QCS widens its reach step by step

Here is the story of a successful family-run company that has never been involved in scandals nor drawn attention to itself through bizarre activities. Instead, it has conducted its business solidly and successfully, enabling it continued growth.
Actually, this report does not fit into the category "Hot News". Nevertheless, we think it makes sense to outline the development of QCS in more detail: As a guide for industrial newcomers who still need to define their business strategy and align their moral and ethical compass.

Big celebration
The exact date has not yet been fixed, but will probably be sometime in November next year. Quick Cargo Service (QCS) will celebrate its 50th anniversary. It will be a double show, because Founder, Dieter Haltmayer will be 90 years old on 31OCT24. “So, we have got two good reasons to hold a big party,” daughter Heidi Haltmayer says.
QCS’s journey across five decades started with an orange VW van, which Dieter initially used to transport goods. It was almost exclusively air freight shipments that were brought to or picked up from Düsseldorf Airport. That was everyday business almost half a century ago. However, what started small, grew big. Today, QCS runs 14 branch offices in Germany, and 14 franchise offices in eight European countries, with a staff of about 300 people. “Since day one, we have never had to close a station due to underperformance,” states CEO, Stephan Haltmayer, son of President and Owner, Dieter and brother to Jennifer and Heidi. His two sisters are also part of the company’s management team.

Many success factors
What caused the gradual rise of the family-run company, day in, day out? Probably a combination of foresight, luck, a willingness to take risks, smart management decisions, long-term strategic thinking, very flat hierarchies, and an open, communicative working atmosphere. If one drills deeper, further factors could be found that enabled the success.
Its ascent to a pan European logistics service provider took place in stages. Just like in soccer, where teams rush forward, then again want to manage the result. This pattern, stepping forward, pausing, stepping forward again, is characteristic of QCS.

Alliances secure market access
At the end of the last century, there was the phase of alliances, best illustrated by the China Cargo Alliance, mainly initiated by the Haltmayers. Actually, forming it was a matter of do or die because the big global boys whose offices were spreading like mushrooms in China, tried to push small players like QCS out of the booming Chinese market. Since this league was unreachable for QCS, it looked for local allies of similar size in an attempt to join forces. And this worked, as fine-tuned export and import collaborations proved, including customs clearance solutions.
Meanwhile, QCS is no longer a driver of this specific alliance, but has taken a backseat. “Thanks to our own strength and market presence, we are now only moderately engaged in the China Alliance,” confirms CEO, Stephan Haltmayer.

Higher loads, better rates
The situation is different with the two global, product-related aerospace and pharmaceutical alliances in which his company continues to play a major role. The inception of IGLU, an alliance of more than 20 members, also falls into this category. IGLU consolidates shipments contributed by its participants on selected trade lanes. Higher volumes lead to rate advantages and up the airline’s tonnage. A win-win situation for all sides.

Going east
In 2022, QCS embarked on a new stage: The establishment of five subsidiaries in four Eastern European countries: Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. “We have transformed from a German forwarding agent to become a European logistics company,” says CEO, Stephan Haltmayer. He and the entire QCS management team are convinced that states like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, or Poland are on their way to evolving into European tigers. Industrial data evidence this trend, proving that a growing number of industries are investing in locations outside China for reasons of risk avoidance. Comparative cost advantages measured on sites in Western Europe, and sufficient skilled labor are other strong arguments in favor of Poland, the Czech Republic, or even less developed Romania.

More is to come
As far as the five new QCS stations in Eastern Europe are concerned, “they all already reached the break-even point on 31DEC22,” assures Stephan Haltmayer, despite only being in business since MAY22.
Next on the agenda is Prague. “We have looked at this location intensively and are planning our next office there,” he announces. This is likely to happen before the end of the year. The company also wants to further intensify its ocean freight activities, complementing its traditionally strongest pillar, air freight. “To this end, we are considering setting up branches in the ports of Bremen and Antwerp.”

New IT ecosystem
In addition to external growth, the conversion of the IT system is also a big point on the agenda. “In January of next year, we will switch from CargoSoft to Scope,” confirms the company boss. Thanks to the Riege Software International developed digital platform, data transparency is increased, as are revenue optimization and credit control. In a nutshell, business transactions are sped up, benefitting customers.

Acquisitions are not part of Quick’s DNA
Although QCS traditionally focuses on Europe, the strongest markets are the USA, China, Mexico, and Brazil. There, the company works with local partners to offer the market door-to-door transport solutions according to uniform quality standards.
Also worth mentioning is that QCS has never acquired another company. “Looking back over the 49 years of our existence, we have done well with organic growth. This is also reflected in employee satisfaction and their identification with our company,” says CEO, Haltmayer. Hence, acquisitions are not part of the company’s DNA and are not on the agenda for 2024 and beyond.

Heiner Siegmund

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