Categories New-posts, Press center

VCHD Cargo adopts a long-term investment strategy with new fleet investments

The Czech transport company has announced its plans for future strategic development. Despite an economic downturn, the company has adopted an investment plan that maintains the average age of vehicles in its truck fleet at three years. In line with this strategy, the company has acquired 28 utility towing vehicles and 13 trailers this year so far, as of the end of October.

VCHD Cargo is a Czech company with family capital that has been active in the market since 1997. The company offers road cargo transport and specialises in line services for regular goods as well as food and hazardous cargo. Its strategy is built around high reliability of delivery. This ethos has been put to a serious test this year. “The situation this year is complicated in many respects. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges not only for our drivers in the form of strict hygiene measures, facility entry restrictions and a high risk of contagion on the job, but also for our dispatch staff and managers in terms of operative and strategic planning,” says Ing. Petr Kozel, Chairman of the VCHD Cargo Board, adding: “although we have already invested over half a million Czech korunas in PPE and disinfectants for both our drivers and vehicles, we shall continue investing in the renewal of our fleet in order to guarantee reliable and safe transport services.”

VCHD Cargo has adopted a seven-year investment plan intended to keep the maximum average age of all vehicles in the company’s fleet under three years. The aim is to minimise lost time due to vehicle breakdowns or servicing. VCHD Cargo’s fleet in the Czech Republic and in Germany currently consists of 160 towing vehicles and 170 trailers and the company plans to buy more than ten other vehicles before the end of the year. The company’s preferred suppliers are Mercedes, Scania and Volvo. “We firmly believe that modern technology, high-quality maintenance and experienced drivers are the key to VCHD CARGO remaining a trusted parted for all our European customers,” Petr Kozel concludes.

Categories New-posts, Press center, Social responsibility

VCHD Cargo continues its support of first responders

The Czech transport company VCHD Cargo has extended its support of the Czech SAR Team, a voluntary first responder organisation dedicated to search and rescue of missing or lost persons and assistance during emergency situations. This year, VCHD Cargo’s financial support will be used to purchase a special rescue trailer.

“We started supporting the Czech SAR Team in 2019 at the initiative of one of our employees who devotes his free time to serve as part of the organisation’s rescue team,” says Ing. Petr Kozel, the Chairman of the VCHD Cargo, a.s. Board of Directors. Last year, VCHD Cargo provided funds for the purchase of medical material. This year, the company will contribute towards the purchase of a special rescue trailer designed for transport of rescued individuals from remote locations. “Last year alone, the Czech SAR Team carried out over 60 missions, often in dense wooded areas inaccessible for regular search-and-rescue equipment. This year, we decided, since we are a transport company, to help the first responders acquire equipment that will help them transport injured, exhausted or disoriented people in difficult terrain, Petr Kozel explains.

The Czech SAR Team is an independent search-and-rescue association. Its core mission is to search for missing or lost individuals in all parts of the Czech Republic with the help of all-terrain vehicles and other special devices used by the team’s members. The association works in close partnership with the Integrated Rescue System during natural disasters including floods, forest fires, etc. VCHD Cargo has supported numerous non-profit initiatives for many years and in 2020 decided to provide a total of CZK 50,000 to the Czech SAR Team.

Categories Uncategorized

Martin Hustoles – New Business Development Manager

The Czech transport company VCHD Cargo has a new Business Development Manager, the experienced logistics expert Martin Hustoles. In his new job, he will steer the company’s development, especially in terms of international road transport.

A native of Kladno, Martin Hustoles graduated from a Secondary Technical School with a specialisation in mechanical engineering technology and has since expanded his education through numerous specialist seminars and courses devoted to logistics and management. Martin Hustoles has worked in logistics for over 25 years. He started his career in ESA in 1993, initially working as a dispatcher for international and domestic road transport and later serving on several other positions until 2000 when he left the company as its deputy sales director. Between 2000 and 2016, he worked in UTi Worldwide as the head of the sales department and the Business Development Manager responsible for logistics solutions and meeting the needs of key customers primarily in the automotive and hi-tech industries. Before joining VCHD Cargo, he worked in the logistics company DSV Road a.s. where he served as the Key Account Manager since 2016 when UTi Worldwide was acquired by the holding company DSV. In his capacity of Key Account Manager, Martin Hustoles was responsible for the former UTi Worldwide’s customer portfolio as well as key DSV Road accounts.

In his new job as VCHD Cargo’s Business Development Manager, Martin Hustoles’s objective will be to continue the company’s successful business development primarily in international road transport using the company’s own fleet but he will also work on acquisitions in the forwarding business.

VCHD Cargo’s large fleet of new vehicles is a clear market advantage. On top of that, the company uses modern green technologies, intelligent TMS (Transport Management System) and professional know-how. The company is also open to new investments. All this comes together to create ideal conditions for an optimal growth strategy,” Martin Hustoles says, adding “I am looking forward to personally contributing to the company’s overall vision of moving forward into the future with stability and prosperity.”

“The job of a Business Development Manager touches on all activities of our company, from working with major customers, through processes involved in day-to-day operation, marketing and economic processes to the development of new business areas,” says Chairman of the VCHD Cargo a.s. Board of Directors Petr Kozel, adding“we are confident that in Martin Hustoles we found a logistics expert who will take our business strategy and use it to grow our transport and, in the future, other logistics services.”

Martin Hustoles is married and has two children. He is fluent in English and Russian and conversational in German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. He spends his free time with his family travelling and enjoying a variety of sports – skiing, cycling and motorsports.

Categories New-posts, Press center

VCHD Cargo received the prestigious AAA award

The Czech transport company VCHD Cargo has won its fifth consecutive Czech Stability Award certificate in the highest AAA category. Awarded by Bisnode in partnership with the CZECH TOP 100 association, the certificate confirms that its holder uses its resources efficiently and consistently transforms them into high-quality products and services. VCHD Cargo has secured the certificate despite the widespread complications in the transport market due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

“Throughout its more than 20-year history, VCHD Cargo has always managed its business and development conservatively in terms of investments but with an innovative spirit informing its customer service and a drive to increase service quality,”explains Chairman of the company’s Board Ing. Petr Kozel adding that “we have thus managed to build a stable, renown company that is capable to respond even to sudden market disruptions like the one we saw in the first quarter of this year. We are delighted that our stability has once again been recognised by an independent rating. It sends a positive signal to our customers and business partners. Reliability and security are becoming important values in our market again.”

The Czech Stability Award is a prestigious independent business rating with roots going back to 1908. The Award can only be granted to companies that generate profit. There are three levels: AAA, AA and A. The certificate confirms that its holders use their resources efficiently and consistently transform them into high-quality products and services. Strict criteria ensure that only the bests companies can join the exclusive club and confirm their strong market position. Only a small fraction of business active in the Czech Republic can achieve the AAA to A rating.

 

Categories Press center

VCHD Cargo celebrates one year of operation in the German market

One year ago, the Czech transport company VCHD Cargo expanded its businesses to the neighbouring Germany and founded a dedicated subsidiary VCHD Cargo GmbH in Radeburg. The German business has successfully entered the German long-distance and domestic transport market, expanded its truck fleet and will soon hire more employees.

Creation of the new subsidiary in the vicinity of Dresden was based on a through market analysis that confirmed good potential of the German market, especially in terms of line services. “Given our traditionally good contacts in the German market, we decided to create VCHD Cargo GmbH in order to get an easier access to the German domestic business that had been out of our reach previously due to a ban on cabotage,” VCHD Cargo a.s. chairman Ing. Petr Kozel explains. The German subsidiary VCHD Cargo GmbH Radeburg was officially founded in January 2019 and its first truck hit the road in June 2019. The company currently operates 8 regular lines within Germany and two more trucks will be launched into operation within a few weeks.
“For many years, the Czech republic has struggled with a lack of professional drivers, compounded with a growing trend of qualified people leaving for job opportunities abroad for various, often personal reasons,” Petr Kozel says, adding: “We have been aware of this trend for a long time and we now offer our employees the chance to work on international lines.” By creating the German subsidiary, the number of jobs for core Czech employees has further increased. “We are rather strict in selecting potential candidates for positions in our German subsidiary and prefer employees with whom we have had long-standing positive relationships. As a family-owned company with a strong emphasis on traditional values, we are able to offer them many benefits even outside of the Czech Republic, ranging from the use of company apartments to an opportunity to completely relocate abroad with their families.”
“Doing business in Germany is different than in the Czech Republic in terms of the legal environment and stronger protection of employee rights as well as the specific conditions of the local market,” Petr Kozel says looking back at the first year of German operations, adding: “Regular new transport deals are harder to find but once a customer has good experience they tend to transform into long-term partners.” Another difference lies in lower demands on cash flow management in Germany. This year, VCHD Cargo GmbH expects revenues of around EUR 1.5 mln and wants to add more drivers and forwarding agents to its core team in Radeburg.