Interview with
Mr. Henrique Wohltmann
Managing Director
Henrique, first, please tell our readers a little about yourself. When did you start your career in freight forwarding?
I started in freight forwarding back in 1989 as an apprentice at Richard Boas GmbH in Bremen, Germany., starting with international project logistics in 1992 at Panalpina.
What made you choose that kind of career?
Well since my youth I always wanted to somehow get into trading. My getting into logistics was more of a coincidence. After I handled my first projects as junior, I was more than sure that international project logistics is something I like a lot, and for which my heart beats.
What is your main responsibility in Hansa Meyer?
Besides intensive sales activities, my focus is to ensure that Hansa Meyer always delivers the best possible logistics services to our valuable customers and partners around the globe, while my MD colleague Mr. Marc-Oliver Hauswald is mainly focused on developing new business for the Hansa Meyer Group. Within our network, I am the contact person for Asia, Europe and Africa and Mr. Hauswald is the same for the Americas and the Middle East.
Hansa Meyer is well known as a project cargo specialist. Please elaborate a bit on the history of the company and can you tell us who the owners are?
The company was founded in 1986 as a pure project logistics specialist, or as we call it, a logistics architect. Today Hansa Meyer Global is still majorly owned by two of the founding members and we serve clients with total twenty-four global offices, providing solutions for various well-known international customers from the oil/gas and project industries.
Competition is fierce in Germany and many forwarders claim to provide quality. How do you ensure that you’ll stand out?
We always try to provide the right solution at the right price for our clients’ and partners’ needs. Customers and partners are not just a ‘number’ at Hansa Meyer and are treated personally with the highest and best possible level of attention.
Could you provide our readers with a few examples of projects that you have handled and that you are proud of having been part of?
Well first, there’s the AN-225 project from Chile to Bolivia, for which we just received the award Best Airfreight Solution of the Year award from Heavy Lift Magazine. But to be honest, we are proud of every single project, big or small, that we have successfully realized to the satisfaction of our clients.
You belong to a global organisation. Can you tell us about the locations of your own overseas offices?
Today Hansa Meyer has twenty-four of its own offices in, as we say, the most strategic locations (for Hansa Meyer) in the world. With these and the help of our global partners, we ensure that Hansa Meyer can always create the best possible logistics solutions for our valuable customers.
Do you feel that shipping has changed? Is it more difficult these days to secure business than it used to be, or is it business as usual?
The business has always been challenging. However, the present global political situation makes it more difficult to identify potential markets. Also, of course, the competition gets stiffer every day, which makes it even more important that you have highly-qualified partners and join a good network, such as CLC Projects, of which we are a member.
How to get in touch with you?
You can always reach me at h.wohltmann@hansameyer-de.com
