Can you tell us more about Group-GTS’s journey from the first truck to the company’s current position?

Our roots lie in the potato sector. My grandfather bought the first truck to transport potatoes and coal in the 1950s. This marked the first steps into the logistics world. In 1983, my parents made the courageous decision to buy ten trucks for container transport. I still remember what it was like for me as a four-year-old: the kitchen was the office… and the place we had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our garden was where we parked all the trucks and tractors. Forty years later we have grown into an international logistics player with a fleet of seven hundred trucks. Although freight traffic still represents a large part of our turnover, we offer a much wider range of services. We are one of the fastest-growing logistics firms in the Benelux, and we own 300,000 square metres of logistics space along the strategic Antwerp-Liège axis.

The company has existed for three generations. Is a family atmosphere still important?

Yes, the family atmosphere ensures collegiality, open and respectful communication, and above all, a lot of fun at work, which also results in low staff turnover. We scored a full 100% in terms of job satisfaction, job security and belief in the future of the company in an anonymous employee survey carried out by CLB Group. CLB Group had never seen such a high score before.

How has the customer-oriented approach of the past 40 years contributed to the success of Group-GTS, and how does that translate into your offering today?

Our strong customer relationships are the best proof of this. Some customers have been working with us for the full forty years. Moreover, we scored 98% for on-time deliveries. We are able to grow with our customers, both in size and expertise, and offer comprehensive logistics solutions, mainly with our own capacity but also through partnerships.

We are a neutral and reliable logistics service provider that relies on the power of partnerships that we thoroughly audit and control. Our customer base is very diverse, each with specific requirements. For example, we work with B2B companies, shipping companies, freight forwarders, terminals and other transporters. Over the past three years, we have seen some of our clients grow from an annual turnover of one million Euros to five to ten million Euros. This growth is only possible because the customers can place their trust in us, and because we have the approach and mindset to increase their profits and quality scores, simplify their work and reduce their costs. This not only strengthens our customers’ businesses, of course, but also our own organisation.

“Your Business, Our Drive” is a strong slogan. Can you explain how this philosophy reflects the corporate culture within Group-GTS?

We adopted the slogan to emphasise our priority in putting the customer first and to highlight the fact that our success is closely linked to that of our customers. We stand ready to support and achieve their strategic goals. “Drive” symbolises our daily ambition and refers to our origins: the trucks.

The world will look completely different in 40 years. How do you expect the logistics industry to evolve over the coming decades?

Firstly, we expect the focus on speed and the dynamic nature of the supply chain to continue unabated. We also believe the logistics sector will have to continue investing in sustainability. Automation and digitalisation will become more prevalent in all aspects of our business operations. Although AI is still in its infancy, it will soon be part of our daily lives. Finally, I expect complex issues to remain an integral part of our business in the future. This is why we will continue to invest in innovation, training and knowledge.

How are you going to prepare for this?

We have made a number of strategic decisions. For example, we have concluded contractual and practical partnerships with multimodal parties and IT companies. In addition, we continuously invest in alternative fuels for our fleet and are building a multimodal platform of more than 100,000 m2 in West Limburg. But our sustainability efforts extend beyond our own organisation as well. We support our customers with their goals of achieving their CO2 and other environmental targets. This is especially challenging when it comes to automation and digitalisation because every logistics or maritime player uses its own software systems. We regularly engage with the port community and others in the supply chain to see how we can accelerate progress; we hope market standardisation will occur.

What are your main objectives for the coming years, and how do you plan to achieve them?

Our strategic goals for the next five and even ten years are focused on growth, profit and above all, continuity. We prefer to remain modest though by not communicating openly about our targets, growth figures and profit margins.

As a family logistics group, we have branches in strategic sea and hinterland ports, including Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Duisburg, Gdynia and Slubice. We would like to see further expansion in regions such as Kortrijk, Mannheim and other parts of Europe. We want to achieve this by using our own capabilities or through acquisitions and partnerships. We also offer GDP solutions and are enjoying strong growth in the pharmaceutical and food segments.

Can you give us a glimpse of the innovations and technologies that you want to implement in the next few years?

There are several new developments in the pipeline. For example, we will complete our first CO2 reporting by the end of 2023, which is two years ahead of schedule. In addition, we are placing strong emphasis on HVO100 to be able to offer our customers significant CO2 reductions. Furthermore, we have purchased our first electric trucks, and we continue to work closely with various brands to keep up with developments in autonomous trucks and delivery technologies.

In addition, we are strongly committed to digitisation by automating administrative tasks for both our customers and employees. We are also experimenting internally with AI applications, and we see a lot of potential there.

Finally, our GTS Academy is running at full speed, as is our collaboration with schools. Schools and employers’ organisations who visit us are not only impressed by our state-of-the-art working environment and offices, but also by our training approach, which inspires them to further guide and develop their students and our employees.

How does Group-GTS ensure sustainability and climate neutrality are not just intentions?

Our CO2 reporting is based on a well-thought-out focus plan supported by data and measurements. We can therefore offer an individual solution for each customer. Our customers and partners can be assured that we are ready to achieve their sustainability goals.