trailer world issue One 2008

Photos:Fender trailer world: Getting back to the vehicle ﬂeet – what does a haulier need to transport steel successfully? Hunold: No two steels are alike, even if you might at ﬁrst think of the typical steel coils. Not only do we transport coils, but also extra-long steel girders, sheet piling, steel tube or slabs – and all these products require special vehicles: strengthened axles, extra- long or extra-wide trailers, sloping loaders or extending semis – we are certain to have the right vehicle for everything. Nor do we use these vehicles merely for Salzgitter Flachs- tahl, but also for other major steel producers such as Hoesch or ThyssenKrupp. trailer world: So far we have only spoken about road vehicles – do you also use other modes of transport? Hunold: We transport steel exclusively by road, and in fact predominantly from Salzgit- ter and the Ruhr to the centres of the Ger- man metal processing industry, and also to the ports and to neighbouring countries such as Poland, France or the Benelux countries. trailer world: Deutsche Bahn has just an- nounced that it will be acquiring 2,400 new rail wagons for the transport of steel alone by 2009. Won’t that strengthen the competition from the railways? Hunold: As we see it, a lorry is still more ﬂexible than the railway. Apart from which, of course, rail shipments require both the sender and the recipient to have a direct rail connection. Even so, we view the rail- way less as a competitor, and prefer to look for cooperation. The sticking points tend to be primarily the lack of terminals for tran- shipment from road to rail and vice versa. Despite that we are currently working on schemes for inter-modal traﬃc. trailer world: Every lorry needs a driver – and they are in very short supply at the mo- ment in Germany … Hunold: … and above all for our steel transporters they have to be highly qualiﬁed. They are an important link in a highly com- plex logistics chain, and nothing can be al- lowed to go wrong with the transport. Even if the trailer were to be overloaded by one kilogramme as it left the steel producer, the journey would be over for the time being. We train our drivers ourselves and we have a relationship with the employment agencies that goes back many years, enabling us to cover our need for drivers. (bo) Title Issue One 2008 15 Info More information on the topic of Lehnkering can be found on the internet at http://www.lehnkering.com »We view the railway less as a competitor, and prefer to look for cooperation.« Personal details Since 1973 Manfred Hunold (born in 1946) works in executive positions in the logistics industry. Since December 2007 he is the spokesman of the Managing Board of Lehnkering Steel Trans- port & Services GmbH.

trailer world issue One 2008

Pages