trailer world issue One 2010

For the move to Kulim/Malaysia, the whole production fa- cility from the die cutter via the screen printing machine to the press was dismantled and loaded part for part in 40‘ containers. Together with the actual transporting equipment, altogether 15 containers then set off from Bielefeld to Kulim. The load was accompanied by a mechanic, an electrical engineer and three transport crew who spent three weeks in Asia, unpacking and installing the factory on site. The projects were much simpler to start with. 49 years ago, Ernst Pfaff set up business with a VW Trans- porter, which he drove himself in the early days. The 21-year old precision mechanic and his wife Christa initially intended to start trading with potatoes. But they weren‘t granted a permit. Giving up was simply not an issue. “As we‘d already purchased the Transporter, we decided to use it to trans- port other goods”, says Pfaff. Two years later, he purchased a low loader from a firm that had gone bankrupt. In those days, this was a really innova- tive vehicle that propelled the small firm into a niche in the market. The first contracts to transport forklift trucks soon followed. “For a long time, we had a kind of monopoly”, says Pfaff. The range of transport services was then extended to include printing presses and ma- chine tools. A good 15 years later the company had a fleet of 16 vehicles and a workforce of 20 employees. In the early 80s, the company opened a branch in Bremen and the company enjoyed constant growth. Today the 100 employees generate annual sales of around 12 million Euro. At Pfaff they won‘t bow to the price pressure which currently dictates the industry. “We counter this trend with quality”, says Pfaff. The vehicles are constantly maintained in the company‘s own garage. The firm regularly invests in its fleet which is al- ways state of the art. “And behind every trailer you‘ll find an axle from BPW”, says Pfaff. “After all, they have a lot to con- tend with.” Nor do they cut corners when it comes to staff. The vehicles are always only driven by the company‘s own drivers. Many of them have been with Pfaff since receiving their initial vocational training here. It takes a full year to complete the advanced training needed to transport the sensitive machine tools and printing machines. Sub-contractors are only used if they are known on a personal basis. “This approach has always worked well”, says Thomas Pfaff. The family firm has a reputa- tion for punctual deliveries without any damage. The repu- tation also extends to flexibility and speed. “Customers who ring up will get a special vehicle in 45 minutes”, says Carsten Pfaff. Speedy decisions are also often necessary when handling orders. “Communication is often easier within the family setting, with greater scope for decision making”, he says. In spite of growth and progress, the corporate values have remained the same over the years. “We attach importance to fair- ness with business partners and customers alike”, says Pfaff. This is why an order is only said to have been successful if everything went well. “Of course we want to earn money. But profit is not all that counts”. With this philosophy, some customer relations have existed for 45 years. (bb) Info More information about Ernst Pfaff can be found online at www.pfaff-hh.de Constant growth Reliable values Pfaff special fleet: from very high to very low or very wide One of Pfaffs special jobs: relocating the chip factory from Bielefeld to Kulim/Malaysia Issue One 2010 17

trailer world issue One 2010

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