2010: Economic prognoses surpassed.

2011: Turnaround planned for the entire group.

 

• 2010: Turnover of 372 million euros instead of 360 million euros
• Investments of 34 million euros this year
• Strategic reorientation allowed for a successful change of policy

 

AUGUSTIN QUEHENBERGER GROUP exceeded the expectations with a turnover of 372 million euros in 2010 and has planed a black zero for the entire group in 2011. The reorientation of the business portfolio, a new operative strategy and extensive investments made it possible to bring about a change in the trend of the company which had been taken over with losses. This has been announced today, Tuesday 22 February, by the two managing directors, CEO Christian Fürstaller and CFO Rodolphe Schoettel at a press interview in Vienna, Austria.

 

Turnover expectations exceeded in 2010

With its 2,050 employees at 76 locations in 16 countries, AUGUSTIN QUEHENBERGER GROUP, founded in August 2010 and consisting of the two logistics companies AUGUSTIN Network (acquired in July 2009) and Quehenberger Logistics (acquired in April 2010), generated a turnover in the financial year 2010, which exceeded the expectations. The turnover of 371.8 million euros exceeds the prognosis of 360 million euros by approximately three per cent. The result of the previously (prior to the takeover) loss-making companies could be reduced down to a low seven-digit loss. Quehenberger Logistics has already generated – for the first time in years! – a positive result in 2010, AUGUSTIN Network is supposed to achieve this goal in 2011, too, which would allow the entire group to accomplish the turnaround. "2011 is the decisive year on our way to an economically successful group of companies. We assume that we will accomplish the black zero this year and will make a sustainable profit from then on", CFO Rodolphe Schoettel outlined the next goals.

 

Positive development by acquisition and organic growth

AUGUSTIN QUEHENBERGER GROUP reports a turnover of 371.8 million euros for the whole year 2010. Based on the all-year values, this development shows a strong increase in the group turnover from 136.2 million euros (in 2009) to 371.8 million euros (in 2010). Rodolphe Schoettel gives the organic growth and acquisitions as reasons for that. For 2011 the CFO expects a turnover of 405 million euros, corresponding to an increase by approximately nine per cent.

 

Table: Development of the group's turnover

Values in million euros	2009	2010	2011 (budget)
Proforma turnover*	136,2	371,8	405,5

 

*represents the year-round turnover of the group of companies

 

 

Investing in the future

In 2010 the new owners invested large sums. They spent roughly 34 million euros for buildings, IT and above all for the replacement of the company-owned vehicle fleet of AUGUSTIN Network. By now it is one of the most efficient vehicle fleets in Central Europe with 585 state-of-the-art trucks and 770 semi-trailers. "We will continue this course of renewal and specialisation and in 2011 we will keep investing", announced Schoettel.

 

The employee curve is also tending upwards. After the two acquisitions the employment level did not decrease but increase. This trend, too, is continued in the plan for 2011. The number of employees is supposed to rise from 2,050 (in 2010) to 2,180 (in 2011). According to Schoettel, the company will also increasingly invest in professional education and advanced training in order to ensure and constantly raise the high quality standards.

 

Christian Fürstaller: Success through change

The positive development of the two companies AUGUSTIN Network and Quehenberger Logistics was only possible with a complete change of strategy, CEO Christian Fürstaller stressed. This reorientation forms the basis for becoming a sustainably successful logistics company which makes enough profit to secure its future. "We have an ambitious vision. By 2015 we want to be the best medium-sized logistics company in Central and Eastern Europe", explains Fürstaller.

Europe-wide logistics services from a single source

Fürstaller explained this for instance by means of the strategy behind the acquisitions. The aim was to create a wide transport and logistics portfolio. With the two affiliated companies AUGUSTIN Network and Quehenberger Logistics, AUGUSTIN QUEHENBERGER GROUP now covers the fields of transport management, network and contract logistics all over Europe, focussing on Central and Eastern Europe. AUGUSTIN Network is the specialist for Europe-wide transport management, and Quehenberger Logistics offers the best groupage network in Austria, provides successful contract logistics and is well represented in Eastern Europe with 48 locations.

 

Focus on quality

The two companies are systematically turned into high quality service providers, which do not focus on the price fight, but create a clear added value for their customers. Fürstaller explained: "Those who get into the inflationary spiral won't be successful because they are always determined by the others. We rely on highest quality which results in the best cost-benefit ratio for our customers and therefore in the cheapest solution for them." For logistics is getting more and more complex and demanding. Therefore, the know-how of a specialist is required for an optimal solution. "Many companies saved production costs at cheap Eastern European locations, for instance, but then they lost a part of this advance by inefficient logistics. This experience has initiated a rethinking and has opened up new chances for an uncompromising high quality service provider", said the CEO.

 

 

Sustainability and transport avoidance

Fürstaller explained the possibilities of transport management using the example of the requirements of environmental protection and the reduction of exhaust emissions. The entire fleet of AUGUSTIN Network consists of vehicles which meet the Euro-5 standard. By the end of 2011 three quarters of the vehicles of the latest generation will meet the Euro-5 EEV standard. The 700 drivers of the company are trained regularly by two driving instructors in order to reduce the diesel consumption and to increase traffic safety.

 

 

Among other things, modern transport management aims at avoiding transports at all. By using an intelligent tour planning and bundling transports AUGUSTIN Network and Quehenberger Logistics achieve more transport services with less transports. "A complex cooperation with the customers and a perfectly coordinated concept are the preconditions for this", stressed Fürstaller. He mainly focuses on the combination of truck and railway transports. These intermodal transports do not only avoid CO₂ emissions, but they also allow for a stable handling, for instance by fixed schedules, higher weight limits and the omission of driving time limitations.

 

 

Stability by standardisation

The entire processes and procedures of the two companies have equally been reorganised. "Quality in logistics is always a matter of stability. This means that the right goods are delivered at the right time to the right place", explained Fürstaller. The company strongly invested in this stability, not only in terms of equipment but also regarding the IT systems and the employees. Besides, an internationally experienced management brings the required know-how into the company.

 

AUGUSTIN Network and Quehenberger Logistics rely on the standardisation of all processes and products as well as on a uniform IT, a stable implementation at the project start and LEAN management which has its origin in the automotive industry. "LEAN is a successful method to constantly improve an organisation. All employees keep looking for improvement possibilities in order to require less resources and to achieve better results. This is not done by external consulting, but is lived for by everybody as part of the corporate culture. In this way the motivation and self-responsibility, which are vital for a successful logistics company, are increased", said the CEO.

 

 

Focussing on core industries and target markets

"As a medium-sized company we must focus on both our brands and set priorities. We concentrate on what we can do better than others", Fürstaller summarised the corporate philosophy. This means: focussing on the six core industries automotive, chemicals, steel/wood/paper, industrial, retail and electronics as well as working on selected target markets intensively. For this purpose the location density in Central and Eastern Europe will be improved as fast as possible.

 

Partnership with handshake quality

Not least by an independent corporate culture, Fürstaller wants to differ from other logistics companies. Flexibility and customer proximity are of special importance to the CEO and shape the whole corporate culture. "What counts for me is personal contact and reliability. Especially in the international logistics business, a reliable partnership is the basis for a successful cooperation", said Fürstaller.

 

2011: Year of the turnaround

2011 will be the decisive year for AUGUSTIN Network and Quehenberger Logistics to achieve the turnaround of the entire group. The logistics market is currently stable on a high level and, according to Fürstaller, it will stay like that this year. Even though the single Eastern European countries are to be considered discriminately, the market is showing positive development possibilities, added the CEO.

 

In 2011 the extremely demanding IT structure will be further expanded so that it can be used at every location and in a uniform way for the sections contract logistics, transport management and groupage freight network. In transportation, intermodal solutions (truck and railway) are increasingly becoming the focus of interest and Quehenberger Logistics, which has already the best groupage freight network in Austria, wants to quickly improve its network in Eastern Europe, for instance by cooperations or possible additional acquisitions. Romania, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus take centre stage in this respect.

back to overview