The red sofa warms up
What a start for the red sofa on the first day of the transport logistic trade fair: Immediately after the official opening, Germany’s new transport minister Patrick Schnieder sat down for an interview with DVZ editor-in-chief Sebastian Reimann. He promised: ‘In two or three months’ time, I want to be judged on the initial results of my work.’
Reimann took the minister’s appearance as an opportunity to ask his next guest what he would tackle immediately as minister. ‘As a minister, I am completely unsuitable; I cannot speak in platitudes,’ replied a cheerful Prof. Sebastian Jürgens, managing director of the Lübecker Hafen-Gesellschaft (LHG). Instead, he had some exciting news to share: ‘We will soon be handling tomatoes from Luleå in northern Sweden via our Skandinavienkai terminal.’ The reason for this is the favourable renewable energy sources available locally – ‘a model for Germany’ – which enable economical cultivation there.
Sebastian Reimann then invited two customs experts onto the sofa: Bernie Hart, VP of Customs and Trade Business Development at supply chain logistics platform provider Flexport, and John Wegman, CEO of customs partner Customs Support. Their joint conclusion: It is currently more difficult than ever for customers to plan their supply chains. Hakan Bicil, CEO of the Duvenbeck Group, on the other hand, presented a solution for the sensible use of electric trucks. He reported: ‘We have proven that we can operate economically and suitably for everyday use with electric trucks for Volkswagen over medium distances.’ (bo)
