50 years of Kombiverkehr

DECADES OF SUCCESS

PROSPECTS • CULTIVATING DECADES OF EXPERIENCE AND BECOMING ONE OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN EUROPE, KOMBIVERKEHR LOOKS BACK ON ITS PAST AND SETS ITS SIGHTS ON THE FUTURE

KOMBIVERKEHR KG, THE European market leader in intermodal rail transport, has reached an impressive milestone of 50 years of service to the industry. Started in 1969, the aim of Kombiverkehr was to move long-distance freight traffic from road to rail – a goal that is still at the core of its business practice today. In 2007, the company became the first European operator to shift over one million truck consignments from the roads to the railways over the course of a financial year.

In the beginning, Kombiverkehr was founded by the long-distance freight forwarding, shipping and furniture transport sectors, as well as Deutsche Bundesbahn and 56 road hauliers and freight forwarders. A few months after being founded, the first truck consignment was handled. Now, the company runs a European network with over 770 direct and shuttle trains a week. Annually, over 900,000 truck shipments are successfully handled by Kombiverkehr.

Robert Breuhahn, managing director of Kombiverkehr, says: “With countless innovations in the areas of sales, operations, IT and technology, our employees have lost none of this pioneering spirit over the last five decades. They have repeatedly set new standards that have added value to the intermodal transport sector in Germany and Europe and made it into a success story.”

MODERN GOALS Efficiency in handling is a priority for Kombiverkehr and digitisation appears to be the answer to providing future viability. Focusing on intermodal supply chains, the company has launched a digitalisation project – KV 4.0 – alongside ten network partners with the aim of making the logistical process more transparent and manageable for everyone involved. Starting with the collection of the transport unit from the shipper and providing support to its delivery to the recipient, it is a large scope for a project. KV 4.0 is in development and is due to begin its technical implementation in the coming months.

Railway performance is an area that Kombiverkehr is keen to improve. In recent years it has been noted that European railways have often been failing to meet punctuality targets, due to a combination of factors, including engineering works, a shortage of train drivers and locomotives and less predictable factors such as poor weather and strikes.

“Even though an anniversary year gives us good reason to celebrate the company’s achievements over the past 50 years,” says Breuhahn, “we will not let up in our ongoing demands for huge improvements in quality from our service providers because the punctuality of our trains is absolutely crucial to the continuing success of the company in years to come. This applies both to us and to our customers.”

CLEAN SHIPMENTS In the past year, Kombiverkehr has completed 937,837 total unaccompanied shipments. Of this, hazardous goods accounted for 145,798 shipments, more than 97,000 of them moving internationally.

When it comes to hazardous goods, Kombiverkehr has the in-house expertise to advise shippers on the relevant legislation and the proper packaging. It is also expert in the multimodal shipment of hazardous goods by rail and sea, and provides online oversight of shipments via the tracking and tracing platform CESAR. Staff receive regular training in dangerous goods regulations.

Most types of hazardous waste can also be carried in combined transport, but shippers need to be alert to the fact that they are not allowed in all terminals; Kombiverkehr has a specialist team on hand to advise shippers. The company’s website provides a lot of links to official publications relevant to the shipment of both hazardous goods and hazardous waste.

Whatever the cargo, rail transport offers significant environmental benefits, something that should be on the wish-list of every executive operating in the supply chain. Every truckload moved onto the railway by Kombiverkehr reduces emissions of CO2 by 60 grams per tonne-kilometre compared with transport by road.

On an annual scale, Kombiverkehr transports around a million consignments every year over an average distance of more than 800 km. This road-to-rail saving is equivalent to a transport output of over 17.5bn tonne-kilometres. As freight in Europe is widely expected to increase – up to 59 per cent on road alone by 2025 according to some estimates – providing a service that is efficient, prompt and reduces an impact on the environment is key to prolonged success. HCB www.kombiverkehr.de

COMBINED TRANSPORT WAS RADICAL 50 YEARS AGO BUT

IS NOW AN ACCEPTED PART OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN