MAGAZINE years 1908-2018 11O Excellence in Supply Chain Editorial Diane Govaerts and Alain Ziegler Arthur 1908: 110 years ago, Mr Arthur J. ZIEGLER created Joseph the ZIEGLER company in Brussels, marking the beginning of a success story which has continued to this day. Ziegler At the time, the world had only just seen the 19th century come to a close. It had not yet experienced the tremendously accelerated pace of history of the centuries to come. On May 30 1875, Arthur Joseph Ziegler If Mr Arthur J. ZIEGLER were to be here today among us, it is safe to say that he might not was born in Olten, Switzerland. recognise the world that has arisen after his time and the group we have become. This was a few years after France’s surrender to the In 110 years, the company has moved from a national level to a European and then a global Prussians in Sedan, when railways had first appeared, level, with each transition driven by a steadfastly international calling. electric lighting did not exist yet and the current means of communication were unimaginable. This anniversary inspires feelings of gratitude for the past, of joy for the present and of confidence for the future. The Hauenstein Railway tunnel along the line connecting Basel to Olten had been dug just recently. We would like to see the group continue down this great route, all the while retaining its independent family character and cultivating its values: Arthur Joseph Ziegler soon left his family’s home on Entrepreneurship at every level of the company Jurastrasse. Around 1897, after studying at Neuchâtel Capability to seize opportunities and quick implementation Business School and completing his military service Responsiveness to market developments in the cavalry in Zurich, Arthur Joseph ZIEGLER began Constantly in search of development his career in the shipping industry at SCHENKER & CO in Vienna, with his uncle Gottfried Schenker, who, like On the following pages, we invite you to delve into the unique ventures of our family him, came from Switzerland and was the founder of his company. Join us on a journey to the past, the present and the future, highlighting the main namesake company. stages of its development. He then left to study abroad, first to Paris, and then This brief historical overview is both stimulating and a reassuring affirmation of the Antwerp in order to expand his maritime knowledge. company’s strength. The fact that it has existed for so long is a sign of a strong company that has been able to stand the test of time and which is moving resolutely towards 2058 to After having been an advisor at SCHENKER & Co commemorate its 150th anniversary. for several years and having inspected the offices in Mannheim, Nuremberg and Brussels one by one, he Enjoy your reading! asked his uncle to take over the Brussels branch at the age of 32, which he did on 15 March 1908. This is the birth of the Ziegler company in Brussels. ARTHUR JOSEPH ZIEGLER, FOUNDER OF ZIEGLER IN 1908 P. 2 P. 3 History 1908 Mr Arthur J. Ziegler founded the company in 2000 Brussels. Unlike most transport companies ZIEGLER Belgium opens a new 6,000-m² that traditionally shift from national to warehouse in Aalst for the logistics of the international, ZIEGLER has, from the outset, “two-wheeler” sector. a decidedly international vocation. 1960 In the sixties, the group undergoes rapid Before 1914, ZIEGLER already maintains expansion at a European level. This is when 2001 ZIEGLER boosts its national network in groupage services with Germany, Austria, ZIEGLER develops a strategy of direct France, firstly through the acquisition of the Hungary and Iran and organises wine presence in the Benelux countries, France, companies Trans Service and Chatel, located transport from Bordeaux and Burgundy. At the United Kingdom and Switzerland through in Normandy, as well as of the company STTM the time, ZIEGLER is an agent for the Orient internal and external growth. In 1960, in Bordeaux, specialised in the logistics and Express company for its groupage transport ZIEGLER takes the majority stake in the transportation of wines, with a dedicated destined for the Balkans. company BLG of Switzerland. warehouse boasting capacity for 1.5 million bottles. 1919 1978 2011 Opening of a branch office in Antwerp to Launch of an information technology service ZIEGLER S.A. Belgium is the first agent in support the significant, conventional sea in Zaventem-Brucargo. 2002 Europe to be certified as halal. Establishment in Ireland as a result of transport activities that have been developed. acquiring business assets and part of the Creation of an office in Ghent for transporting staff of the company INTEL Ltd (Kilkenny), raw materials such as cotton and sisal, for 1980 2012 Continued acquisitions, coupled with the renamed ZIEGLER LOGISTICS Ltd. which ZIEGLER is one of the top forwarders. New 5,000-m² warehouse in Casablanca. company’s know-how, permit it to assume its ZIEGLER is also recognised as the market In the Republic of South Africa, Logisticor place as market leader in Belgium. leader for the import of wines and spirits 2002-2003 becomes ZIEGLER South Africa. from France. ZIEGLER FRANCE launches ZIEGLER 1986 AEROSPACE, a specialised division of logistics 2013 First expansion outside Europe with a site in serving the aviation industry. Establishment Simba Logistics becomes ZIEGLER Logistics 1936 Morocco. Today, ZIEGLER MOROCCO is one of of offices in Germany exclusively for sea/air ZIEGLER carries out the sea transport of in China and Hong Kong. the few multi-modal operators with its own activities: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, endives to New York using refrigerated ships warehouse in the port of Casablanca. Bremen and Stuttgart. and is an agent of the Compagnie Générale 2013-2015 Transatlantique (commonly known as the Construction of new cross-dock facilities in “French Line”). 1990 2006 Ghent with 20 loading docks spanning 5,500 m². A strong boost is given to logistical activities Launch of ZIEGLER Asian Division (Belgium), in order to offer clients a complete range of a specialist department for developing and 1946 logistical services. ZIEGLER takes shippers supporting transport to the Far East. 2015 Transfer of rail groupage onto the road, to the new emerging markets: Central and ZIEGLER continues its development in South regular road transport with Switzerland Eastern Europe as well as the Indochinese Africa through its stake in Inhouse Logistics, and Czechoslovakia in particular. ZIEGLER region (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). 2007 which has since been renamed Inhouse launches its first air transport services and ZIEGLER Aalst wins the award for Logistics ZIEGLER Logistics. unveils its first sea groupage transport. Project of the Year for its developments in the 1994 two-wheeler segment. U.K. : acquisition of Phoenix Freight In the IATA ranking, ZIEGLER is the number International Ltd in London (Basildon). 1958 one air freight agent in Belgium. ZIEGLER ZIEGLER is named the official forwarder for Zaventem obtains the ISO 2002 certification. 2008 the Brussels World’s Fair. AEO certification for all ZIEGLER FRANCE sites. ZIEGLER Belgium is awarded the Oscar for 100th anniversary of ZIEGLER S.A. Belgium. Exportation by the Belgian Department of Foreign Trade in recognition for its efforts in 2016 2009 Opening of a ZIEGLER Logistics office in the field of exportation. SPECIAL CHINA PROGRAMME. ZIEGLER Groblersbrug at the border between South offers comprehensive logistical services both Africa and Botswana. 1994 for sea and air between Europe and China’s coastal and inland regions. Strengthening of the French network. 2018 Acquisition of of Lorrford 1998 2010 Eurospan in London After China, the ZIEGLER network spreads to The “SPC-ZIEGLER-Rangel” joint collaboration (Basildon) U.K. is collectively named the official, exclusive Greece (ZIEGLER Hellas in Athens), to Poland (Sostrana Warsaw) and South Africa through forwarder for the Expo ‘98 in Lisbon, where 110 years of Ziegler. ZIEGLER is one of the three main partners, Logisticor, based in Johannesburg, Durban chosen for its international competences. and Beitbridge. P. 4 P. 5 Belgian roots The power of Belgian ports, a real Another activity of the ZIEGLER company was stimulus for the company courier service from Brussels to Ghent – the Ghent site being the first establishment founded SINCE THE BEGINNING OF LAST CENTURY, ZIEGLER HAS BEEN by ZIEGLER, at 144 Rue du Jambon and shown on At the beginning of the 20th century, Belgium is the fifth- OPENING THE DOORS OF THE WORLD TO ITS CLIENTS this postcard from 1914. Every day, horse-drawn strongest economic power in Europe. At the heart of the carriages left Brussels and Ghent and the horse Even before the First World War, ZIEGLER offered various European markets, the country’s location at the team would change halfway in Aalst. groupage services to Germany, Austria, Hungary centre of what would later be called the “Blue Banana”, is, in and Iran. Throughout this period, ZIEGLER was fact, a true transit and distribution hub of Europe. also the agent of the Orient Express Company for its groupage transport to the Balkans. The young ZIEGLER company was established on Boulevard At the time, groupage shipping was Baudouin in Brussels in 1908, near the river port of the At the end of the war in 1919, in order to bolster mainly performed via railway, but road Belgian capital, linked to the port of Antwerp by the first the resumption of sea trade and transport transport was already being used for railway route in Belgium, the Brussels-Malines-Antwerp development, ZIEGLER opened its first branch certain perishable goods. line, commissioned in 1835 and located adjacent to the Allée office in the port of Antwerp. This was later Verte.