Schenker revamps U.S. unit
Schenker AG, the German-based forwarder, is revamping its U.S. operations in an effort to boost its presence here.
“We mainly serve a European customer base. We want a U.S. customer base,” Karl-Heinz Feldmann, executive vice president for corporate development at Stinnes AG, the company’s said in an interview.
“Our goal is to double our U.S. revenue in three years,” said Patrick Moebel, president of Schenker Inc., the company’s U.S. subsidiary. It currently has $550 million in U.S. revenue.
“We will have a more focused operation structure in the future,” said Moebel, adding the company plans to increase its revenue both from organic growth and acquisitions.
Moebel, who became Schenker’s top U.S. executive in January, said the company plans to have offices in 60 cities within a year, up from the present 51.
The new offices will primarily be in Midwestern and western cities such as Albuquerque, Boise, Reno, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Wichita, Omaha, Des Moines and Grand Rapids.
The new offices will be customer service centers, staffed by sales personnel. Meanwhile, some cities that have had branch offices, such as St. Louis, will be converted into customer service centers. Accounting and other support functions previously handled in those cities will be shifted to others. As a result, Schenker will reduce its branch offices from 51 to 30, while increasing its overall presence.
“We’re looking to be more flexible and more adapted to the market,” said Moebel, who assumed his current position in January. He replaced P. Robert Doernte, who left to become president and chief executive of Hellmann U.S.A., the U.S. subsidiary of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, another German-based forwarder.
Moebel, who previously served as executive vice president for air freight at Schenker headquarters in Essen, Germany, is also chairman of Cargo 2000, an alliance of airlines and forwarders seeking to improve the delivery of air cargo.
New appointments at Schenker since Moebel took over include Chris Dale, formerly of Danzas AEI, as executive vice president of sales; Dennis Stoove, as chief information officer; and Peter Ohlrich as chief financial officer.
Moebel, who is based in Freeport, N.Y., has set up four regional offices to oversee the branches. The regional headquarters are in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Atlanta.
Schenker’s Latin American business is run from Miami. That office reports to company headquarters in Germany.
