Heavy goods transport to China

Militzer & Münch China transported components of gas turbines for a power station from Antwerp in Belgium to Pingshan in China. The three 130-ton units were shipped, among others, by container vessel and articulated truck. The transport was executed by a team of Militzer & Münch Beijing in March and April.

During the project, there were several hurdles to be taken. First of all, for the loading and unloading of the container vessel, a floating crane had to be used with a capacity of up to several thousand tons. Once loaded, the parts were shipped to China. Owing to their weight and measurements, such components are normally transported via heavy-lift ship.

But due to their long years of experience and good contacts, the Chinese Militzer & Münch team succeeded in getting the cargo transported via container vessel. The transit time is only 35 days and thus much shorter than via heavy-lift ship. Port of discharge was Chiwan in Guangdong Province.

Specialized team

The transport team had to cover the remaining 200 kilometers to Pingshan in Guangdong Province by road. The Militzer & Münch employees obtained the necessary special permits and escort vehicles for the eight to ten-axle articulated trucks and trailers.

It was the first transport the new Militzer & Münch China projects team did for one of the biggest power corporations in China. “The project showed us that we have a very competent team here in Beijing”, says Glenn Bai, Managing Director Militzer & Münch China. “We look forward to further exciting projects of this kind.”

Specialization Militzer & Münch China

  • Individual solutions incl. consultancy on customs clearance and road permit requirements in China
  • Contacts to break-bulk carriers and port authorities
  • Execution of out-of-gauge and heavy-lift cargo shipments
  • Domestic road & barge transports
  • Special equipment

Three flatbed trucks to Fergana

For a supplier from the automotive sector, Militzer & Münch transported a production line from Spain to Uzbekistan: thereby the costumer can curve and temper glass for automotive sidelights and taillights. The teams of Militzer & Münch in Nurnberg, Germany and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, cooperated on the project.

The partner of Militzer & Münch in Spain, Altius S.A., commissioned the shipment to Militzer & Münch Uzbekistan. In March 2017, eight standard trucks and three flatbed trucks started the 7,000 kilometer journey from Northern Spain to the Uzbek part of Fergana Valley.

The trailers boarded the parts of a furnace for curving and tempering automotive sidelights and backlights glasses. The transit time from Aller in the Spanish Asturias to Fergana was about 16 days.

Strict entry requirements project

For security reasons, access to the Fergana valley is strictly regulated for foreign trucks. “As finding an Uzbek carrier in Spain was difficult, we had to look for another option,” says Nelly Djurabaeva, Traffic Manager, Militzer & Münch Uzbekistan, who headed the project. “Together with Denys Gumenyk, head of the Nurnberg projects team, we worked out a route to Fergana with entry into the valley via Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Foreign trucks could use this route to enter Fergana without reloading. The transport went smoothly.”

Setting a good example project

After the successful handling of the comprehensive transport from Spain to Uzbekistan, the team at Militzer & Münch Belarus also used the route recommended by their colleagues – although from another point of origin. This time, ten trucks transported parts of textile machinery from Northern Italy to Fergana, again via Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

The Fergana Valley

  • Densely populated valley in Central Asia, situated between the Tien Shan and Alay mountain ranges
  • It lies mainly on Uzbek and partly on Tajik and Kyrgyz territory
  • More than 10 million people live in the valley that is about 300 kilometers long and up to 110 kilometers in width

Regular traffics to the Maghreb

Cooperating and pooling of forces: On May 1, the Militzer & Münch Group and Andreas Schmid Logistik AG started their joint venture “MMAS Eurasia Logistic GmbH” (MMAS Eurasia). The joint venture offers regular traffics to the Maghreb countries and Turkey. 

The joint venture is headquartered at Gersthofen in the Bavarian Augsburg administrative district, about 80 kilometers to the North West of Munich. Andreas Schmid operates three branch offices in Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg, and is the regional market leader for domestic truck transports with an area-wide transportation network in Southern Germany. 

“With the supplementary capacities offered by the joint venture, we can further develop our international door-to-door services”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma, CEO M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG. “Especially in the economically thriving South of Germany, we register high demand for international transports. In Andreas Schmid, we have a reliable and potent partner to meet this demand.” Since the beginning of May, MMAS Eurasia has been handling several departures per week from Gersthofen to Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey.

A win-win situation 

To Militzer & Münch, the joint venture offers extra transport capacities. Andreas Schmid profits from the well-founded know-how and the outstanding international transportation network of the Militzer & Münch Group. “Owing to the dense local networks of the Militzer & Münch Group, we can offer our customers excellent service in Turkey and the Maghreb states”, says Gianluca Crestani, Member of the Board, Andreas Schmid Logistik. “The Maghreb states hold great perspectives for German enterprises that we can additionally support with perfect local logistics.”


Marked increase in Maghreb transports

There are excellent perspectives in the Maghreb states: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria are offering numerous chances for German companies. The Maghreb region is an important trade partner especially for the automotive and textile industries. Militzer & Münch is experiencing a sharp increase in transports to this region. The Militzer & Münch Group’s truck traffics between Germany and Morocco for example doubled in the last two years, traffics from and to Tunisia even rose three-fold.

Transit country Turkey

As a transit country between Europe and Asia, Turkey plays an important role for international logistics. “The Turkish government’s investments in the country’s infrastructure are further pushing the demand for transports”, Dr. Lothar Thoma says. In Turkey, the Militzer & Münch Group operates four locations, among others in Istanbul and Izmir.

Additional destinations

With the joint venture, Militzer & Münch and Andreas Schmid add numerous additional destinations to their regular truck traffic network. The joint venture moreover complements the long-standing collaboration of Militzer & Münch with the groupage cooperation CargoLine. Militzer & Münch uses the CargoLine network mainly for international transports to and from Germany and Western Europe.

In May, the Militzer & Münch Group launched the joint venture “MMAS Eurasia Logistic GmbH” (MMAS Eurasia) with Andreas Schmid Logistik AG.

Electricity Vietnam

Smartphones, vacuum cleaners, and electric railways – they all run on electricity. And where there’s electricity, insulators are needed, for example to fasten transmissionlines to the transmission tower. Militzer & Münch Ukraine was able to win a producer of polymeric insulators as a customer, and now transports insulator parts from Shanghai to Ukraine, and forwards the finished goods to Vietnam.

The contract was already signed in the beginning of June 2016 for a duration of three years. “New customers with regular transport orders are extremely important to us, as this strengthens our market position”, says Yuliya Bezverkha, Marketing & Sales at Militzer & Münch Ukraine.

European quality at very low prices

Militzer & Münch Ukraine’s customer designs and manufactures polymeric insulators for current  lines, open switching stations and substations as well as AC overhead  lines for railways. The insulators are produced in the Donetsk region according to international safety specifications before they are exported to Vietnam.

“The most important advantage of products produced in Ukraine is European quality at Chinese prices.”

Yuliya Bezverkha
Marketing & Sales, Militzer & Münch Ukraine

For the manufacturing process, the company relies on equipment from Germany, Switzerland, and from other leading foreign suppliers. The machinery allows fully automating the basic manufacturing processes. “The most important advantage of products produced in Ukraine is European quality at Chinese prices”, says Yuliya Bezverkha. The finished products are then exported. The insulators that go to Vietnam are roughly 1.5 meters in length and weigh four kilograms each.

Import and export from one source

Militzer & Münch Ukraine handles the import as well as the export for their customer. “We import parts from Shanghai to Ukraine, mainly via sea freight in 20 foot containers, sometimes also via air,” says Yuliya Bezverkha. “The goods we transport are fastening elements that connect the insulators to the current line and the transmission tower.”

After they have arrived in Ukraine, the goods are trucked from the Port of Odessa or Kiev Airport to the production factory in the Donetsk region. Here, the polymeric insulators are produced and packed in wooden boxes for on-forwarding. The finished insulators are transported to Ho Chi Minh City, mostly by air.

During one year, the M&M Ukraine team shipped more than 15 tons in airfreight and 51 in sea freight in imports from Shanghai, and more than 24 tons by air and 50 tons by sea in exports to Vietnam. “We appreciate the trust the costumer puts in us”, says Yuliya Bezverkha.

What are insulators?

Insulators must offer high mechanical stability, but very low electric conductivity. In order to combine these two components, insulators are made from solid insulating materials such as aluminum oxide ceramics, porcelain, glass, glass-fiber reinforced plastics or epoxy resins.

Insulators are used to fasten or guide bare electrical conductors. The current flow through the fastening element is inhibited to the largest part. Insulators used in the open, for instance on transmission towers, big antennas or substations, moreover have to be durable in view of ultraviolet radiation and weather variations.

Militzer & Münch France in best hands

Guillaume de Laage de Meux (48) joined the Militzer & Münch Group twelve years ago. He is now Managing Director of Militzer & Münch France and Regional Managing Director South West Europe / Maghreb. We had the opportunity to talk with him to learn more about his area of responsibility and also to get to know him personally.

How long have you been with Militzer & Münch? 

I started at Militzer & Münch France in January 2006 as Deputy Managing Director. In this function, my responsibility was the restructuring and development of the organization. This gave me the opportunity to become more familiar with the structure of the Group. In 2009, I was appointed Managing Director. In 2014, I took over the position of Regional Manager for the South West Europe (SWE) / Maghreb region. At the same time, I was elected into the Group Management of M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG.

How would you define your function within the Group?  

My foremost function is to develop business in the SWE / Maghreb region in a profitable way and to guarantee the continuance of our organization also in view of occasional setbacks and a business environment that changes faster and faster.

On the other hand, it is of course also part of my obligation towards the shareholders every year to reach the financial targets defined for me – especially via the budgets, but also by my setting a steady course for profitability, stability and growth.

After all, I also bear considerable social responsibility towards the 400 Militzer & Münch employees in our region. It is my task to safeguard jobs, and to ensure the professional development of employees within the Militzer & Münch Group.

Can you tell us more about the start of your career and what made you go into the logistics sector?

After I finished the commercial college in Bordeaux, I completed my officers’ training at the French Army and obtained a diploma as a controller/accountant at the same time. I finished my academic studies after serval years of work experience with an MBA (Master of Business Administration) at Cranfield University, Great Britain.

It was a logical step to begin my professional career in the controlling and finance sector in the international transport industry. As I like working in this field, I was soon promoted to head the profit center in France and abroad.

What is the biggest challenge in your position?

The biggest challenge is mastering the balancing act between the requirements of daily business and the necessity to come up with clear and relevant ideas for the further development of Militzer & Münch in our region.

Another challenge is being present for the teams and cultivating the relations to all locations in the region. Here, I profit from having highly competent, hard-working and independent Country Managers within our organization who support me.

How do you divide your time between managing Militzer & Münch France and heading the SWE / Maghreb region? 

Taking into consideration my obligations as member of Group Management as well as the fact that I basically serve as an intermediary between the Militzer & Münch Holding and the countries of our region, the following allocation of my time applies more or less: 50 per cent for managing Militzer & Münch France, 30 per cent for the matters of the SWE / Maghreb region (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Italy), and the remaining 20 per cent  for my obligations as member of the Group Management of the Militzer & Münch Group.

What are the most important projects to be realized in the 2017/18 business year? Can you name some specific examples for France, Italy and the Maghreb countries?

In France, we have set up our own customs agency to improve our customer service and to increasingly offer our customs management services. Another important project is the relocation of our Paris branch with the aim to prepare our growth for the next 15 years unhurriedly. The existing warehouse at the Paris location has become too small and has limited us both in the handling of the traffic and in the potential business with new customers. With the new location, our property is growing by 60 percent, and we double the number of our loading ramps. In addition, the location offers more space for office areas: if necessary, we can double the number of employees. Since it is only seven kilometers away from our present branch, our employees have no disadvantages.

In Algeria, we will have the opportunity to continue on our strong growth course in this country by founding our own location in Algiers.

Moreover we aim to greatly intensify our relations to India and Malaysia within the region – mainly with an extremely promising partnership that we are going to establish soon.

This list is of course incomplete, and we are thinking of new projects that we want to realize in France, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Italy all the time. The entire Group is extremely dynamic and prepared to reinvent itself every day.

Are there any specific targets you want to reach? 

It is our target to reach the budget goals agreed on, and I am confident our countries are on the right track.

“On average, I visit two locations in the region per week, and that is as it should be. We embrace a family-like business culture where all local managers are very active and serve as important role models.”

 

Guillaume de Laage de Meux, Managing Director Militzer & Münch France, Regional Managing Director South West Europe / Maghreb.

Emmanuel Macron won the presidential election. Are you anticipating a positive economic impact for the logistics industry in France and specifically for Militzer & Münch France? 

One thing is certain: the fact that he was elected president is good for the worldwide image of France, and we all hope that this fresh breeze will also have a positive effect on economy. From the standpoint of Militzer & Münch France, a reduction in corporate tax and a liberalization of the French labor law would certainly be welcome.

The trade with the Maghreb states gains more and more importance for Europe. In your opinion, what needs to happen for the trade relations to develop even faster? 

It’s really simple: we need economic and political stability in order for the close relations between the Maghreb states and France to develop. With its locations in the Maghreb, Militzer & Münch is an important and renowned player in the region; it meets all the requirements to become the market leader, especially in Morocco and Tunisia.

Do you travel a lot in your region? What role do these business trips play? 

On average, I visit two locations in the region per week, and that is as it should be. We embrace a family-like business culture where all local managers are very active and serve as important role models.

Summer is near – where do you like spending your vacation?

To me, summer vacation is the chance to relax in Charente-Maritime with my family and also to spend some days with my wife, just the two of us, as she doesn’t see me  a lot during the rest of the year.

Apart from your career, what is your biggest passion or your favorite hobby? What do you do to “recharge your batteries”?

In spite of the many business trips, I try to exercise regularly and to spend as much time as possible with my five children to see them grow.

Quality Managers meet in Athens

From March 29 to 31, the Militzer & Münch Quality Management Conference was held in Athens. The Quality Managers of the Militzer & Münch Group discussed optimization potential and defined new strategies of quality assurance.

“Preparing for things ahead: Transition from risk to chance” was the motto of the conference that united 20 local and regional Militzer & Münch Quality Managers in the Greek capital. “When it comes to Quality Management, we need to be flexible and to improve continually”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma, CEO M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG. “To this aim, we keep an eye on the tendencies and developments of international logistics. That way, we can individually tailor our services to meet each customer’s requirements, and always offer the highest quality.”

 

 

New Quality Management norm

Focus at the conference was on the transition to the new Quality Management norm. The current DIN EN ISO 9001:2008 standard expires in September to be replaced by DIN EN ISO 9001:2015. Militzer & Münch is going to implement the new norm in the course of this year. The major changes:

 

  • Quality strategy and quality objectives have to correspond to the strategic orientation and the context of the organization.
  • Customer orientation includes new target groups.
  • A process-oriented approach and comprehensive, systematic process management gain more importance.
  • Group Management is to be more committed to Quality Management.
  • For risk management, organizations will have to identify, analyze and evaluate risks and chances; counter-measures have to be designed and implemented.
  • Knowledge management: a systematic management of knowledge is required. The knowledge necessary to execute processes has to be determined, maintained and made available to all employees.
  • With the new norm, digital communication is allowed. So far, a printed version of a manual to document Quality Management was required.

Higher customer satisfaction

To assure quality, DIN EN ISO 9001 uses a PDCA cycle approach (see illustration). “Once the PDCA cycle has been gone through, it begins afresh”, says Kadir Kizkapan, head of Group Quality Management, M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG. “By constantly checking, we guarantee the continual improvement of the quality of our processes and thus higher customer satisfaction.”

Identifying risks

Another central topic at the conference was risk management. “At an organization that operates internationally like Militzer & Münch, various potential risk factors have to be taken into consideration for the specific countries”, Kadir Kizkapan says. “In their function, our Quality Managers therefore observe numerous political, socio-economic, ecologic and cultural aspects of their specific regions.”

Big success

The conference ended with a preview to the year 2017, with the participants discussing the pending changes, and the objectives of the Militzer & Münch Group. Kadir Kizkapan says: “We are very happy with the result of the conference. Our Quality Managers drew up highly promising suggestions and approaches to optimize quality assurance at Militzer & Münch.”

Transparent supply chains

Interesting lecture: at the Board Dialogue 2017 in Hamburg on April 6, Dr. Lothar Thoma, the CEO of M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG, gave a speech on “Global Supply Chain Partnerships”. Managers, directors, supervisory and advisory board members were in the audience. The speech discussed the question how a control tower can contribute to a logistics company mastering the challenges of today’s economy in the best possible way and offering the customer a transparent supply chain.

Globalization and the staking out of free trade zones, digitalization and industry 4.0, political and economic eruptions and upheavals – how to seize opportunities in this world that increasingly becomes more complex? A question that haunts politics, industry, economy and trade – and of course also logistics. Especially from logistics, supply chain management across all borders into the most remote regions of the world is expected. And even here, customers want to check per mouse click at any time where the goods they have ordered are at the moment.

Owing to digitalization, shipment tracing has already become possible in most developed markets: per mouse click, the customers can access the desired information concerning their delivery process. Based on end-to-end networking, modern supply chain management shows every step in the transport across country borders.

Showing the transport chain

Militzer & Münch guarantees end-to-end supply chain management to the remotest areas – also without being able to rely on the usual IT structures. With big-dimensioned projects or challenging transports, Militzer & Münch places so-called control towers at the customer’s disposal. These control towers consist of a team of experts where for the sake of superordinate coordination and planning, all threads are drawn together. Control towers would provide the necessary infrastructure for end-to-end supply chain management, said Dr. Lothar Thoma in his lecture. Via email and phone, the employees are in intensive contact with the carriers, and enter the data in a data bank. Thus, the entire transport chain is transparently traceable for the customer.

Control tower for a Kazakhstan project

Using the example of the transport of a complete production line for a float glass factory to Kazakhstan, it is easy to demonstrate how the strengths within an organization can be bundled, and coordinated with the help of a control tower. All in all the entire Militzer & Münch door-to-door project took ten months. Transports from three continents and eleven countries had to be organized. Each shipment had to be exactly synchronized with the customer’s assembly schedule. The freight comprised 8,000 tons of fire resistant material for the construction of the melting furnace, plus 700 additional container loads of equipment.

The multi-modal transport of the containers via vessel, train and truck took between 14 and 30 days depending on place of origin and transport mode. All contracts and transport documents had to be drawn up in accordance with the (tariff) regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comprising Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Various country units within the Militzer & Münch Group performed the different processes the transports went through during the project. The responsibilities of the control tower for this project lay with selected employees at the Stockstadt location.

Bundling forces

The control tower comprises the Militzer & Münch country units and also involves the cooperation with partners. To bundle forces inside and outside the organization, Militzer & Münch would bank on partnerships, Dr. Lothar Thoma emphasized. Internally, across the entire TransInvest Group, as well as with third parties in Europe and worldwide. By collating competencies, bundling strengths and creating functional networks, extraordinary and big projects can be mastered successfully. Also possible gaps in the IT structure can be bridged that way.

Under the umbrella of TransInvest Holding, Militzer & Münch cooperates with sister companies such as the InterRail Group, a specialist in CIS rail traffics, on a regular basis. Apart from that, Militzer & Münch has entered and developed cooperations with external partners for decades.

Chances offered by the New Silk Road 

The combination of control tower and strategic partnerships is also important in relation to the New Silk Road. The Chinese government invests several hundred billion US dollars in the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) to boost the revitalization of the trade lanes around the old Silk Road. In the Central Asian neighboring countries, numerous infrastructure projects can be expected, and with them great potential for logistics companies to optimally handle far-reaching projects with intelligent supply chain management.

Board Dialog

Board Dialogue (German: Board Dialog) is a regular event of the Board Academy for managers, directors, supervisory and advisory board members. It took place for the seventh time in April 2017. The Board Academy is an initiative for qualification, integrity and social responsibility in supervisory boards and advisory boards. With a certification program, it prepares managers, directors, supervisory and advisory board members for the challenges at the modern-day board workplace.

More information: www.board-academy.com