During the horrific floods that struck Wallonia in Belgium, the efforts by the Red Cross to get aid and basic necessities to the residents were supported by Ziegler Welkenraedt, located only a few kilometers away from the affected area.
When disaster struck, the branch manager of Ziegler Welkenraedt – Mr. Jean Luc Cobus – volunteered their storage areas for the relief efforts. The proximity of Ziegler Welkenraedt to the town of Liège made it ideal for the Red Cross to stage and deliver supplies quickly.
The Red Cross was able to use the facilities over the course of over a month and still going on, and Ziegler Welkenraedt found yet another way to help. Some Ziegler clients had stock in the warehouse with many products that could be very helpful for the relief efforts. There were pallets of soap, laundry detergents, and other products being stored on behalf of their clients.
So the staff of Ziegler Welkenraedt called clients to explain the situation and ask for help by donating some of their stock that could be used to help the citizens of the affected areas.
Thanks to generous clients who immediately agreed to donate products, the Red Cross volunteers together with the staff at Ziegler Welkenraedt ensured that those affected by this tragedy were able to get essential items they needed.
“Ziegler Company helped us out by volunteering a storage area at our disposal. Thank you also to the Ziegler team, who despite their daily work, was very helpful. This is a great gesture of humanity on your part.” Linda Hermanns – Food Bank of the European Red Cross.
In the decades that followed the Battle of Sedan which was fought during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the world was very different than it is today, and many things were changing. Railways had just first appeared, electronic lighting did not exist and transportation, as we know it today, had not entered people’s imagination.
After completing his business studies and military service, Arthur Joseph Ziegler was gaining experience in the transportation industry. A visionary from the start, he never stopped dreaming of seemingly impossible developments that he imagined could be achieved in this industry. These dreams brought him to Brussels where, on 15 March 1908, he founded the Ziegler Company.
If Joseph Arthur could see how Ziegler Group looks today, he would surely be both amazed and delighted.
More than 112 years of constant development and pushing forward has made the Ziegler Group today a worldwide freight and logistics service provider offering the whole spectrum of services – packaging of goods, road, rail, sea, air and inland waterway transport, logistics, customs clearance, e-commerce, and other value-added services.
Today, we employ more than 3,200 employees worldwide and operate a close-knit global network with 154 branches in more than 15 countries.
Nevertheless, we remain a family business, based on strong family roots, whose most valuable resources are our people and the close relationships we make.
Strong internal relations and close cooperation with our partners, added to the completeness of our offer allows us to stay flexible and offer tailor-made services. This differentiates us from other large global transport groups and allows us to provide customized solutions instead of inflexible off-the-shelf solutions.
We focus on quality, not quantity, to help you achieve your goals.
We listen and understand because we want to exceed your expectations.
We care because we honor our core values:
- Authenticity
- Entrepreneurship
- Expertise
- Reliability
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Robod S.A. is a part of the international Rubix group and has been operating on the Polish market for over 20 years. It delivers the highest quality personal protective equipment for companies and their employees.
Last year, when Rubix was looking for new partners to organise their logistics in Poland, Ziegler answered their needs best, and a fruitful cooperation started.
Ziegler organizes the entire logistics process for Robod in a warehouse in Piotrków Trybunalski with an area of about 1500 m2. From receiving the goods, verification, unloading and storage, through the entire logistics process of collecting shipping orders, preparing these orders and documentation, and shipping the orders for the final customers.
“On behalf of our client, we ship approximately 100-150 packages per day throughout Poland and Europe, starting from envelopes to entire pallets,” explains Pierre Henry, Managing Director of Ziegler Poland.
The cooperation between the Ziegler Group and the Rubix Group took on particular importance during the 2020 pandemic when it became critical to equip employees with special personal protective equipment. Time was a major challenge, but Ziegler Group collaborated with Robod to get the right supplies to Europe quickly and to distribute them properly. The situation required cooperation, flexibility, and mutual trust, which are still extremely important to us today.
“We sell personal protective equipment that ensures the daily safety of employees. It is a special challenge for us. It is a big responsibility,” says Adam Opalach, Head of Purchasing at Robod S.A. “That’s why excellence at every stage of the process is so important to us.”
Ziegler realizes that it is dealing with a specific industry, operating on behalf of a client whose goal is not to sell as much as possible, but who is more of an advisor to their customers. We see how much importance they put on the quality of all their processes and how much responsibility they take for their actions. That’s why we don’t stop at trying to exceed expectations with the quality of service we provide.
“Ziegler offers us a very high quality logistics service, which is particularly important in our sense of responsibility, which is an overriding value for us, not an empty slogan,” emphasizes Adam. “Ziegler is open to all suggestions and ideas. There is no template to follow and copy between clients. On the contrary, at Ziegler, non-standard or out-of-the-box solutions can become real. And that is very important,” he adds.
With Frederick Van Glabeke from Tessutica, we talked about how interpersonal relationships, proactivity, accountability, and a lot of persistent work help overcome supply chain challenges during Brexit.
Frederick Van Glabeke has worked in Tessutica – a part of Beaulieu International Group, a textile manufacturing company – since 1998. Over the years he has seen many changes in the company and its environment. He understands well the influence that his business partners and their relations with representatives on the company’s operations, especially when it comes to operating in challenging circumstances. “Only when working with Ziegler do I always have a sense of total commitment – the feeling that they care,” he says.
Five years ago, his company moved production from Belgium to Romania. It was then that the decision was made to look for cheaper supply chain cooperation options. Cooperation with other companies was established, but after many failures, the decision was made to again resume working with Ziegler.
“We returned to Ziegler because we needed a partner who knows what they are doing!’ Frederick recalls.
“When working with Ziegler, things always just go smoothly. The contact you have with the company is also invaluable. You always know who you are talking to and you feel taken care of. Ziegler is a large group with operations all over the world and yet you never feel anonymous in your contact, there is that «small company» touch, a personal approach, and a committed person on the other end. Plus operational excellence – service, quick responses, problem-solving, and finding solutions together,” he says.
Tessutica works mainly with the United Kingdom. It is their largest market. So the start of 2021 was a particularly stressful time for them. The uncertainty and formal complexities that Brexit brought with it were a significant challenge. Ziegler’s experts helped the company manage the process as smoothly as possible.
“Across the Beaulieu International Group, we continue to work with other companies on supply chain services. And at the end of the last year and the beginning of this year, in the context of Brexit, we all noticed obvious differences in Ziegler’s approach and capabilities compared to other companies. Only in the departments that were working with Ziegler was everything running smoothly – applications, stocking, customs, delivery…We were in awe, so noticeable was the difference,” Frederick claims.
“Even if there are some stumbles, marginal though they may be, Ziegler always rises to the challenge and never shirks responsibility. We always find a way through every situation together. It is a matter of trust, and this is something we have in Ziegler,” he adds.
We talk to Koen Depre, Manager of World Pack Belgium, the Ziegler Group’s department that specializes in the packaging of goods.
What is World Pack? What do you do?
We are a part of the Ziegler Group. We specialize in the packaging of a variety of goods. We offer complex solutions – take measurements, select the proper materials to pack and secure the goods, prepare it, and perform the packing service. The customer doesn’t have to do anything – no matter what it is – we take care of everything from A to Z.
How long has World Pack been a part of the Ziegler Group?
The history of World Pack starts at the beginning of the ’70s. At that time it was a company named Vandoren Piot, which was integrated into the Ziegler Group in 1971.
At that time there were hardly any companies offering such services and Ziegler’s customers often complained about having difficulties packing their shipments. Mr. Ziegler then decided to integrate Vandoren Piot into the Ziegler Group, to create the World Pack brand, so that we could offer even more comprehensive services to our customers.
What kind of goods do you pack?
We have three main specialties. Packaging of dangerous goods – chemicals, batteries, aerosols, etc. These goods are very sensitive to vibrations, temperature, and/or pressure. We have a lot of experience in safely packaging them and all the required certificates. Our second field of expertise is industrial, large-dimensioned goods, like machines or cars. We are also known for our experience in packing art and antiques. We once packed sculptures for the Louvre Museum in Paris, for example. It was an amazing experience.
Do you also have any experience in packaging other products?
Yes, a lot. We often work with the companies exporting goods that require temperature control, such as medicines or food products. We use dry ice to ensure proper temperature.
But we also send live animals between zoos or circuses. And once we even had to pack up a human body, which was being sent to undergo a forensic examination in a distant medical institute. We didn’t know what it was until it arrived for packaging. Everyone froze when we saw it! But we did it.
Maybe we should stick with talking about animals then… (laughs)
(laughs) The information about the content of the parcel also froze us a little.
So, back to the animals… We’ve had to prepare different species for shipments- even lions and tigers!
Wow, how do you “pack” a lion?
These kinds of animals always travel with a caretaker, who is responsible for taking care of them – feeding, watering, etc. Dangerous animals are transported in double cages, which allow them to be fed without opening the bars. We build each transportation solutions custom for a specific animal.
What was your biggest challenge so far?
Actually, it happened quite recently, a few months ago. The customer needed to load onto a ship that was leaving that same day, spare parts for the ship’s various machinery. The total weight was 12 tons. The timing was the biggest challenge in this case because the ship couldn’t leave without these parts, so everything had to be packed and on its way the same day. The team worked very hard and within 5 hours the shipment was ready.
It was worth the effort because it gained us a happy new client, who we still serve today.
Do you remember the biggest item that you’ve packed?
It was an attraction for a Chinese adventure park. It weighed about 200 tons and was over 12 meters long.
I hope one day I will get an opportunity to go see how it looks at the park. It’s very nice to know it’s entertaining people every day.
Do you only operate in Belgium?
No, we also fulfill orders in France, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Hungary. And actually, we are able to work anywhere in Europe.
You can find our full list of services on the website. And they can always contact us directly to receive a custom solution.
With the support of our long-term banking partner BNP Paribas Fortis, we have made one more step forward in the transition to sustainability and recently moved to our new environmental friendly headquarters, proving that even in the transport industry, which is seen as not very eco-friendly, Ziegler takes many actions to save our planet.
” (…) «The sustainability aspect of the new building was thought out down to the smallest details», explains Diane Govaerts. Photovoltaic panels, rainwater collectors, heat pumps, techniques for reducing power consumption, and so on. The new HQ is Ziegler’s showcase in terms of sustainable development and perfectly embodies the company’s policies in this field (…)”