German express delivery and logistics group trans-o-flex has made its first profit for a decade following a restructuring under new ownership and new management.
The company, which was sold by Austrian Post to private investors in 2016, announced today that it had made a profit in 2018 after breaking even in 2017.
"After having reached the break-even point in 2017, this result definitely shows that the rehabilitation of the company has been successful,” said CEO Wolfgang Albeck, who took over running the company in 2017.
For Albeck, the successful turnaround is “clear proof that our strategy of focusing on 100% quality has paid off.” For a logistic company, service quality is even more important than cost optimisation. “Together with efficiency, reliability is the highest value we can offer our customers,” he commented.
In 2018, in addition to its focus on quality, trans-o-flex also continued its strategy of streamlining shipments, which began two years ago. “We have again disposed of shipments that do not fit into our structure or that were unprofitable”, Albeck explained. Trans-o-flex focuses mostly on transportation and delivery of pharmaceutical, cosmetics and consumer electronics shipments.
However, despite reducing volumes, the company’s turnover increased to €468 million. “This also reflects the consistent further development of our company into an express service provider, because the number of shipments we deliver on a particular day or to a time selected by the customer has increased both in relation to the total volume of all shipments and in absolute terms.”
Trans-o-flex intends to continue this growth course in 2019. The budget agreed upon with the shareholders provides for an investment volume of €35 million for the current year.
“We will invest this money primarily in the acquisition of new vehicles, IT and sorting technology. In addition to this, locations will be renewed and expanded,” the CEO said.
The company will also take on new staff, mainly in Sales and Customer Service, after a slight reduction to a workforce of 2,047 employees in 2018.
