Ulm - The Seifert Logistics Group closed the 2021 financial year with record sales of 220 million euros. Despite the difficult market environment due to the Corona pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors, the corporate group was able to record a double-digit percentage increase in sales.
The Seifert Logistics Group (SLG) closes the 2021 financial year on a very positive note. The logistics service provider was able to increase its turnover in the double-digit percentage range to a strong 220 million euros and at the same time increase the number of employees to over 2,500. The two major business fields of transport and contract logistics contributed to the positive business development in the past financial year.
Positive business development through flexibility and new projects
The logistics industry is facing new challenges due to the Corona pandemic as well as the semiconductor shortage. "Especially in uncertain times, it is important to react quickly and flexibly and to further optimise the supply chain to support our customers in logistics," explains Axel Frey, CEO. The management had already formed a crisis team at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic in order to keep the infection rates within the workforce at a below-average level through various measures.
With an increase in turnover of approx. 13 percent, the contract logistics sector made a significant contribution to the continued growth of the group of companies. The growth in turnover and employees is due, among other things, to new contract logistics projects at several locations. With the new projects, SLG is strengthening its position in the building materials and metal processing industries. At the same time, existing business was extended and expanded. Thus, the internationally positioned SLG now manages more than 800,000 square metres of logistics space.
The freight forwarding sector is regulated by the acute driver shortage and the resulting shortage of loading space. Through good working conditions, appropriate remuneration and attractive training, SLG is counteracting the shortage and was able to grow by about 6 percent in the freight forwarding sector in 2021. In addition to training, SLG is increasingly focusing on the topic of management development and has introduced an 18-month in-service training programme for high potentials in order to be able to fall back on a solid foundation for future growth.
Full speed ahead into the future | Confidence and anticipation for 2022
The motto for the anniversary year 2022 is "Full speed ahead towards the future". At the beginning of the year, the company management was handed over from Harald Seifert to Axel Frey, who acts as the new CEO. In addition to CFO Marcel Vogelmann, the management team is completed by Mario Wolter, who will assume the function of COO Freight Forwarding. Harald Seifert will continue to work on the company as Chairman of the Advisory Board. He will oversee strategic topics such as M&A and construction projects and support the management with his many years of experience. In addition to the management, Julian Seifert, Business Unit Manager Standardisation & Digitalisation, is already the third generation to work in the family business.
The management is confident that growth will also be positive in 2022. However, the further effects of the war in Ukraine are currently not foreseeable. SLG has been strongly represented in the Eastern European market for years and is thus affected by the shortage of drivers and the tightening of supply chains. "We are aware of the challenges that this war brings with, yet for us the focus is on the people and we hope that the war will end soon," says Frey.
Nevertheless, the outlook remains optimistic. "2022 is an important year for us. In addition to the new construction of our Seifert Logistics Centre Ulm Nord, the 75th anniversary of SLG is coming up this year," says Harald Seifert. The construction project, which began in 2021 on 90,000 square metres in the Ulmer Norden, is progressing with great strides. The first parts of the logistics property have already been in operation since December 2021. The large-scale project will be completed in the third quarter of 2022, with the relocation of the current headquarters from Ulm's Donautal to the new office world. The inauguration and anniversary celebrations will take place in November to coincide with the completion of construction.
