Gebrüder Weiss Opens New Tbilisi Terminal
Gebrüder Weiss, Europe’s leading transport and logistics company with more than 7,100 employees in 150 locations, 13 million shipments, 5 million parcels and a provisional annual turnover of 1.67 billion Euros (2018), launched a new logistics terminal in Tbilisi on March 15.
GEORGIA TODAY attended the opening ceremony to discover the services offered by the Gebrüder Weiss company on site.
At the press conference held prior to the opening ceremony, Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss; Thomas Moser, Director and Regional Manager Black Sea/CIS; and Alexander Kharlamov, Country Manager Georgia, briefed media about the history of the company, the importance of ‘s involvement Georgia in the Gebrüder Weiss global chain and their upcoming plans.
“Gebrüder Weiss is an Austria-based company with a strong focus on Central and South-Eastern Europe, with worldwide coverage and big business development in the USA and Canada. We are very strong in Asia, including China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Dubai. Our services include land transport, air and sea freight, and logistics, as well as logistics consultancy, which is incredibly important for our customers,” Senger-Weiss noted. “What makes us special is that we are the oldest transport and logistics company in the world, launched nearly 500 years ago in Austria,” he said, going on to emphasize the significance of human capital for the development of the company.
“Our people have always been paramount for us. Our employees represent our biggest asset.”
Thomas Moser stressed the strategic location of Georgia, naming it the ‘cornerstone’ of the Silk Road. “Georgia is the regional hub for multiple services for Armenia, Azerbaijan and other neighboring countries and so plays a vital link in the Gebrüder Weiss chain.”
“We are celebrating the opening of the extension of the existing location seven years since its launch in March 2012. The main investments made in 2012 amounted to EUR 10 million and were followed by further growth annually. There were only four employees at our company at inception, but today we have 120 members of staff at Gebruder Weiss Georgia,” said Alexander Khalamov.
“EUR 15.5 million has been invested since 2012, the latest figure being over EUR 2.5 million for the construction and expansion of the logistics terminal, which is equipped with high-quality and cutting-edge technology, making it possible to provide logistics solutions tailored specifically to the customer,” Khalamov explained.
The representatives of the company also focused on the significance of Gebrüder Weiss in contributing to the economic development of Georgia and spoke about the support received from the local government and Georgia’s free trade environment, which helped Gebrüder Weiss establish itself on the local market.
The new terminal comprises of an additional 2,300 square meters of handling, 7,800 square meters of paved open space and 300 square meters of office space. The entire location covers an area of 90,000 square meters. The construction works took six months to complete.
The official opening ceremony of the modern logistics facility was attended by representatives of the government, diplomatic corps and business circles.
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya