The largest fleet of heavy haulage trucks in Europe; here an 18-axle truck
Universal Transporte Michels GmbH & Co. KG
A passion for heavyweights
“We come in whenever cargo is too large and too heavy for general haulage,” says Holger Dechant, member of the holding management. “We are very familiar with heavyweights and with the legal regulations for heavy haulage. We provide complete logistics services for national and international transport, and we have a track record of heavyweights hauled within schedule.”
Indeed, Universal Transport is well known for reliable haulage in many fields from the construction industry, agricultural and industrial machines to the rail industry and wind power. For example, the company hauled a 150 t bridge from Poland to Oranienburg near Berlin by six trucks carrying elements of over 40 m of length each; 200 trucks carried a complete wind park with 34 wind generators of up to 100 m of length from different European regions to the German town of Alsleben within just two months or a 65 t tram with a length of 40 m was carried from Switzerland to Germany. These are just a few examples of the competence of Universal Transport.
Coping with extreme lengths and weights: haulage of a wind power blade
“In logistics, heavy haulage is an absolute market niche. As a rule, specialised hauliers achieve annual sales of eight to 20 million EUR. Last year we recorded sales of over 100 million EUR,” underlines Mr. Dechant. Established in 1972, the business turned to heavy haulage in 1970. Today, headed by the Managing Partners Markus Frost and Siegfried Witt, who hold 50% of shares, Universal Transport boasts a network of branches across Germany and Eastern Europe.
“The network is continuously being expanded,” says Mr. Dechant. “The shares of the respective companies are being divided. First of all it is important that all subsidiaries operate under the Universal Transport flag. This way, we ensure the corporate identity. Still, the employees of the companies should stay the contact partners for all customers and suppliers. In addition to this, we always establish national enterprise. The Paderborn head office takes on the complete key account, the fleet, the marketing, IT controlling, insurances and, last but not least, all accounting.”
‘...Don’t worry, be heavy!’ Holger Dechant, member of the holding management
At present Universal Transport has a staff of 500 and one of the largest fleets in Europe with more than 300 heavy haulage trucks and a lot of attachments designed to facilitate operations. “In addition, we supply silo and project transport,” adds Mr. Dechant, who joined the company six years ago to establish marketing. He created the image and the slogan ‘...don’t worry, be heavy!’ “We have a two-tier approach to marketing: a technical and a commercial,” explains Mr. Dechant. “Technicians understand each other easily and find a solution while the commercial specialists canvass orders.”
The strategy has paid off well. Universal Transport is prime choice of many big names. With ongoing investment in the fleet and ongoing training of personnel, Universal Transport is well prepared for future growth.
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