Speeches - Mogens Therkelsen

HPT (H.P. Therkelsen) is a Danish road transport company specialised in European wide transport and logistics services for the market of refrigerated foodstuffs and industrial goods.

Situated in Padborg at the Danish - German border with a subsidiary in Flensburg we operate more than 120 truck units, whereof 60% is owned by HPT. At our premises in Padborg, we have veterinary approved terminals and warehouse facilities for fresh and frozen food products, as well as warehouse facilities for dangerous goods.

We have a staff of 130 skilled, motivated and educated employees.

HPT was founded in 1918, and my brother Niels Peter Therkelsen and I share the ownership today.

We are able to offer a wide range of services in connection with international transports, such as, for example, the issuing of documents, border checks, VAT-services, terminal services, warehouse facilities, etc.

In order to run our business effectively and to serve our customers in the best possible way, we have a modern IT-centre for internal and external use.

The ISO 9002 certification of HPT guarantees our customers high-quality transports. All functions at HPT are covered by this quality controlling system.

A dense network of agents and partners, throughout the continent, enables us to offer a wide transport net which covers all European countries. In order to be closer to our customers and to optimise our capacity utilisation, we offer advanced stock facilities at many locations throughout Europe.

The Environment and environmental concern has for many years been an important factor – both in relation to regulations governing our business opportunities as a company specialised in food transports and dangerous goods, - and in relation to, or in accordance with, our company mission: that our customers at any time are offered competitive and optimal services by a motivated and skilled staff with due respect for our society and the environment.

We constantly adapt and improve our products and our systems in order to serve our customers' needs. For me, there is no doubt that measures and investments, that are necessary for competitive and economical reasons, in many cases also have direct positive effects on a sustainable development:

This year, HPT invested almost 200,000 Euros in new modern communication technology, and further 150,000 Euros in new navigation equipment for all 120 trucks. These investments will improve fleet and traffic management – better planning and better utilisation of our capacity, reducing fuel consumption and thus impacts on the environment. We also expect that the new systems will improve road safety, since it will allow our drivers to concentrate more on driving and less on communicating and studying road maps while driving.

New trucks are financed by short term leasing contracts which allows us to run the newest low emission trucks that are available on the market.

We already operate with 15 EURO 3 trucks, and by the end of this year 25 trucks out of 70, meaning 36% of our own vehicle fleet, will be EURO 3 trucks, and the rest are EURO 2.

We have been able to cut air polluting emissions from our own vehicles over the last two years by 12 to 17% for nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons and by 47% for particulates.

We are taking up other initiatives too to improve efficiency, capacity utilisation and fuel consumption.

We have good and reliable partners/hired road hauliers with high quality- and environmental standards, and we co-operate in close partnership with our customers in order to develop high quality and sustainable logistics solutions.

We apply advanced warehousing systems bringing us closer to the customer and optimising the total capacity utilisation and effectiveness.

A very important factor is our staff - our drivers, our logistics planners, our experts in information technology and everybody else involved in serving our customers' needs.

The staff members in our offices have the necessary qualifications and knowledge and are regularly trained in logistics and computers.

We also make sure that all drivers are trained in traffic safety and economic driving. In 1997, we introduced a bonus system awarding drivers with low insurance damages. During the following 2 years, damages were reduced by 23%, vehicle insurance premiums by 21% and goods insurance premiums by 42%. Mind you – at the same time we increased the vehicle fleet by 36%!