Militzer & Münch MagazineiSSUe 02 | 2011

Morocco:Ready to Link up

with Europe

Young Executives: „Talent Management

Programme“

Bulgaria’sLogistics Pioneers

Exactly 20 years ago, Militzer & Münch was the first western service provider in Bulgaria – a country that was just beginning to carefully open up to international business after 45 years of socialism. We take this opportunity to offer a close look at Bulgaria in this issue – at the country, the people, the economy, and, of course, its logis-tics situation.

It goes to show again that the history of Militzer & Münch in Bulgaria is typi-cal of our Group: We are there among the first, we pioneer in establishing logistics structures, make a name for ourselves as profound market experts with our local manage-ment, local staff, and lots of commitment – yet at the same time, our back-ground is international, as are our quality standards.

Dear reaDer

Due to its political and economic integration, Bulgaria today is not only interesting for investors, for trade and industry – private tourists, too, value the country’s remarkable cosmopolitanism, its enormous cultural rich-ness with no fewer than seven World Cultural Heritage sites, and the very special charm of a people that has always lived between orient and occident.

Yet, as far as infrastruc-ture goes, the country still has to overcome overwhelming challeng-es. If you hear me say: “They are at this time, constructing their first motorway”, you will un-derstand what lies ahead – there is still a big lot to be done, also in the next 20 years!

In Morocco, too, we are not just servicing the “classical racetracks”. When the riots broke out in Tunisia and Libya, the question was no longer only about logistics in a country like Morocco – the country’s future was at stake. In March, we went on a four-day trip to Morocco with Ger-man journalists to get the answers. We met up with our local manage-ment, with politicians,

with representatives from authorities and institutions, and won deep insights into the country. More on this in a travel report on page 14.

Whether Bulgaria or Mo-rocco: Militzer & Münch operates from 100 locations in over 30 countries – which means: lots of news, too. So, in this issue, we are again keeping you in-formed of the most impor-tant developments in our “Militzer & Münch World”.

And now, enjoy reading this new issue of our COMPASS!

And as always, we will be glad to receive your feed-back.

With warmest regards,

Ewald Kaiser

02 | EDITOrIAL

ewald KaiserChief Executive OfficerM&M Militzer & Münch

International Holding AG

CONTENTS | 03

06

12

14 | rEGION

Morocco – Ready to Link up with EuropeFrom March 21 to 24, 2011, CEO Ewald Kaiser traveled to Morocco with German top journalists. A travelogue by Christina Stroomer.

18 | SPECTrUM

Promoting Young TalentsMilitzer & Münch has started a new program to promote young talents from its own ranks for future manage-ment positions.

PublisherM&M Militzer & MünchInternational Holding AG Zwinglistr. 25 9000 St. GallenSWITZErLAND

Contact: Deborah MüllerPhone: +41 71 227 15 63 Fax: +41 71 227 15 50 Internet: www.mumnet.com

Responsible for contentsEwald Kaiser, CEO

Editorial Office | LayoutSTrOOMEr Pr | CONCEPT GMBHrellinger Straße 64a20257 HamburgGErMANY

Phone: +49 40 85 31 33 0Fax: +49 40 85 31 33 22E-Mail: mail@stroomer-pr.de

05 | NEWS

Shorter Transit Times to Central AsiaExpress groupage transports via truck from China to Kazakhstan? Trust Militzer & Münch, the logistics pioneer, to make it possible.

05

04 | NEWS

Cotton – At a Record HighThe Turkmenistan country unit M&M Militzer & Münch Turkmenistan Ltd. transported 60,000 tons of cotton in 2010.

04 14

06 | FOCUS

Bulgaria’s Logistics PioneersEuropean gateway to the Middle East, transport hub for the entire Balkan region: Exactly 20 years ago, Militzer & Münch was Bulgaria’s first western logistics provider. COMPASS reports on the early days of Militzer & Münch in Bulgaria, on the Bulgarian transportation market, and on chances for the future.

12 | rEGION

Following in the Romans’ FootstepsThe road is traffic carrier number one in Italy. For Militzer & Münch Italia, the road plays the most eminent role, too, when it comes to growth and expansion of the service portfolio.

18

nEws//04 |

Cotton Transports at a Record High

60,000 tons of cotton – that’s the volume the country unit M&M Militzer & Münch Turkmenistan Ltd. transported last year – setting a new record in the 17-year com-pany history.

For its cotton business, Militzer & Münch Turkmenistan put togeth-er, years ago already, a team that offers its customers all-around, full service: Co-operating closely with the customer, the teams plans the transport, then coordinates and supervises the loading and transportation process; it han-dles all the necessary paperwork at the point of departure, and guarantees punctual delivery at the destination. As an additional service, Militzer & Münch informs the customer on the status of the shipment on a daily basis.

Offering this full service, the Turk-menistan country unit handled approximately 2,700 truck loads last year. The company with its staff of about 40 employees is moreover active in all the Militzer & Münch business sectors, with a clear focus on project business, especially for the oil and gas industries.

With a new „domestic & logistics“ department, M&M Militzer & Münch Hellas S.A. is strengthen-ing its national network: In close co-operation, the branch offices in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, and Aspropyrgos, near Athens, now handle the country-wide distribution for key customers together.

The biggest customer is “Prak-tiker”, the do-it-yourself and home improvement chain. For this trading firm, the department has conceptualized a distribution plan to supply thirteen stores. The goods are either delivered by different suppliers, or Militzer & Münch picks them up directly. At the cross docks in Thessaloniki in the North, and in Aspropyrgos in the South, Militzer & Münch consolidates and bundles the goods and then has them trucked to their destinations. Next day ten o’clock at the latest, the mer-chandise is on the shelves of the Praktiker stores.

“Our aim is to expand this and other distribution models by tying in as many Greek suppli-ers as possible”, says Panagiotis Manolopoulos, Managing Direc-tor M&M Militzer & Münch Hel-las S.A. : “First talks are already taking place.”

A New Department in Greece

Jubilee in Iran – 50 Years of PTB

On October 12, 2011, PTB Perse International Forwarding Co. will celebrate a very special jubilee: The Militzer & Münch sister company can look back on half a century of company history.

Back in 1960, guided by pioneering spirit and explora-tory courage, Militzer & Münch started the first truck transports from Munich to Iran – as an alternative to ocean and rail freight, to found, in 1961, just a few months later, the sister company PTB Perse Interna-tional Forwarding Co. with the aim of simplifying transport processes to Iran. New activi-ties generate new companies: Today, PTB Perse International Forwarding Co. is part of the PTB Group. The Group is active in different business sectors and is seen as the leading logis-tics service provider in Iran.

A detailed report on PTB Perse International forwarding Co.’s 50-year jubilee will follow in the next issue of COMPASS!

MoRE INFoRMATIoN AT:mumgrat@mumnet.com

MoRE INFoRMATIoN AT:mumtmas@mumnet.com

NEWS | 05

Shorter Transit Times to Central Asia

airfreight and rail freight. Moreover, the new product is a perfect supplement to the full truck load trans-ports that we have been offering for some time al-ready on this route.”The product is a multi-solution service: From all over China, the groupage freight arrives via air, road, or rail at the Urumqi dis-tribution hub. The goods are unloaded and consoli-dated, and then Militzer & Münch China sends them on their way to Almaty via truck – with a transit time of four to five days. The rule applied here is: the bigger the volume of ship-ments or the more urgent the goods, the more often do the trucks depart per week. Mostly fast mov-ing consumer goods are

transported this way by Militzer & Münch China, but also some urgent heavy weights: As, contrary to airfreight, there are no weight or size limits here, some customers are us-ing the service already for big projects – for instance to have machinery trans-ported.

“So far, the product has met with very positive ac-ceptance”, says Buchinger. Which is why there are plans to expand it soon to other Central Asian countries, too: “As a second step, we want to offer groupage transports also to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.”

Groupage express transports from China to Kazakhstan? No problem for Militzer & Münch! The Group’s country units in China and Kazakhstan are now offering groupage trucking from Urumqi in North West China to Almaty in South East Kazakhstan. once more, Militzer & Münch gives proof of its pioneering role in logistics.

MoRE DETAILS AT: mumcnbe@mumnet.com

mountain range, a bor-

der crossing, and a distance of about 1,000 kilometers

– these are the obstacles to overcome between Urumqi and Almaty. And Militzer & Münch is the first interna-tionally operating logistics company to offer groupage transports for this distance

– express delivery, at that. And with good reason:

“Between China and Kaza-khstan, the volume of ship-ments is constantly on the rise”, says Dieter Buchinger, Managing Director Militzer & Münch China. “With the new product, our custom-ers have a fast, flexible, and cost-effective alternative to

A

Bulgaria’s Logistics PioneersEurope’s gateway to the Middle East, the transport hub for the entire Balkan region – that is Bulgaria. Militzer & Münch Bulgaria is one of the main players in the country’s transport logistics market. At the time of its foundation, twenty years ago, the company was Bulgaria’s first western service provider – that’s true pioneering!

„In all five business sectors, we offer our

customers top-quality, tailored services.”

Sacho TodorovcEo of M&M Militzer & Münch BG co. Ltd.,

and regional Managing director for South-Eastern Europe

06 | FOCUS

The history of the Bulgarian M&M country unit began on October 4, 1991, when M&M Militzer & Münch BG Co. Ltd. was founded in Sofia. At that time, M&M Bulgaria was the second western company (after Minolta) to get regis-tered in Bulgaria, and the first international logistics company. From day one, the company developed very fast, continuously adding to its services, founding nine branch offices, including a state of the art logistics warehouse, and acquiring new national and interna-tional customers.

Among the market leaders in the Balkans

“Today, we offer the whole range of services for all five Militzer & Münch business sectors – road, rail, sea, air, and projects”, says Sacho Todorov, CEO M&M Militzer & Münch Bulgaria BG Co. Ltd., and regional Managing Director South-East Europe.

“Among our customers are big international industrial and trading companies like GlaxoSmithKline or Hermes Otto International as well as small and medium sized enterprises”, Todorov adds:

“All of them receive individu-ally customized, excellent, top quality services that conform to western stand-ards in every respect.” This business policy proves suc-cessful: In the fiscal year 2010, the Militzer & Münch Bulgar-ia staff – some 186 persons

– achieved a turnover of just under € 40 million. The com-pany thus is consolidating its position among the top ten logistics service providers in the Balkans.

There is a high demand for transportation logistics in Bulgaria. The country’s central position between

Routes that lead to the future over the next ten years, Bulgaria is investing several billion Euros in its infrastructure.

Example 1: The railway tracksThe tracks the orient Express used to steam along are to be modernized exten-sively. Between the Serbian-Bulgarian border and Plovdiv in the south, the gov-ernment has ordered new railway tracks to be laid, some old tracks to be renewed, and some connections to be electrified, so that in the end, trains can run at a speed of 160 km/h. At this time, trains in Bulgaria can only do between 80 and 100 km/h.

Example 2: The interstate network The motorway network is to be expand-ed by 1,000 additional kilometers. Five interstates are planned; among them part of a major international traffic axis that connects Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Two other motorways that are to lead from southern Bulgaria to Turkey and Greece are of great importance for the international goods flows, too. The development of the motorways is sched-uled to be finished in 2015.

romania, Serbia, Macedo-nia, Greece, and Turkey makes it one of the most important transit countries for the Euro-Asian goods flows. No fewer than four pan-European traffic corri-dors cross Bulgaria, where-by the majority of the car-go is transported along the relatively close-knit road network. No interstate has yet been finished, but the government has issued a comprehensive investment program to build approxi-mately 1,000 kilo meters of interstate highways (see info box).

“Road” - the strong baseNo wonder then, that the business sector “road” is the foundation of the Militzer & Münch Bulgaria activities. Thus, the com-pany does national and international less than truckload (LTL), full truck load (FTL), and, especially, groupage transports in a reliable, punctual, and safe way. The main des-tinations for the cargo are Western Europe, with above all, Germany and Italy, the CIS, the Baltic States, Turkey, Greece, the Near East, and the Middle East. For these transports, Militzer & Münch Bulgaria profits considerably from the co-operation with the groupage alliance Cargo-Line that was signed 18 months ago. The Bulgarian Militzer & Münch country unit distributes the goods of CargoLine partners in Bulgaria, whereas the Ger-man CargoLine staff gets Bulgarian goods distrib-uted in Germany in return.

For its national transports, Militzer & Münch Bulgaria moreover collaborates very successfully with EX-PrESSO, the express and courier service. “We use the 25 offices they have all over the country, and their fleet of some 60 vehicles of different capacity, for the express shipments of our clients”, explains Todorov.

Every year on the first of March, Bulgarians offer each other “martenitsas”, (from “marta”, March) small adorn-ments made of wool or cloth. They are worn attached to one’s clothes until the first sign of spring is seen. Then, you hang the talisman on a tree and make a wish.

one third goes by rail and seaApart from the road, Militzer & Münch also uses the country’s other transport routes. The business sector

“rail” uses Bulgaria’s railway net that connects the ma-jor cities of the country for bulk haulage and as a link to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. The Militzer & Münch branch offices at Varna and Burgas, the two Bulgarian deep sea port cities, not only ship the cargo, they also offer port services. The same goes also for the Militzer & Münch locations at ruse and Lom, where the activities on the Danube are coordinated. All in all, more than one third of the com-pany’s turnover is generated in the business sectors rail and sea.

Number 1 in airfreightFor ten years already, Militzer & Münch has been Bulgaria's number 1 in airfreight. At the country’s main airport in Sofia, M&M air cargo service Bulgaria OOD leads the official IATA list by a clear margin. M&M air cargo service Bulgaria’s success, according to Managing Director Michail Dantchev, is to be attrib-uted to the comprehensive range of services, but most especially, to the company’s 100 percent customer orien-tation, to his committed and highly competent team, and to the perfect, efficient co-operation with partners (see interview on page 10).

Sacho Todorov emphasizes that Militzer & Münch’s

Temperature-controlled logistics for pharmaceuticals

The example of Militzer & Münch BG customer Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) Bulgaria serves to emphasize the importance of Bulgaria as a logistics hub for the entire region. Militzer & Münch BG has been working for GSK

for eight years now. “The pharmaceutical group needed a reliable and flexible logistics partner on entering the Bulgarian market in 2003”, Sacho Todorov reminisces, “and within only 40 days we set up a temperature controlled warehouse for pharmaceutical prod-ucts - in all points meeting GSK’s high standards.”

A short time later, Militzer & Münch BG implemented a far-reaching logistics concept for eleven target markets. The pharmaceutical products arrive at the Bulgarian warehouse from all over Europe; they are consolidated, and then distributed. Militzer & Münch BG delivers the goods to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldavia, Serbia, and Uzbekistan. As the medical products are highly sensitive, they need to be handled with extreme care. The temperature, to give an example, may only deviate by two degrees maximum from the temperature specified by GSK. Therefore, an extra team controls the temperature 24/7 – in the warehouse, during loading, and during transport. The transport itself is regulated by strict security measures. Thus, each truck has to be manned by two drivers, has to be equipped with permanent mobile radio communication, and only stops at border crossings, customs terminals or at guarded parking lots that have been chosen in advance.

The Rila mountains are the highest mountain range on the Balkan Peninsula. The highest peak is the 3,000 meter Musala, and the Rila National Park also offers nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts a multifaceted landscape with rich fauna, such as the Bulgarian long-haired goat with its typical corkscrew horns. The Bulgarian Goat is an endangered species.

customers get the entire range of logistics services from one hand: “This in-cludes contract logistics plus value added services, picking and packing, film packaging and labeling

– as we perform all these services in our ultramod-ern logistics terminal in Sofia.” The warehouse with its more than 20,000 m² of indoor storage space plus another 30,000 m² outside comes with an extra cus-toms bonded warehouse. It is completely IT controlled and offers high security standards such as video surveillance and a 24 hour security service. Here, Mil-itzer & Münch BG stores a wide range of goods for order picking - from indus-trial goods to food, phar-maceuticals, and textiles, to hazardous materials.

The company’s service port-folio also contains services far beyond mere logistics, such as total customs man-agement, financing, incom-ing goods inspection and quality control. Numerous customers like Otto Interna-tional Bulgaria not only use the warehouse, but also rent office space for administra-tive purposes or as show rooms. There are 5,000 m² of office space available inside the warehouse.

Logistics Company of the Year

“Our Bulgarian country unit fully profits from the potential the country of-fers as a transport logistics hub”, says Ewald Kaiser, CEO Militzer & Münch International Holding. He adds: “The comprehensive service portfolio that covers all our business sectors, well-known national and international customers,

FOCUS | 09

and a highly committed staff throughout make Militzer & Münch Bulgaria a real role model for other country units.” Pari, Bul-garia’s leading economic magazine, acknowledged just that: Militzer & Münch Bulgaria was awarded the title “Logistics Company of the Year” (1).

The company does not intend to rest on its lau-rels of course, but aims at developing business further. Says Sacho Todorov: “The potentials that Bulgaria and the entire region offer will continue growing. To our and our customers’ benefit, we want to realize these po-tentials in the next 20 years and beyond - with the help of our highly motivated and qualified team, with our broad range of products and services, and with our access to the Militzer & Münch network.”

(1) Pari, issue 6/2008

Steel for Europe U.S. Steel Serbia is one of the biggest steel producers in Europe. The company came into being in 2003, when the United States Steel Corporation took over Sartid, the Serbian company based in Smederevo. Militzer & Münch BG has been working for the company since 2005. “As to the volume, U.S. Steel Serbia is our biggest customer”, says Sacho Todorov: “We transport their raw material such as iron ore and coke as well as their end prod-ucts, steel sheets and steel plates. All in all, this amounts to 150,000 tons per year in inland navigation and 200,000 tons in ocean freight.”

The well equipped Bulgarian Black Sea ports at Varna and Burgas are the main reason why this large volume transits through Bulgaria. Part of the cargo also goes via Constanta in Romania. Militzer & Münch BG has developed a perfectly customized, multi-modal procurement and distribution system for the transport of the raw materials and the finished products. “For the transit through the Bul-garian transport corridor to run smoothly, we have, from the beginning, collaborated closely with the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communica-tions, the national railways, and the port authorities. They all make the necessary capacities available”, explains Todorov. And he adds that “the successful realiza-tion of this big project not only proves the performance of Militzer & Münch BG but also the capacity of the Bulgarian trans-portation system.”

The most important ingredient of many perfumes comes from Bulgaria: the “rosa damascena”. The largest cultivation areas of the Damask rose or rose of Castille are to be found in the “valley of the roses”. About 1.5 tons of rose oil are distilled here per year.

Varna

than half of them have been with Militzer & Münch for over ten years already.

Talking about perform-ance - what special airfreight services does Militzer & Münch offer its customers?

MICHAIL DANTCHEV: We do the import and export of general cargo worldwide, but we also

M&M air cargoAiMs AT fuRThER gRowTh

offer a specific solution for almost any special product. For instance, in export, we have seen a rise in supplies and electronic parts for the au-tomotive industry over the past few years, whereas in import, the pharmaceuti-cal and telecommunica-tion industries have grown above average. One spe-cial product that is in high demand with customers is

Michail Dantchev is Managing Director of M&M air cargo service Bulgaria, the company specialized in airfreight.

Mr. Dantchev, Militzer & Münch has been the number one among the airfreight agents at Sofia Airport. How did you get there?

MICHAIL DANTCHEV: We have been present in this country since it opened its borders, and in these past 20 years, we made huge investments in the development and expansion of the company, its services, and its per-formance. We offer a wide scope of services, and we also focus on excellent service quality, strong cus-tomer orientation, and on reliability and continuity as well. What matters to us is close and fair collaboration with our customers, and also with the airlines. But let me not forget to men-tion our 30-person team - they are one of our success factors, too. For they all are very committed, highly competent experts. More

10 | FOCUS

FOCUS | 13

M & M Militzer & Münch BGat a glance

founded: 1991services:

Groupage, less than truck load and full truck load transports Airfreight worldwide with door to door service ocean freight Inland water transport Projects and special goods transports Warehousing Transport insurance Tracking and tracing

Locations: nine all over the countrystaff: 186Turnover: about 40 million EurosDaughter company: M&M air cargo service Bulgaria ooD

headquarters:M&M Militzer & Münch BG Co. Ltd.Sacho Todorov11, Andrey Germanov StreetBG-1336 Sofia

Phone: +359 2 9845 710fax: +359 2 9845 716E-Mail: mumbgso@mumnet.com / militzer@mumbg.com

Locations

“Emergency Logistics”, our express delivery service. We deliver urgently need-ed parts – in most cases as same day delivery – to industrial firms or to Black Sea vessels.

What destinations are most in demand?

MICHAIL DANTCHEV: Until five years ago, most airfreight remained inside Europe. Yet with Bulgaria’s entry into the EU in 2007, there has been a marked change. As the borders opened, a lot of airfreight now went by road; the des-tinations for airfreight have shifted considerably, and at this time, the Far East, especially China, accounts for about 80 % of our air-freight business. Over the past two years, we estab-lished our own groupage transports departing from China’s main places of ori-gin. Our customers benefit from stable tariffs and capacities that are guar-anteed through the whole year. Another region that is being re-discovered by Bulgaria’s exporters: the CIS. Here, we as Militzer & Münch have big advanta-ges owing to our close-knit network in the entire CIS market.

There surely is still a lot of potential to tap. Any other plans the company has for the future?

MICHAIL DANTCHEV: Apart from further deve-loping our services and the transport routes, we are at the moment working on getting our high quality and security standards of-ficially certified. We expect M&M air cargo service Bul-garia to be awarded the ISO 9001 and ISO 28000 certificates before the end of the year. I am sure that this way we are on the right track to increase our market share and to remain Bulgaria’s number one also in the future.

Thank you very much for your time!

/////////////////////////////////////

Sofia

Vratsa

LomPleven

Ruse

Gorna oryahovitsa

Plovdiv

Kapitan Andreevo

Burgas

Varna

12 | rEGION

Logistics in ItalySince 2003, the logistics industry in Italy has seen higher growth than Italian

economy as a whole. Logistics services accounted for seven percent of the gross

domestic product. By 2013, this figure will rise to 7.4 percent, according to ex-

perts’ estimates. The logistics market in Italy is mainly a transportation market:

Almost three thirds of all logistics services are just transports. Warehousing and

out-sourcing are less in demand so far.

Road construction was already known in

ancient Rome, and to this day, “la strada” – the road –

is still traffic carrier number one in italy.

no wonder then that the road plays the most eminent role

for Militzer & Münch italia when it comes to growth and expanding

the service portfolio.

Following in the

Romans’ Footsteps

rEGION | 13

n spite of the pres-sure from interna-

tional financial markets, in spite of the economic crisis and structural problems, Italy still boasts the third largest economy in the Euro zone. Italy’s economy is character-ized by a large number of small and middle size (family) enterprises, and the many small-volume, individual transports are best done via road.

Historic routes – modern performancesMilitzer & Münch Italia works on an equal footing with its customers. The company with its headquarters at Empoli near Firenze and a branch office at Concorezzo near Milano offers its cus-tomers services in all the Militzer & Münch business sectors – with groupage and less-than-truck load as well as heavy lift transports and projects being in highest demand. The main destina-tions are Eastern Europe, then the Middle East, Af-ghanistan, Central Asia, and

– a new development – North Africa, too. To a large extent, the transports are following the ancient roman routes to this very day.

Let us take the Middle East as an example: A few months ago, Militzer & Münch Italia expanded its service consid-erably. Thus, 40 brand-new, permanently chartered trail-ers in the Militzer & Münch design now head regularly for Iraq, Iran, and Azerbaijan for Militzer & Münch Italia.

Militzer & Münch Italia of-fers its customers stable rates and reliable service along the entire route. On an average, 20 trucks per week leave Italy, carrying groupage goods or full loads. To Azerbaijan, they transport fashion articles, to Iraq, hotel equipment and furnishings, and to Iran, machinery for the ceram-ics industry, water heaters, and cosmetics. The normal, scheduled transit time to Iran is twelve days. There is a faster method, too: the new “Pegasus Express”. Here, Militzer & Münch uses light trucks that cover the distance Italy – Tehran in five to six days, which makes the product a viable alterna-tive to air freight.

Setting the course for growthThe Italian logistics market has grown at an above-av-erage rate over the past few years (cf. info box). Militzer & Münch Italia, too, is antici-pating considerable increas-es and is already setting the course. Thus, at the end of July, the Empoli office moved to new premises that offer sufficient space for new orders and for business development. At the Milano location, too, plans are to take on new staffers and to move to a bigger office.Due to the new demand, Militzer & Münch Italia now offers its customers also its own direct transports to the countries of the Maghreb region. Securing itself, in good time, a promising pole position for further growth – just as the romans would.

founded in: 1985

services: Groupage, less-than-truck load, full

truck load transports Rail freight Air freight ocean freight Multi-modal transports Project logistics (heavy lift goods, spe -

cial goods) Cargo tracking Transport insurance Customs clearance Permits and documentation

Locations: 2staff: 30Turnover: 25 million Euros

headquarters:M&M Militzer & Münch Italia S.r.l.Via Volontari della Libertà  25Zona Industriale TerrafinoIT-50053 Empoli

Phone: +39 0571 90 21 93Fax: +39 0571 90 21 23E-Mail: mumitfi@mumnet.com

Militzer & Münch Italia

at a glance

Michelangelo shaped the arts and the culture of Italy like none other. One of his most well known masterpieces, the David, is to be seen in Firenze.

I

14 | REGION

Morocco – to linK Up Europe

in spring, from March 20 to 24, CEo Ewald Kaiser and team of german top journalists visited Militzer & Münch Morocco. The trip had been planned before the riots broke out in Libya and Tunisia – but suddenly, the eyes of the whole world were focused on Morocco; and for us, too, the trip was no longer only about the status quo of logistics in a country like Morocco.

Business is good: CEo Ewald Kaiser (left) and olivier Antoniotti, Managing Director of M&M Maroc, at the port of Casablanca

At Casablanca Airport. They have come to pick us up in person: Olivier Antoniotti, Managing Director of M&M Militzer & Münch Maroc, and Chief Financial Officer Ahmed Zouhair. It is warm, 20 degrees centigrade; the evening sun shining, the new airport terminal spick and span, a blazing white. Multilane feeders connect the airport with Casablanca, left and right, Moroccan boys are tending sheep and goats. Traditional and modern ways, the past and the future – these contrasts strike us first thing. And they will stay with us throughout our trip.

The SAPINO commercial zone lies on our way. Here, Militzer & Münch Maroc has acquired approximately 13,000 m² of land – situated near the airport, near the Marrakech-rabat-El Jadida express highway, near the port of Casablanca – an interesting commercial location! With untiring personal commitment, Olivier Antoniotti has pleaded for the investment, has taken the entire project management into his own hands. About 3.5 million Euros are going into the new warehouse, one of the few warehouses in Morocco that complies with international standards. In early 2012 already it will go into operation. The first customer to use the warehouse is going to be one of the market leaders of white goods, one who represents different brands of this fast growing market.

At the Port of Casablanca – Monday is import day. The roro ferry from Spain spits out one Militzer & Münch trailer after the other, most of them coming from France and Spain. In front of the port authority building, dozens of day laborers are waiting for a job, fork lift at the ready. But the articulated trucks of the big forwarders such as Militzer & Münch take their goods nonstop to their own bonded warehouses. The Militzer & Münch logistics center is not far from the port. The facility is surrounded

by walls several meters high, there is 24/7 security. “We have three security concerns here”, explains Antoniotti: “Drugs,

theft, and illegal immigrants. We have to protect the trucks that carry our customers’ goods – therefore all

these surveillance cameras: They record every move-ment.”

In-house customs clearance - Militzer & Münch enjoys a competitive advantage with this special setup. There is also a down side, though: The warehouse may be accessed via one door only as per the regulations of the customs authority. So, as we can witness, peak hours come with a lot of commotion that only a Moroccan warehouse manager like Mohamed Faleh can handle. He has been with Militzer & Münch for eight years already. There is a mish-mash of load carriers, an established order is difficult to make out at first sight – but Faleh has it all beautifully lined up in his head.

At the office: a long counter for direct busi-ness transactions, as in Morocco customers or their agents often still come to redeem their goods in person, paying by check or cash. The goods have to be cleared and paid for before they can be picked up. At the end of the week, the Militzer & Münch trailers depart back to Europe. “Import from Europe is booming”, says Antoniotti, “but export business could be better.”

16 | rEGION

Morocco needs an economic boost.The coun-try is poor, unemployment is high, and the overall educational standard is low – about 50 % of the 31 million inhabitants are illiterate. Although authorities are well aware of the problems, cor-ruption and nepotism still impede economy and obstruct economic development. In Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, there is growing turmoil – revolt is in the air.

In spite of all this, we never once during this trip met any person to criticize monarchy, to doubt the country’s stability or to question progress. King Mohamed VI, people say, allowed reforms, opened up the country step by step, initiated many infra structural projects. In his speech of March 9, 2011, the monarch announced far-reach-ing reforms, as well as a new constitution that was accepted by 98% of the population early in July.

Fourteen kilometers only divide Morocco and the coasts of Europe. But the geographical situation is not the only advantage that makes the king-dom interesting for foreign investors. Morocco boasts massive tax advantages and low labor costs.

At the German Chamber for Industry and Commerce (AHK Marokko) ) in Casablanca we meet Moha Ezzabdi, a consultant for hu-man resources and reintegration. He points out the “Plan Emergence” (Emergency Plan) as an important part of the Moroccan industrialization and modernization process. “We are the ideal location for European companies that want to outsource production”, says Ezzabdi. “Apart from off shoring, we see good potential in the automo-tive sector, in aeronautics and space, and in the electronic industry. Yet the main goal of the Emergency Plan is to create jobs – half a million new jobs by 2015!”The government subsidizes the training of engi-neers, of skilled and unskilled workers. “As fast as possible we want to be able to offer European standards to the enterprises that come here”, explains Ezzabdi. European standards include competent staff, too. Later on the trip, Olivier Antoniotti will confirm that as far as competent personnel is concerned, there is an enormous backlog. “Many companies train their staff them-selves”, he says, “and many occupational profiles that are common in Europe do not exist here as such. If for example you are looking for a customs expert on the Moroccan job market, you will only find few that are knowledgeable in this field.”

TANGER MED: From the Strait of Gibraltar into the World

TANGER MED, the most modern port in North Africa, lies directly on the Strait of Gibraltar, where the shipping lane is at its narrowest. About ten years ago, King Mohamed VI began planning the project. Today, container gantries belonging to Eurogate and APM, the Maersk daughter company, are soaring high into the blue Moroccan sky. Whether security stand-ards, trans-shipment technology, or truck & trailer scanning – everything here complies with international standards. Corporations like Geodis and Makita, the Japanese electric tool maker, are settling in the port’s logistics zone.

In the adjacent free trade zones, dozens of traders and suppliers have begun operating. At this time, about three million TEUs are trans-shipped annually; for 2016, the vol-ume is expected to reach over eight million. TANGER MED serves as a terminal and as a trans-shipment hub for goods from the Medi-terranean and the Middle East, from Asia and America. There are connections to 120 cities worldwide as of today already. Bachir Sentissi, the Port Manager, compares the geographical situation of “his” port to the situation of the Panama Canal or the Straits of Malacca: They are the world’s most heavily trafficked water ways; and for global trade, they are of utmost importance.

rEGION | 17

Qualified staff – modern infrastructure. At every stop on our trip one thing is clear: Morocco is aiming at modernizing its transpor-tation, at massively increasing efficiency. The country is looking to bridge the gap, to link up with Europe. Abdelilah Hifdi, Président de la Fédération du Transport, never tires of talk-ing about the country’s infrastructural projects, the great chances that they entail. Whether the development of the motorway network in Northern Morocco or the new deep water port TANGEr MED on the Strait of Gibraltar (cf. info box on page 16) – they are ambitious projects indeed! There is not only government money going into these projects, as Hifdi explains, but also, to a large extent, capital from the royal family. As per schedule, over five billion Euros will have flown into logistics infrastructure by 2015; by 2030, another eleven billion will have followed.

Enormous efforts and first successes. Not far from the new, state-of-the-art deep water port TANGEr MED, renault is constructing a car manufacturing plant. Plans are for the new plant to start operating in 2012: 170,000 Dacia models – a daughter company of renault – are to roll off the assembly line per year. For 2014, the number will be 400,000 cars per year. The construction of an automobile plant entails fol-low-up investments from suppliers. Thus Dürr, the German company from Swabia that will supply the majority of the paint job technology for the new Dacia plant, is coming soon, too.

Tangier is gaining more and more signifi-cance. To a large extent, it is true, Moroccan business takes place in Casablanca, but the modern infrastructure around Tangier, directly on the Strait of Gibraltar, attracts more and more companies. Already in 2008, Militzer & Münch opened a logistics branch office with 2,800 m² warehousing space in Tangier. Stéphane Grèze the branch manager, gives a survey of the development: “We started out with 800 shipments per year. Many of our customers were working in the Free Zones. This year, we will hit the 6,000 shipments mark.” Ol-ivier Antoniotti, too, is happy with the business development in this region. Says he: “Here in Morocco, things will sometimes function differ-ently from the way things go in Europe, but: We are making progress. The decision to go to Tan-gier was a good one, in any case. Casablanca is our present – Tangier is our future.”

POWEr FrOM THE DESErT

Morocco fights for a key position with Desertec

Worldwide, the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, has triggered off new interest in the discussion of renewable energies. In Rabat, Morocco’s capital, we meet up with Said Mouline, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Ener-gies. His country, says he, has already set up a one billion US dollar fund to support the development of eco-friendly energy ventures; smaller two-megawatt projects are already successfully feeding power into the public grid; according to him, Morocco comes with the perfect conditions for Desertec:

“We want to be among the leading countries in this project”, Mouline continues: “The Desertec project rings in a new era of co-operation and partnership. With Germany, we are in close contact – we are discussing the frame conditions such as legal aspects, delivery terms, and technical prerequisites.” What Morocco expects to gain from this commitment: urgent-ly needed investments and jobs. Moreover, the country hopes

to decrease its dependence on imported fossil com-bustibles – especially on imports from Libya.

M&M Militzer & Münch Maroc s.A.

operating locally since: 1986headquarters: CasablancaBranch office: Tangierstaff: 60services: Full container load, less than container load, full truck load,

less than truck load Groupage transports from/to: France, Spain, UK, Belgium,

the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Italy Import and export container services worldwide Storage and distribution services Customs clearance import / export Privately owned bonded 19,000 m² warehouse in Casablanca,

2,000 m² in Tangiers Specialized in textile transports

Contact: M&M Militzer & Münch Maroc S.A.olivier Antoniotti1, Rue Capitaine Vuillanier | MA-202580 CasablancaPhone: +212 5 26737 38 | E-Mail: mmmaroc@mumnet.com

18 | SPECTrUM

Militzer & Münch has launched a new programme to train and promote young Militzer & Münch employees to be future managers. For the “Talent Management Programme”, 20 junior executives were chosen from Militzer & Münch country units all over the world. They all came to Istanbul in September to attend the start of the programme, a three-day seminar held in co-operation with the University of Sankt Gallen.

Talent Management Programme

SYSTEMATIC PRoMoTIoN oF YoUNG ExECUTIVES

hy not make a career in your own company? Militzer & Münch is looking for promising talents among its own personnel, talented employees that can systemati-cally be prepared to take over managerial functions. “only with highly qualified junior staff will we be able to press ahead with the growth course that Militzer & Münch is pursu-ing”, says cEo Ewald Kaiser.

“With the Talent Management Programme, we want to sys-tematically promote and de-velop young, highly motivated and qualified employees; we want to offer them chances for a long-term career within the Militzer & Münch network.”

In Istanbul, a Campus Atmosphere In Istanbul, Ewald Kaiser gave the official starting signal for the programme. The first train-

ing module was scheduled to take three days. renowned scientific experts conducted seminars on personnel man-agement, on strategy, sales, and marketing, and on lo-gistics controlling. Militzer & Münch managers supported the theory with examples from their practical work.

Linking Theory and Practice another module running several days is to take place during the twelve-month programme: It will cover products and processes and their effective implementation and execution. Team building activities and outdoor events are also scheduled, as are case studies from the work fields of Militzer & Münch that will be discussed in international work groups. Thus, with theory and practice closely linked together, the participants will develop their abilities and competences in preparation for their new tasks.

W

SPECTrUM | 19

Prof. Dr. wolfgang Jenewein Director at the Center for Cus-tomer Insight, and Director of Studies of the Executive MBA Programme at the University of St. Gallen

Dr. Thorsten Klaas-wissingVice-Director at the Chair for Logistics Management and Director of Studies of the Exe-cutive Diploma Programme in Logistics Management at the University of St. Gallen

Prof. Dr. Tobias EngelslebenDean of the Faculty Economy and Media at the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences at Cologne, Hamburg, Munich and Idstein

Ewald KaiserChief Executive officer, M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG

Thorsten MeinckeMember of the Management Board, M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG

harald scheifingerHead of Group Controlling, M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG

Speakers at the

1st Workshop

Discovering History with Benz the Cat

A Very Special Chronicle

The Time-Traveling Cat

by Benz the tomcat

Ready for an interesting expedition through 131 years of Militzer & Münch history? “The Time-Traveling Cat, a Very Special Chronicle” is a good travel guide. In this charming book, Deborah

Müller, Public Relations Manager with M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG, chronicles the history of the company as seen through the eyes of Benz the company cat – a tomcat that used to sit un-der the boss’ desk at the Hof office over long years.

Quotes from historic documents, original trave-logues, as well as many photographs complete the story of Benz the company cat’s adventures, so that “The Time-Traveling Cat” allows amusing, exciting, and very informative insights into the company his-tory.

The German and the English versions of the text are combined on 244 pages; the price is 12 Euros. The book is available from Militzer & Münch. Interested? Just send an email to redaktion@mumnet.com.

M&M Speakers

A Very Special Chronicle

The Time-Traveling Cat

by Benz the tomcat

…come see us. OK, we won’t sell you Moroccan „babouches“ – but we are game for anything logistics. We offer logistics services according to international quality standards at 100 loca-tions in over 30 countries. From Europe to Asia, form North Africa to the Middle East. Profit from our local know-how, our pioneering spirit, and our innovative drive. We are there for you!

if your shoe pinches…

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