New Leadership at Militzer & Münch in Germany

St. Gallen, 16 January 2023. The Militzer & Münch Group has completed the restructuring of its business activities in Germany. Since January 1, 2023, Holger Seehusen, Thomas Winter, and Viola Rockelmann have been heading both M&M Militzer & Münch Deutsche Holding GmbH and the two operating units, M&M air sea cargo GmbH and M&M Militzer & Münch GmbH. Thus, all Militzer & Münch units in Germany are now under the one management.

Viola Rockelmann, hitherto Finance Director of M&M Militzer & Münch Deutsche Holding GmbH, has been appointed Managing Director and forms, together with Holger Seehusen and Thomas Winter, the management team of Militzer & Münch in Germany. In addition to their previous management positions at the operational units, Holger Seehusen and Thomas Winter have been appointed to the management team of the German holding company. The distribution of responsibilities within the management team remains unchanged: Holger Seehusen focuses on air and sea freight activities, including rail transports on the China – Europe route, Thomas Winter is mainly responsible for road freight transports, and Viola Rockelmann for finance and administration.

The previous managing directors of M&M Militzer & Münch Deutsche Holding GmbH, Alexei Kovalenko, CFO of the Militzer & Münch group and spokesman of the Group Management, and TransInvest board member Ingo Seifert, are stepping down from their management positions at the German holding company. Their other functions remain unchanged.

“We wish Viola Rockelmann, Holger Seehusen and Thomas Winter all the best for their new tasks,” says Alexei Kovalenko. “Our country unit in Germany has shown very positive development over the past years; it is an important pillar of the Militzer & Münch Group. With the new management structure, we now have a leaner setup in Germany and can act more dynamically to even better meet the future challenges of the logistics sector.”

Viola Rockelmann holds a degree in business administration and has been with Militzer & Münch for 27 years. Holger Seehusen previously held management positions at IHG Logistics GmbH & Co KG and Rhenus Logistics. He has 30 years of experience in the logistics industry. Thomas Winter has been active in the logistics industry for over 25 years; among others, he was with DHL Freight and Emons Spedition GmbH.

New country units in the Balkans

The Militzer & Münch Group has established two new country units in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Montenegro. With their focus on logistics services and road transports, the newly founded companies reinforce the Militzer & Münch network in the Balkan region.

In late August, the two Militzer & Münch subsidiaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro started operations. They are located in the capitals of the two countries – in Sarajevo and Podgorica. “Many of the customers we work with in Serbia are also active in the other markets in the region; for the most part, these customers come from the fashion and textiles, automotive and chemical sectors. Therefore, the two new country units will mainly transport goods for companies from these industries”, says Nikola Vasiljevic, Managing Director of the two country units and Executive Director at Militzer & Münch Serbia. The new companies offer the full range of the Militzer & Münch services. A special focus is on organizing FTL and LTL road transports, as well as on customs clearance.

In the Balkan region, Militzer & Münch also has units in Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania, where the group already offers comprehensive logistics services. “We founded the new country organizations at a time when other companies were rather reluctant to do so,” says Alexei Kovalenko, Chief Financial Officer TransInvest and Militzer & Münch, and Speaker of the Militzer & Münch Group Management. “This step gives good proof of the initiative, energy and entrepreneurial spirit of our colleagues at Militzer & Münch Serbia.”

Militzer & Münch opens two new subsidiaries in the Balkans

St. Gallen, 13 September 2021. The Militzer & Münch Group has opened two new country units – in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Montenegro. With their focus on logistics services and road transports, the newly founded companies strengthen the network in the Balkan region. The Militzer & Münch country organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro started operations in late August. The companies are located in the capitals of the two countries, Sarajevo and Podgorica, and offer the full range of the Militzer & Münch services. A special focus is on organizing FTL and LTL road transports, as well as on customs clearance.

A region with potential

In both national markets, Militzer & Münch sees great potential for further growth. The national subsidiary established in 2019 in Serbia, which borders both countries, is developing better than expected. In the future, Serbia will serve as the Militzer & Münch hub for the Western Balkans. “Many customers we work with in Serbia are also active in the other markets of the region; these customers mainly come from the fashion and textiles, automotive, and chemical sectors. Therefore, the two new national companies will mainly transport goods for companies from these industries”, says Nikola Vasiljevic, Managing Director of the two new country units and Executive Director at Militzer & Münch Serbia. “We do see the opportunity to extend our cooperation with our customers to transports to neighboring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.”

“With the new national units, we are connecting several national markets with a high growth potential, while at the same time strengthening our own network,” says Filip Simovic, Managing Director of Militzer & Münch Serbia. “Traffics destined for Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro reach their destination via the Serbian capital Belgrade, where we recently acquired a logistics property that we had previously only rented.” In the Balkan region, Militzer & Münch operates further locations in Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania, and already offers a wide range of logistics services across the region.

24/7 spare parts supply

St. Gallen, February 22, 2021. The Militzer & Münch Group offers a time-critical spare parts supply service at its location at Hamburg Airport, available around the clock, seven days a week. Especially in case of an “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) alarm, customers make use of the service. Recently, Militzer & Münch has extended this offer to other industries that rely on time-critical spare parts deliveries – among them the maritime industry and agricultural machinery manufacturers.

The air freight office of M&M air sea cargo GmbH, which offers this service, is located in the immediate vicinity of Hamburg Airport. At present, one of the main focuses of the 26 employees is on aircraft spare parts. “Our current end customers are various regional and local airlines in China, Taiwan and India,” says Dirk Bukowski, Regional Manager North Germany. “We have now extended this service to other industries that rely on the short-term delivery of spare parts. These include the maritime industry, manufacturers of large vehicles such as combine harvesters and forklifts, as well as wind power plants and the respective workshops.” The special Militzer & Münch service can also be used for the import and export of high-value, low-volume products such as cell phones.

On duty, non-stop
The special feature of this service: Militzer & Münch assures its customers of a reliable 24/7 service, completely independent of the logistics service provider’s other workload. Shipping and warehouse stock of the Militzer & Münch branch office in Hamburg are steered via a control tower, which acts as an interface to the customers and partners.

“Our service is already attracting a lot of interest from the marine spare parts sector and from manufacturers of utility vehicles, who rely on an immediate response and the fastest possible transport in the event of an emergency,” says Jennifer Bastkowski, Branch Manager Airfreight. “Our team can access our own warehouse directly – which has not been the norm in the industry for a long time. The warehouse is connected to our office and equipped with pallet racks and an innovative warehouse management system. It is located just two kilometers from Hamburg Airport. Thanks to all these factors, we can process urgent orders within a very short time.”

Stable despite the pandemic
During the Corona pandemic, there is an above-average number of orders for spare parts that are classified as extremely urgent and have to be dispatched immediately – often outside normal working hours or on weekends and holidays. As a result of the Corona crisis, there is a much greater amount of work involved in booking orders. “In the periods leading up to the pandemic, we transported a significant portion of our air cargo as so-called “belly loads” aboard passenger aircraft that departed at a very high frequency,” says Jennifer Bastkowski. “The restrictions on passenger air traffic due to COVID-19 have ensured that this cargo space is largely eliminated – especially on the long-haul route to China.”

Thus, the rapid dispatch of time-critical spare parts constitutes a challenge, since for shipments of this type there are currently almost only cargo flights available, which, however, operate irregularly during the pandemic. COVID-19 has thus created some hurdles that make order planning more complex: Flight connections and the rates charged for them have to be checked by the Militzer & Münch team for each individual order, and coordinated with the contacts abroad. M&M air sea cargo GmbH was able to master these challenges and stand its ground in the market, despite the Corona pandemic.

New location in Austria

St. Gallen, October 1, 2020. Starting today, the Militzer & Münch Group operates a branch office in Austria. The team at the new Vienna office is active in sales and operations, with a focus on logistics services and rail transports for the markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

With the new office at the Vienna DC Tower, the Militzer & Münch Group adds to its network another important logistics hub at the heart of Europe. “Vienna is one of the major trans-shipment hubs for goods in Central Europe”, says Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia, Business Development Switzerland, Militzer & Münch Holding AG. “For the time being, the office is set up as a foreign branch of M&M Militzer & Münch AG, Switzerland. Plans are to found an independent country unit in Vienna at a later date.” The team at the Austrian capital comes with lots of experience and concentrates on the Militzer & Münch core markets; these include Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, and the Maghreb. The objective is to especially develop East-bound rail transports.

Austria boasts a stable economy, and the Vienna region has always been a successful economic hub in the trade between West and East. The new team is led by Branch Manager Nikolay Gueorguiev. He was with Far Freight / Gebrüder Weiss, and most recently with the CJ ICM Logistics Group.