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26 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Special International Transport Journal 35-36 2013Twenty years of AsstrA Associated Traffic AGMarkets in the eastAsstrA CEO Frank Müller spoke to ITJ editor-in-chief Christian Doepgenabout the slow start to Russia’s 2013 logistics market, new opportunitiesin southeastern Europe and how AsstrA is positioned.Mr Müller, the Russian market isn’t making any great strides rightnow. What is your sense of how it is developing?You’re right, Russia didn’t really get off to a running start this year. Itstotal foreign trade for the first half of 2013 shrunk by 0.5%, and exportsdropped by 2.7%. Investments by private entities have been scaled backand the state is stepping in once again to pick up the slack.How is your main line of business going?Our core business – international trucking to and from Russia – isholding steady. Project teams in niche markets, such as metal, gas, anddrinks logistics are doing good work. Traffic to central Europe and theNordic countries contributes to the 7,000 full-truck loads and 1,000container loads we ship every month. Approximately 20% of our businessconsists of services for mid-sized shippers who are seeking riskmitigation, cash-to-cash optimisation and rapid market positioning byoutsourcing their supply-chain activities. We’re looking to increase ourinternal annual growth guidance to 25%.AsstrA believes there is great potential in Poland and Czechia,thanks also to forwarders with competitive fleets.Which markets do you think offer the best opportunities?Take Ukraine. It has risen to 66th place on theWorld Bank’s logistics performance index.The infrastructure and purchasing power in Ukraine arecurrently 20% below the level in Belarus, leaving plentyof room for improvement. With our 80 employees therewe have the same number of personnel in Kiev as wehave in Moscow, but so far we have only managed togenerate half the revenue compared to Moscow. We’reseeing interesting developments in Poland and Czechia,where freight forwarders with competitive truck fleetsare increasingly present and the export potential is growing.There are also opportunities in the regions of Turkeyand the former Yugoslavia.Photo: AsstrADoes the heavylift and project-logistics niche holdany appeal?Acquiring the equipment requires big investments, andin the core Russian market such projects are plannedand contracted out at short notice. We help to plan largeprojects and transports with weights of up to 300 t, butbeing an asset-light firm is still our motto.The key to corporate development today is IT. Wheredoes AsstrA stand in this regard?We opted for the solutions offered by Oracle and haveinvested a great deal in IT. We have a digital orderingsystem and we can now manage the complete transportprocess for customers from a single interface.AsstrA was founded in 1993. What is your vision ofhow the company will position itself in the future?AsstrA is at a crossroads. We could either develop a lucrativeniche strategy, or adopt a volume business model. Inmy view, however, we could increase our current turnoverfrom approximately EUR 240 million a year nowto EUR 1 billion annually over the next five to ten yearsthrough organic growth alone.What is your personal motto?Success depends on people and strategies. Our greatstrength at AsstrA – apart from our efficient cost structures– is our average employee age of 29. That createsdynamism!www.asstra.com
International Transport Journal 35-36 2013 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Special27Gefco opens second Russian automobile distribution centreAn alternative to St PetersburgGefco, an international transport and logistics corporation that belongs to the Russian Railways RZD, recently opened a second site inRussia, which is to be used to deliver vehicles coming from Europe and Asia via the commercial port of Novorossiysk. The new facilityin the maritime port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea is considered by Gefco to be an alternative to using its St Petersburg centre.Gefco’s national branch in Russia, GefcoRussia, is set to offer customers weeklydelivery services for vehicles and sparecar parts from a new 12,000 sqm site inNovorossiysk. Gefco sees the option asan advantageous alternative to the traditionalsea freight route via St Petersburgand Llichevsk (Ukraine), which will allowcarmakers to significantly reduce their logisticsexpenditure whilst simultaneouslyoptimising delivery times, the corporationsaid.The new Gefco office at Novorossiyskwill be in charge of goods management,customs clearance and vehicle warehousingin the terminals of the NovorossiyskCommercial Sea Port (NCSP). Gefco andthe NCSP also have plans to develop thero-ro infrastructure at Novorossiysk inthe near future.First-ever callThe opening of this new automotivesite coincided with the first ever call tothe port of Novorossiysk by the NeptuneOdyssey, one of the largest ro-ro vesselsfor transporting vehicles that the porthas ever received. The vessel delivered afull/part load of PSA vehicles (CitroënC-Elysée, Peugeot 301, Peugeot Partnerand Citroën Berlingo), coming from theSpanish port of Vigo. Gefco has chosenthe company TMBC Logistics as its handlingagent for all PSA cargo arriving atNovorossiysk.Robert Altermattwww.gefco.netGefco has expanded its automobile and spare parts distribution activities in Russia.In briefHigher ART Logistics frequencies. The internationalforwarding enterprise ART Logisticshas added a monthly LTL connection betweenVilnius (Lithuania) and Ulan Bator (Mongolia)to the two it already offered. (See also ourinterview with Aliya Mussina, head of ARTLogistics in Kazakhstan, on page 24.)www.art-businessgroup.comDHL Express in St Petersburg. The courier,express and parcel service provider DHLExpress recently commenced operations in anew 3,700 sqm logistics centre in the Russianmetropolis of St Petersburg. www.dhl.comNew joint venture in Russia. The Frenchtransport and logistics enterprise NorbertDentressangle has founded a new 50:50 jointventure in Russia, together with the Frenchfood producer Danone. The new company willoffer temperature-controlled logistics servicesas well as fresh produce transportation inRussia. www.norbert-dentressangle.comMeyer QSL expanding. The owner-managedGerman logistics service provider Meyer QuickService Logistics (Meyer QSL) has opened twonew temperature-controlled logistics warehousesin the Russian cities of Krasnodar andNovosibirsk.www.quick-service-logistics.dePhoto: GefcoWAREHOUSE LOGISTICEUROPEAN SERVICEIMPORT/EXPORTFULL LOAD SERVICEDOMESTIC SERVICESafe and economical storage of your goods in our ownwarehouse of 31 500 qm 2Groupage and full load traffic with subsequent distributionand logistic: Germany/Switzerland/Benelux/France/England/Italy/Turkey/Eastern and Southeastern EuropeEuropeanwide timely and safe delivery of full loads andhazardous cargosAustriawide full load and partload cargo door-to-doorSpeditions Ges.m.b.H.TVS-Strasse 2A-2353 GuntramsdorfTel.: +43/2236/8004-0Fax: +43/2236/8004-60 +70E-Mail: www.import@tvs-europa.at
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