours and in the harbour of Ham - 

burg can be attended to by the 

“RHINE-HAMBURG LINE”. World-wide 

dismantling and re-fitting of plant is 

also part of the offer made by the 

“RHINE-HAMBURG LINE”. 

dared of dreaming of being in the 

final. They could not care less that 

they had paddled onto the sixth place 

of six starters. The dragon boat fever 

had been kindled and they are sure: 

next year, the “ILIgators” will be starting 

again and paddling right up at the 

front.

Gillhuber Renews the Fleet and 

Plans for the Future 

P A N O P A 

With ultra-modern trucks and a number of new orders, Gillhuber Logistik GmbH, a subsidiary of Panopa 

Logistik GmbH, is betting on the future. In a discussion with the editors, Guido Roth, managing director 

of Gillhuber, explained the individual steps. 

f.l.t.r.: Josef Hollinger (sales manager sales office MAN Rosenheim), Hartmut Müller (manager MAN Truck & Bus Center 

München), Helmut Eisenlohr (sales manager MAN Truck & Bus Center München), Rüdiger Buß (managing director Panopa 

Logistik GmbH & Gillhuber Logistik GmbH) und Guido Roth (managing director Gillhuber Logistik GmbH) at the surrender 

of the 35 new trucks for the Gillhuber Logistik GmbH 

Some months ago, you put 35 new 

trucks into operation. Why precisely 

this number of vehicles? 

We are in the process of renewing and 

reorganising our entire fleet, which 

includes 120 tractors and 300 trailers. 

The 35 trucks which we have received 

are a part of this renewal. In return, 

we have sold old vehicles. 

Has this process now been completed? 

Not quite. Next year, we will replace 15 

more vehicles with ultra-modern 

trucks. 

What is the special thing about these 

new trucks? 

On the one hand, the new vehicles all 

fulfil the "Euro 5" exhaust norm. On the 

other hand, they are so-called low-liners. 

This means that the trucks have a very 

low wheelbase. For this reason, the 

vehicles can also tow mega-trailers, i.e. 

very large and high trailers, which are 

very often used for transports in the 

automotive industry. 

Which routes are you using these 

new trucks on? 

The vehicles will mainly be used on 

the Bavaria – Great Britain route. We 

supply parts from Germany and the 

Benelux states to the British factories 

in Bracknell and Oxford for a large 

automobile manufacturer – in daily 

shuttle transports. 

In addition, we opened new locations 

in Swindon and Oxford two years ago. 

We transport body parts between 

these two towns for our customers. 

That means that we not only travel 

from Germany to Great Britain, but we 

The new vehicles will mainly be used 

on the Bavaria – Great Britain route 

are also active in inland transports on 

the island. In the meantime, we are 

working in a three-shift system there 

with 20 vehicles and 60 drivers as well 

as five commercial employees. 

That all sounds very positive. So you 

are looking to the future with confidence? 

Yes, we can view the future optimistically. 

Some weeks ago, we were able to 

obtain new customers from the consumer 

goods industry and the metalprocessing 

branch, which is why we 

are able to expand our fleet yet again. 

In addition, we recently re-consolidat - 

ed our location at Garching near 

Munich, where we are responsible for 

an automotive supplier and a manufacturer 

of commercial vehicles. We 

prepare sequencing work and belt 

deliveries and also supply directly to 

the factory. 

Mr Roth, we thank you for this conversation. 


13

14 P A N O P A 

Sales Markets in Eastern Europe 

Were the Main Subject at the 

Automotive Workshop in Wolfsburg 

At a two-day internal workshop of the Panopa Logistik GmbH, a total of 68 attendees discussed extensively about 

the sales markets in Eastern Europe and other things. A joint evening of football and a visit to the Autostadt in 

Wolfsburg completed the workshop. 

From 12 to 13 June 2008, the em - 

ployees of Panopa got together in 

Wolfsburg in order to discuss the 

future of the automotive business in 

East Europe. Rüdiger Buß, managing 

director of Panopa, opened the work - 

shop with retrospection to the start of 

Panopa automotive logistics. With four 

employees, Panopa started at one lo - 

cation in 1993. Now, about 1,300 em - 

ployees are active in this business div - 

ision at 12 locations all over Europe. 

In a number of individual reports, the 

division managers presented the growth 

strategies of Panopa in Poland and the 

chances and risks of current and future 

projects. The new spare parts centre in 

Herten, which is to be ceremoniously 

opened at the end of October, as well 

as insurance law aspects of contract 

logistics were also presented in detail. 

The second day of the workshop com- 

Intensive discussions during the 

breaks 


Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences 

informed about the the growing sales markets in Asia and East Europe 

pletely belonged to the guest speakers. 

Günter Bischoff (VW Poznań), Jens 

Barvencik (Procure ment, VW Commercial 

Vehicles) and Karl-Heinz Hüninghake 

(Logistics, VW Commercial Vehicles) 

reported on the logistic challenges for 

the group in the Eastern European market. 

Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, 

Director of the Center Automotive 

Research (CAR) at Gelsenkirchen 

University of Applied Sciences, was 

also won as a guest speaker. He in - 

formed about a further grow ing sales 

market for the automotive area: 

Dudenhöffer predicts that the Asian 

automotive market will grow strongly 

in the future. In his opin ion, automobile 

sales will double by 2020, both in 

Asia and in Eastern Europe – a good 

Gerhard Riemann (CEO of Imperial 

Logistics International GmbH) and 

Heinz-Gerd Sprenger (CEO of Panopa) 

under discussion

P A N O P A 

Panopa has the football fever Sandra Schoeneck, Panopa Marketing, hands out the key of the 

cabriolet 

omen for the Auto motive Logistics 

Division of Panopa. In addi tion, Peter 

Erichreineke, member of the management 

board and responsible for Sales 

and Marketing, talked about the marketing 

and sales strategies with which 

MAN reacts to the de velop ments on 

the Eastern European market. 

But it was not all work. On the first 

evening, the workshop attend ees saw 

the European Championship game be - 

tween Germany and Croatia in a bar in 

downtown Wolfsburg and finally suffered 

together following the defeat of the 

German team. At the end of the second 

day, they visited the Autostadt and the 

Panopa warehouse in Wolfsburg. For 

The attendees visit the Panopa warehouse in Wolfsburg 

more than seven years now, coils have 

been supplied just in time to the automobile 

manufactur ers in Lower Saxony 

from there. 

In the course of the workshop, two ex - 

perience weekends were also drawn. 

The Heßler family, Ideal Automotive, 

won a football weekend in Gelsen - 

kirchen, including a visit to a home 

game of Schalke 04. Dr. Thomas Fusch, 

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, 

won the use of a cabriolet sponsored 

by the hosts, with which he and his 

family started off to a short stay in 

sunny Kitzbühel. 

"We are very satisfied with the course 

of the workshop. For all 68 attendees, 

the two days were extremely inform - 

ative and exciting", was the summary 

by Heinz-Gerd Sprenger, CEO of 

Panopa. The first applications for the 

coming Panopa event, then to be held 

in the Bavarian capital of Munich, 

have already been received. 

Esbade Herzog (Panopa Marketing) 

sends her regards – together with 

her two children Viktoria Nil and 

Alexander Kaan – from her 

parental leave. 


15

16 P A N O P A 

Ten Years of Panopa in Hambach – 

Successful Logistics for Small Cars 

Panopa Logistique France SARL, the French subsidiary of Panopa Logistik GmbH, has been responsible for the 

logistic services for the production of the smart in Hambach in Lorraine since 1997. In the coming years, Panopa 

wishes to extend the activities in France even further. 

With a storage area of 250 

square metres and only 

about ten employees to start 

with, Panopa opened the new corpo - 

rate location for automotive logistics 

on 28 August 1997. From the very first 

day, Panopa took on the internal logis - 

tics for the production of the smart in 

Hambach: the Panopa employees 

planned and organised the transport 

of the rear axles on the site and supplied 

the axles to the correct production 

belts. 

Likewise, Panopa has been responsible 

for the so-called transport control from 

the beginning. All incoming trucks are 

registered at the gates of the location 

by the Panopa employees. They also 

give the truck drivers individual entry 

permits, as only a certain number of 

trucks are allowed to be on the production 

site at the same time. 

The organisation of the transport fleet 

We congratulate 

35 years of service 

Sabine Wulfert, Eisenhüttenstadt 

Klaus Moedebeck, Eisenhütten stadt 

Jürgen Weinbörner, Bochum 

Petra Seidel, Dortmund 

Hans-Dieter Goede, Dortmund 


Reinhard Biermann, Herten 

Torsten Heerbach, Eisenhütten stadt 

Heiko Henke, Eisenhüttenstadt 

Maik Reimann, Eisenhüttenstadt 

Mario Hannemann, Eisenhütten stadt 

Volker Stange, Herten 

Torsten Dehmel, Herten 

Heiko Stutzmann, Dortmund 


Holiday feeling in the Panopa-beach-area at the 

open day 

f.l.t.r.: Friedrich Krüger, Helmut 

Schniederjohann and Charles Braun 

management has also been one of the 

tasks of automotive logistics of Panopa 

for some time. The parts needed to 

build the car are transported to Ham - 

bach by truck from all over Europe in 

a just-in-time procedure. By means of a 

computer-controlled system, the suppliers 

always know which part is 

required when – and that is precisely 

what they supply. As soon as the truck 

has reached the production site, the 

Panopa employees take over the load - 

ed semitrailer with a special vehicle 

and transport the parts directly into 

the production hall. The trucks finally 

drive back to the supplier with 

empties on board. 

In the first few months, the production 

of the small city car was not always 

without problems. But since the summer 

of 1998, the turnover and the production 

rates have permanently risen. 

The 1,000,000th smart rolled off the 

belt in July this year and was cele - 

brated in Hambach by manufacturers, 

suppliers and service companies with 

an open day, at which Panopa ensured 

a holiday feeling with a beach area 

and their own cocktail bar inviting the 

attendees to relax. 

Today, Panopa is active in Hambach 

with up to 60 people. With its own 

administrative building and more than 

10,000 square metres of storage area, 

the company works for almost 80 

different customers. "In the coming 

years, we want to increase our commitment 

in Hambach and the whole of 

France even more and obtain other 

automobile suppliers as customers", 

explains Rüdiger Buß, managing director 

of Panopa. 

Fotos: Wolfgang Klauke

N E S K A 

Paper Logistics from Pohl & Co. is Given 

International Attention 

At the end of July, a camera team 

from the Russian news programme 

"Channel 5" could be 

seen in the port of Hamburg for a 

report on logistics. Amongst others, 

Pohl & Co. GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of 

neska Schiffahrts- und Speditions kon - 

tor GmbH, was a port of call for the 

journalists. Great interest was shown 

in the logistics processes in transhipment 

and the transport of Russian paper 

rolls. The Pohl employees showed the 

journalists how the paper rolls are 

transhipped onto trucks with the help 

of a loading system specifically devel - 

op ed by Pohl. When the paper arrives 

in Hamburg, it has already covered 

quite a distance. In block trains, it is 

transported in containers from inside 

the country to the port of St. Peters - 

burg – sometimes over distances of up 

to 1,500 kilometres. There, the paper 

rolls are loaded onto container ships, 

which then travel directly to the Hansa 

terminal of Pohl & Co. in the port of 

Hamburg. Here, the rolls are un - 

packed, picked, loaded onto trucks and 

finally transported just in time to their 

consignees. The customers include 

newspaper companies from Flens burg 

to Passau. A large regional newspaper 

from the Lower Rhine region is also 

printed on this paper. 

neska Pioneer with a New IT Strategy – 

Application Software is Centralised 

neska Schiffahrts- und Speditionskontor GmbH is staking on centralisation of its IT systems for the future in 

order to be able to react to customers' wishes more flexibly. 

In close cooperation with the partners 

CTS Container Terminal GmbH 

and Pohl & Co. GmbH, both partners 

of neska, the IT Depart ment in 

the neska main administration has 

developed the new IT strategy. It comprises 

a large number of individual 

hardware and software innovations 

tailor-made to meet the individual 

requirements of the enterprise and 

carefully matched to one another. 

An important step in this is the centralisation 

and standardisation of the 

e-mail systems and Internet accesses. 

The basis for this is the MPLS network 

implemented last year, to which large 

parts of the neska group of companies 

have now been connected. 

The core of the measures is formed by 

the “Active-M-Ware” forwarding soft- 

Jörg Hörter, Head of the IT Department 

ware. With Active-M-Ware, the Easy - 

Sped-Software in existence with neska 

is being modernised and the control of 

the processes in the handling of road 

transport by truck optimised. Em - 

bedded in a new server structure and 

provided with a Windows surface, 

neska is thus creating a distinct increa- 

se in comfort and efficiency both for 

its own employees and also for its 

customers. 

“Centralisation also means higher 

demands on IT security”, explains Jörg 

Hörter, head of the IT Department at 

neska. Not only are firewall systems 

and improved virus protection being 

used, but also redundant server units. 

Hörter is particularly proud of the 

newly created server room, which fulfils 

the high requirements of IT security 

required. 

The new hardware has been completely 

installed in the recent months. In 

the next few weeks, Jörg Hörter and 

his team will be converting the entire 

system to the new Windows surface. 


17

18 

N E S K A 

Avoid Traffic Jams with the OWX Ost West falen 

Xpress and Go Gentle on the Environment 

The Ruhr region is crossed by a number of motorways. Nevertheless, vehicles are almost always caught up in 

jams here. For private car drivers, this normally only means annoyance. But haulage companies cannot always 

comply with deadlines and fall into arrears in delivery. 

RRT Rhein-Ruhr Terminal GmbH, 

a subsidiary of the Imperial 

Logistics International GmbH, 

which is settled in the intermodal segment 

of neska Schiffahrts- und Spe di - 

tionskontor GmbH, for this reason 

decided to move its transport with 


imported trade commodities 

in the Ruhr re - 

gion to the rails in 2007. 

The trains of the “Ost 

Westfalen Xpress” (OWX) 

travel from the Rhein- 

Ruhr Terminal Duis - 

burg to the satellite terminal 

in Unna. Since 

1st June 2008, RRT has 

ad ditionally been runn - 

ing a half-train from 

Unna on to the satellite terminal in 

Bönen. On these routes, RRT mainly 

transports commodities from the nonfood 

area – amongst others for one of 

the world's largest trading groups. 

From Monday to Friday, the OWX 

leaves the Parallelhafen in Duisburg at 

10 p.m. every day. Three and a half 

hours later, it reaches the terminal in 

Unna and only a little later Bönen. The 

commodities are directly loaded onto 

trucks, which are already waiting, and 

transported on immediately, with the 

result that they reach their consignees 

before the sun rises. 

In this way, the Ruhr region motorways 

are already being relieved of 

about 18,000 truck trips a year. RRT 

wishes to extend this train system on 

the same lines even further next year 

and double train transports. In 

January, a new terminal in Duisburg is 

to be taken into operation for this purpose. 

More about this in the next 

Imperial News. 

neska Cologne Ensures Transhipment of 

Excavated Soil from the South of Germany 

Since this summer, not only classical 

general and mass cargo, but 

also waste have been transhipped 

in the Köln-Niehl harbour. “At the 

moment, we are transhipping 50,000 

tons of excavated soil from Southern 

Germany”, explains Michael Witt mann, 

head of the Cologne branch of neska 

Schiffahrts- und Speditionskontor 

GmbH. 

It is made possible by special approval 

from Cologne District Government, 

permitting neska in Cologne to tranship 

certain kinds of waste. 

The excavated soil is first shipped 

from Southern Germany to Rotterdam, 

where it is thermally processed. After 

this – again by ship – it is transported 

to Köln-Niehl. Here, the processed 

excavated soil is unloaded from the 

ships and directly loaded onto trucks 

for further transportation. 

The trucks’ destination is the former 

Leppe landfill near Overath, which has 

been closed since early 2006. The thermally 

processed excavated soil is used 

to fill the soil surface and contributes 

to re-cultivating the area. 

After only a few weeks, Wittmann has 

a positive balance: “The transhipment 

of waste is very successful for us. In 

the coming months, we wish to extend 

this business segment even further.” A 

first inquiry for the transhipment of 

waste containers has already been 

received from Italy.

New Bulk Cargo Warehouse in Duisburg 

dbt Duisburg Bulk Terminal GmbH, a 

subsidiary of neska Schiffahrts- und 

Speditionskontor GmbH, put a new 

ware house for storage of bulk material 

into operation in May 2008 after one 

year of construction. 

On an area of 2,200 square metres, it 

provides eight lots, four of which have 

sliding roofs. In addition, there is a 

dropping box used for direct transfers 

to the warehouse from a ship by crane. 

This box has a specific nozzle system. 

With the help of water mist, development 

of dust is prevented when the 

loose material is put into store. 

The new hall is partly more than 13 

metres high, making it possible to tip 

trucks with loose material directly in 

the warehouse. In particular, aggre - 

gates for stainless steel production 

such as ferrochrome, ferrosilicon and 

ferromanganese are to be stored here. 

neska Executives Met in 

Monheim 

As a tradition, the executives of the 

neska Group meet twice a year for an 

exchange of information, as was also 

the case on 4 September this year. The 

venue was Monheim am Rhein, situ - 

ated between Düsseldorf and Cologne. 

One important subject was naturally 

the economic development of the individual 

locations and enterprises. The 

people responsible for the locations 

gave an overview of the chances and 

risks resulting from what is currently 

happening on the market. 

But it was also administrative subjects 

from the areas of quality, IT, human 

resources and accountancy which 

were discussed in this group. 

After one day – filled with information 

and discussions – the official part 

finished in the evening. Following 

there was the opportunity of holding 

some discussions with colleagues in a 

relaxed atmosphere. 

We congratulate 


Detlev Fabricius, uct Dormagen 

Friedrich Konopka, Pohl Hamburg 


Klaus-Dieter Stoldt, Pohl Hamburg 

N E S K A 

IN A NUTSHELL 

Personnel 

Ms Christiane Pawlik, CTS Con tain - 

er Terminal GmbH, Cologne, Mr 

Dirk Meyer, DCH Düsseldorfer Con - 

tainer-Hafen GmbH, and Mr Thomas 

Waldmüller, RRT Rhein-Ruhr Termi - 

nal GmbH, Duisburg, were appoint - 

ed author ised signatory with effect 

from 1st July 2008. Likewise as per 

1st July 2008, Kevin Gründer and 

Olaf Jahn, both RRT Rhein-Ruhr 

Terminal GmbH, Duisburg, have 

been granted power of attorney. 

neska Apprentices Pass 

their Examinations 

As the first apprentices in the IT 

Department of the main administration 

of neska Schiffahrts- und Spedi - 

tionskontor GmbH, Christian Dick - 

mann and Cihan Yilmaz successfully 

completed their apprenticeships 

this summer. After a three-year pe - 

riod as apprentices, they now bear 

the title “Trained Information Tech - 

no logy Assistant”. And they also al - 

ready have a successor: Torsten Hille - 

brand has likewise started his ap - 

prenticeship as an information tech - 

nology assistant in Jörg Hörter's team. 

CTS: En Route on the 

Upper Rhine by Ship 

and by Train 

Together with its two partners, 

Contargo and IFB, the CTS Con tain - 

er Terminal GmbH, an associated 

company of neska Schiffahrts- und 

Speditionskontor GmbH, runs both 

a rail and also a ship connection on 

the Upper Rhine. The “Oberrhein- 

Fahrgemeinschaft” (OFG) is an internal 

waterway line. It runs twice a 

week from the Upper Rhine terminals 

in Basel and Strasbourg to 

Rotterdam and Ant werp respectively 

and back again. Antwerp is also 

served by rail from Ottmarsheim. 

The “Ott mars heim-Flan dern-Ex press” 

(OFE) can be seen on this route 

twice a week. On both routes, it is 

mainly regional economic commodities 

such as paper, steel and chemicals 

which are transported. 


19

20 I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A 

Memories of South Africa, Part 1: 

Lions and Other Members of the Family... 

In 2001, Helmut Schniederjohann, managing director of the Hansmann Logistik GmbH + Co. KG, travelled from 

Duisburg to South Africa, in order to get to know the home country of the parent company Imperial Holdings 

Limited, which was still quite new at that time. He remembers one impressive encounter: 

Helmut Schniederjohann 

a week, we had the 

opportunity of getting to 

“Within 

know the country and 

the people. During this time, we looked 

at a total of 14 companies. But along - 

side work, pleasure was also not to be 

neglected: for one weekend, we went 

on a safari trip – and that was where 

the actual adventure began… 

The fact that this trip would demand 

more adrenalin from us than we had 

expected was seen after only a short 

time. When we – not expecting anything 

bad – were driving through the 

steppe and waiting for something to 

see, an impressive male lion suddenly 

came across us. 

This lion was about 30 metres away 

from us and was just waiting for its 

family, mother and cub, which were 

now opposite us. We were on the road 

in an open jeep... 

Fortunately, the small family did not 

feel like playing that day. They also 

appeared to have eaten already, with 

the result that they did not come closer 

than 20 metres away. We were very 

astonished about the relaxed way in 

which they reacted to visitors. But not 

all the animals were so calm on the 


day, as we were to see later. 

The trip led us on through a narrow 

pass. But suddenly, in the middle of 

the bushes, there was a whole herd of 

elephants in front of us: a mother with 

her cub and the father next to them. 

However, he was not as relaxed as the 

lion-cub's father before; trumpeting 

and with his ears pricked, he started 

tearing the bushes in his vicinity out. 

He appeared to be really angry. 

Our guide must have noticed this too, 

as he said in a friendly, but determined 

way: “Don't take photos and keep 

calm.” While he started the vehicle 

and slowly drove it further back, I 

secretly thought: “Why aren't you just 

lying at home on the settee in peace 

and quiet?” 

After we had reached the firm road 

again after what had seemed like 

hours, our guide suddenly drove off at 

full throttle. While he – a non-smoker 

–lit up a cigarette and hastily smoked 

it, he admitted that something like 

that had never happened to him in 

three years of safari. 

I must admit: since then, I don't get 

ruffled that easily any more!”

I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A 

Memories of South Africa, Part 2: 

Dieter Kahns, Tomas Petterson, Guido Roth, 

Rüdiger Buß and the African Winter 

In May this year, some employees of Imperial Logistics International GmbH (ILI) and its subsidiaries were 

with the parent company in South Africa: Dieter Kahns (managing director of Laabs GmbH), Tomas Petterson 

(managing director of FoodTankers AB), Guido Roth (managing director of Gillhuber Logistik GmbH) and 

Rüdiger Buß (managing director of Panopa Logistik GmbH). Rüdiger Buß thinks back: 

A social encounter with colleagues 

from South Africa in the evening 

were only there for five 

days in May. Together “We 

with our South African 

colleagues, we attended open and constructive 

workshops. Our colleagues 

presented their impressive truck acti - 

vities to us and showed us the various 

divisions. In South Africa, Imperial 

runs 5,000 vehicles of its own and 

2,500 firmly chartered trucks and is 

thus the largest transport service company 

on the Cape. 

Dieter Kahns, Tomas Petterson and 

Guido Roth were in South Africa for 

the first time. This is why we also had 

a look at the country once the work 

was over. Our South African colleagues 

invited us to go on a safari. We 

were out in the wild for two days. It 

was really very impressive to be able 

to look at the various animals which 

you can only see in a zoo here from 

very close by and in the wild. Apart 

from elephants, we were able to see all 

the animals in the “Big Five”. But we 

had to start very early for this. When 

our colleagues from South Africa suddenly 

started putting gloves and caps 

on, we Europeans were quite astonish - 

ed. But an hour later, we weren't any 

more, because we were freezing: it was 

really very cold. Our colleagues explained 

to us that even in winter it was 

pleas antly warm during the day in 

South Africa, but it could get very cool 

at dawn and dusk, something which 

we unfortunately weren't prepared for. 

Nevertheless, I would like to go there 

again on a private trip – for the next 

football World Cup at the latest, as 

South Africa is really a fascinating and 

great country. And in May, I will then 

simply pack some small things for 

winter as well.” 

Imperial News 2/2008 2/2007 

21

22 I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A 

Inspired Input, Intelligent Outcome 

Imperial Logistics Southern Africa has come a long way since 1975 when a small fleet of light commercial 

vehicles were rented to clients to distribute food and fresh produce to restaurants. Today, Imperial Logistics is 

the leading logistics and supply chain management company in the Southern African region. 

The company’s evolution from 

good to great lies in the strategy 

of combining the best available 

skills and supply chain management 

specialists with a large and modern 

resource base of vehicles for trans por - 

t ation, warehousing facilities and bestin-breed 

IT systems supported by the 

ability to invest in new businesses 

and customer solutions. 

According to Marius Swane - 

poel, Chief Executive Officer 

at Imperial Logistics, their 

reputation is based on develop - 

ing intelligent and tailor-made 

solutions for a wide variety of 

blue chip customers. “This is 

done by leveraging processes, 

people, technology, infrastructure 

and the strength of our 

strategic partnerships and 

alliances with leading technology 

partners. Our track record 

is underpinned by our ability 

to determine the correct operat ing 

model, including identifying which 

logistic functions to outsource and 

which to keep in-house.” 

One of three divisions of Imperial 

Holdings and home to 70 operating 

companies, Imperial Logistics has a 

blue chip customer base extending 

across many industries. The group po - 

sitions itself as an extension of its 

customers’ business and has the ability 

to extend its service offerings as and 

when required. 

Imperial Logistics employs more than 

14,500 people and operates a fleet of 


some 5500 vehicles with a further 

2000 utilised by subcontractors, and 

has warehouse capacity of more than 

711,000 square metres. 

The multi-brand structure ensures that 

the group optimises the benefits, scale 

and synergies that are derived from 

f.l.t.r. Tansey Coetzee (Miss SA,) Abrie de Swardt (Marketing 

Director Imperial Logistics) accepting the National Logistics 

Award 2008 and Monwabsi Nanjezi (Director Kintetsu 

World Express, the company who sponsored the award) 

large businesses, while retaining its 

agility, customer focus and an entrepreneurial 

flair that characterises 

small businesses. “Our ability to tailormake 

solutions and really focus on 

what the customer needs rather than 

what we can offer, distinguishes us in 

the market place”, says marketing 

director Abrie de Swardt. 

“Imperial Logistics values associations 

with selected academic institutions 

such as what we have with Cardiff 

University’s Logistics and Operations 

Management Section, who is doing 

advanced work in the research of 

green logistics. We are monitoring 

some of their findings and using some 

of their skills on our projects”, ex plains 

de Swardt. 

Imperial Logistics was recognised for 

excellence in business and won the 

2008 National Logistics Award. “A 

huge thank you must go to our custom - 

ers for affording us the opportunity to 

handle their products and 

brands. This award shows 

that when we bring it all 

together, we have a very 

good story to tell and we are 

a well balanced busi ness”, 

notes de Swardt. 

Another important mile - 

stone for Imperial Logistics 

was the recent acquisition of 

Volition Consulting Services, 

who focuses on supply chain 

consulting. The company now 

has in excess of 80 supply 

chain experts. “Our focus is 

on strategy formulation, operations 

improvement, people alignment 

and technology enablement, and 

this will help us to remain the leader 

in logistics and supply chain management 

in Southern Africa”, says de Swardt. 

Imperial Logistics was also awarded 

the 2008 “Focus on Excellence” Cor - 

porate Social Investment Recog nition 

Award. In addition to initiatives ensur - 

ing the health and safety of its own 

drivers, Imperial Logistics is also in - 

volved in combating HIV / AIDS by 

sponsoring two roadside clinics that 

offer AIDS education, food and support 

to the benefit of surrounding commu - 

nities.

I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A 

Annual Accounts Imperial Holdings Limited (26.06.2007–30.06.2008) 

Summary of the results 

Headline earnings per share - 49 % 

Revenue + 3 % 

Operating profit - 20 % 

Attributable profit - 131 % 

Balance sheet total - 17 % 

Income statement (in mil. Rand) 

2008 2007* Δ% 

Revenue 55.927 54.451 + 3 % 

Operating profit 2.992 3.753 - 20 % 

Profit before taxation 

Net profit from 

2.114 3.565 - 41 % 

continuing operations 

Net Profit from 

1.407 2.557 - 45 % 

discontinued operations -1.920 597 - 422 % 

Net profit -513 3.154 - 116 % 

* Previous year's figures adapted for reasons of comparison 

1.500 

1.400 

1.300 

1.200 

1.100 

1.000 

900 

800 

700 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

4.800 

4.500 

4.200 

3.900 

3.600 

3.300 

3.000 

2.700 

2.400 

2.100 

1.800 

1.500 

1.200 

900 

600 

300 

0 

Headline EPS 

(in Cents) 

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 

Pre-tax profit 

(in mil. Rand) 

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 

Balance sheet (in mil. Rand) 

2008 2007 

Capitalised leased assets 337 6.990 

Transport and allied assets 3.465 2.789 

Other assets 17.719 14.648 

Stocks and debtors 13.263 18.319 

Cash & investments 3.148 2.788 

Total assets 37.932 45.534 

Interest-free liabilities 15.917 18.222 

Interest bearing borrowings 11.599 13.845 

Equity 10.416 13.467 

Total equity and liabilities 37.932 45.534 

60.000 

56.000 

52.000 

48.000 

44.000 

40.000 

36.000 

32.000 

28.000 

24.000 

20.000 

16.000 

12.000 

8.000 

4.000 

0 

48.000 

45.000 

42.000 

39.000 

36.000 

33.000 

30.000 

27.000 

24.000 

21.000 

18.000 

15.000 

12.000 

9.000 

6.000 

3.000 

0 

Revenue 


1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 

Balance sheet total 


1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 


23 

Source: Preliminary audited results, Imperial Holdings Limited

Imperial Logistics International GmbH 

Kasteelstraße 2 

47119 Duisburg 

Germany 

Phone +49 203 8005-0 

Fax +49 203 8005-284 

E-mail: imperial@imperial-international.com 

vom Hoff Kommunikation GmbH, Düsseldorf

News 2-2008 E NEU:News 2/05.2 - Panopa

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