Röhlig Annual Report 2012 Rohlig_Annual_Report_2012.pdf

AnnuAl repOrt 2012 | ForewordForeword | AnnuAl repOrt 2012Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,Dear Customers and Partners,With this report we publish the results of our161st year in business. We managed to increaseour business volume by 15.8 per cent – with grossprofits amounting to eur 110.9 million from withinthe consolidated companies and eur 161.9 millionfrom the Group. this was achieved despite hugeturbulence in the container shipping business anda weak air freight market. All regions, with the exceptionof europe, contributed to our growth.the operating result (eBIt) was eur 1.1 millionlower than that of the previous year. However, wewere prepared for this, as our primary objectiveis not the short-term maximisation of profits. Weare unable to secure our future by simply reducingcosts; no one has ever achieved significance bycontracting. Investment in the expansion of newbusiness areas therefore takes priority over shorttermpursuit of profit.At this point, I would like to thank the membersof our Advisory Board for their invaluable commitment.With them, we are concentrating onimplementing our 2018 strategy and the longtermdevelopment of röhlig. We aim to protectthe company against all future developments andmake it highly productive to maintain our financialindependence and our ability to determineour future. the long-term success of röhlig greatlydepends on the confidence of our customers,the commitment of our staff and our capacity forinnovation.We regard 2012 as a year of consolidation. Wemade progress in restructuring our German businessand completed the integration of the investmentswe made in South America and the uSAin 2011. Furthermore, we also invested in projectbusiness and the development of supply chainmanagement solutions, and appointed thomasHansen to the vacant board position in Miami,uSA. We are therefore well-equipped to face anyfuture challenges.I would like to thank our customers and businessassociates for their confidence and their interestin röhlig. On the following pages you can readmore about how we solve complex forwardingand logistics tasks. Despite the latest technologyand digital networks, it is our staff who remainthe key players. We combine “high quality” and“high tech” with “high touch” – that’s what makesthe difference, and for that, I extend my gratefulthanks to all our employees.Yours sincerely,Thomas w. herwigManaging partnerThe röhLIG GLobAL exeCUTIve boArd(from left to right) Quentin lacoste, thomas Hansen, thomas W.Herwig, Hans-ludger Körner, ulrike Baum, Jan Skovgaard4 5