Gebrüder Weiss confirms goal to be ‘service excellence’

Recording turnover in excess of EUR 1 billion in 2011 Gebrüder Weiss continues its investment strategy

“Our goal continues to be service excellence“, emphasises Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Niessner at the presentation of the 2011 annual report. Adhering to this motto Austria’s largest privately-owned transport and logistics enterprise (With over 4,650 employees, 158 company-owned locations) will remain true to its strategy of continuous investments even in a volatile economic environment. The main focus is on the expansion and consolidation of the global network, as well as investments in technology, infrastructure and training.

The objective of Gebrüder Weiss is to establish a presence east of the Black Sea offering multimodal logistics chains. To this end the company gained its first foothold in the Caucasus with the signing of a joint venture in Georgia recently. Construction work will begin on a modern logistics terminal in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, before the end of this year.

In the 2011 fiscal year, Gebrüder Weiss has broken through the 1 billion-euro barrier in turnover for the first time in its 500-year history. Turnover was up 9.2 per cent in the 2010 fiscal year, with the company recording provisional net sales of EUR 1.066 billion. ”Because of our high equity ratio and a cash flow of over EUR 65 million, we have been able to finance most of our investments without relying on financial institutions,” explains Chief Financial Officer Wolfram Senger-Weiss. ”We have used this equity for the targeted expansion of our global network”, he adds. In the past year, the company has invested EUR 40.8 million in new sites and projects.

All key business areas of the group have contributed to growth. In overland transport, Gebrüder Weiss managed to increase consolidated turnover by around 10 per cent, from EUR 642.1 million to EUR 706.6 million. In addition to network expansion, pan-European standardisation of the service offering (key word “GW pro.line“) was a milestone in the development of this business area. In 2011, Gebrüder Weiss Air & Sea posted turnover of EUR 236.8 million, which is an increase of 9.4 per cent. Sea freight, in particular, has seen strong growth in recent years, according to Board member and Regional Managing Director for Air & Sea, Heinz Senger-Weiss. An important milestone was the ongoing development of the Project and Break Bulk segment and the expansion of the South American network through their global business partner Röhlig Logistics.

Quelle: LogEastics
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