this week we speak with
Iris K. Müllejans, Managing Director, Riedl Group, Germany
THE "WHO-WHERE-WHAT" CHALLENGE
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Since 2004, Iris has been the Managing Director and shareholder of ROLF RIEDL GmbH, International Project Forwarder based in Hagen, Germany. She studied at the University of Muenster and holds a Diploma in Economics. She is married and has three school-aged children |
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Tell us about the Riedl Group. Who owns the company? Tell us a few words about your experience, your expertise and your business in general. |
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Different companies are combined under the trade name: THE RIEDL GROUP, bundling their strength and pursuing a common goal to carry out projects professionally for our customers. In 1987 the roots of the RIEDL GROUP were established, when my father Rolf Riedl founded ROLF RIEDL GMBH. The shareholders of ROLF RIEDL GmbH are Iris K. Müllejans (37.5%), my brother Andreas Marc Riedl, a lawyer specialized in international transport and forwarding and maritime lawyer, based in Hamburg, e-mail: andreas.riedl@riedl-law.com, (37,5%) and Britta Pehn, daughter of my father’s business partner, Joachim Patzner, (25%). |
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Where are your offices located? |
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ROLF RIEDL GmbH is located in Hagen, in the Ruhr Valley, industrial heartland of Germany. Furthermore, our sister company Transgerma Riedl & Kiehntopf GmbH is located in the Port of Bremen. |
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What is Riedl Group specialty and service range? |
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The company offers a complete range of logistic services and solutions to its customers. These include assisting customers during the planning and quotation phase with transport budgets and feasibility studies until the execution of the project with shipping by road / rail / inland waterway, sea and air freight, last-mile delivery, but also assembling and dismantling, packing at customers’ works, supporting with all risks insurance and customs formalities, global heavy lift movements, chartering, cranage rigging and assembly with own heavy lift equipment worldwide. |
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Tell us about projects you have handled recently. |
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Project Nemo
All in gauge and ODC components were transported by standard trucks / trailers and the H/L components: Cargo per substation:
Additionals per substation:
Transformers UK:
Transload by crane from barge to coaster in NSP, then shipped to the port of Ramsgate, UK. Here the H/L components were transload by floating crane onto modular trailers. The inland transport to site was by road via the harbour approach tunnel and a short section of residential road to site, in order to avoid a second tunnel. On arrival at site the components were unloaded onto Riedl skidding equipment for foundation setting. Due to the intensive and great communication and efforts of all involved, all permits were released in a timely fashion and the components were delivered on time and in good order. Project Västeras As to the heavy lift operations, the turbine, generator, condensers and all accessories from various suppliers in Germany and border countries, were handled professionally and on time by us. The site area was quite tight due to existing buildings and there was not a lot of space for the inhauling also. The inhauling was engineered by our own rigging company. For the lifting, RTM used its own designed and built LHS600 Heavy Lifting System. |
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Which ports are mainly used for project cargo in Germany? |
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For project cargo business in Germany, the ports of Bremen and Hamburg are used, but we often also use for project cargo out of Germany the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as well as the port of Antwerp in Belgium, due to their excellent road, rail and inland waterway connections, along with several departures of shipping lines worldwide. |
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Is shipping a competitive sector in Germany? How do you ensure that you will stand out? |
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The key to our continued growth and development is our comprehensive package of services, our worldwide personal connections and experienced partners across the shipping, rigging and assembly sector, our experienced and well-trained staff of specialists, our professionalism and our focus on partnership with our customers. We escort and control our customers’ project cargoes from start to point of delivery and keep our customers informed on a daily basis. Our industry partners can depend on our service and value us as a trusted partner! |
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What made you personally join the industry? |
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In 2003 my father asked the family to join for a family meeting to discuss the future of the company, since he was searching for a successor. At that time I was working for Vodafone in Düsseldorf as a Project Manager for business cases for the new technologies like UMTS and WLAN. Since I studied Logistics, International Marketing and Communications and loved to travel, it was a great opportunity to step into my father’s business and take over the responsibility for an own company. When I was a child my father brought special presents from each country of his business trips. What I further enjoyed as a child was that always business partners from all over the world were welcomed at our home. So, in the end, my father was the link, along with the business partners that become friends and part of our family. |
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What do you like the most about your business? |
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Meeting and working with all the open-minded different people in our worldwide industry and the opportunity to always learn something new. Each project is different and has its challenges. Mostly I enjoy working in a team of multicultural business professionals having the goal to move the cargo to the full-satisfaction of the customer. |
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Who should be approached in Riedl Group for enquiries etc.? |
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Please feel free to contact myself or Christian, whom you probably have met at the various THLG meetings and the Break Bulk show in Bremen:
Our trained staff can help you any time: |
