Duisburg, August 2016. In the issue from July 6, 2016 of their magazine LogEASTics, the Österreichische Verkehrszeitung published an article about our subsidiary PCC Intermodal S.A. and its new regular service for combined transport between Poland and Hungary. Please follow the link below to read the article titled “PCC Intermodal launching its first service to Austria and Hungary”.
English translation of the German article about PCC Intermodal´s launch of its first service to Austria and Hungary published by LogEASTics, a magazine of Österreichische Verkehrszeitung, on July 6, 2016.
PCC Intermodal launching its first service to Austria and Hungary
Holding a market share of 30 percent, PCC Intermodal is by their own account Poland’s leading provider of combined transport services. In an interview with the LogEASTics magazine Dariusz Stefanski, CEO outlines the plans to consolidate their market position along the Baltic-Adriatic corridor to Koper and Trieste.
The expanded and modernized PCC Gliwice Container Terminal is a feast for the eyes.
GLIWICE. The Grand Opening Event to celebrate the completion of the investment program for the expansion of the PCC Gliwice Container Terminal (see details below) had to offer a lot to its 400 guests on June 23. Accompanied by culinary delights, a wide range of drinks and pleasant music the guests could indulge the finer things in life or alternatively take the opportunity to exchange ideas with friends, acquaintances and business partners in the modern warehousing complex of the Silesian Logistics Center. Moreover, the program included a laser show and a breathtaking air show. Not to forget to mention the boat ride around the container terminal.
This was a completely different world of containers, as an Austrian guest remarked after a tour around the venue. He had been seeing only few familiar faces, and was wondering a little about the limited information that had been provided. Initially, also the reporter had feared that he would not be able to get enough material to compose an article. Eventually, things turned out differently, what the small but fine “delegation” from Austria owes to Dariusz Stefanski, CEO, PCC Intermodal S.A. The manager is full of energy, has excellent command of English and tends to be quite spontaneous.
Those, who wanted to make an appointment with Dariusz Stefanski prior to the event, were invited by his team to directly contact him at the Grand Opening of the PCC Container Terminal Gliwice. A certain scepticism seemed appropriate, but finally proved unfounded in the case of the CEO of PCC Intermodal. During the event the manager took the time to answer the questions of the Austrian guests, and was sincerely pleased with their participation and the small gift he was given. This fuels hopes on the possible introduction of regular block trains on the routes between Poland and Austria.
Who had not previously heard about PCC Intermodal, is well advised to memorize this company name. Since it was founded in 2005, the company has become one of the leading operators of intermodal transport in Poland. In 2015, 250 employees handled 112,000 container units or 174,000 TEU. For the current year, Dariusz Stefanski expects to reach a volume of 200,000 TEU, he says when talking to the LogEASTics magazine.
The specially designed draft provides for an expansion of the transport services on the routes between the economic centers in Poland and the seaports in Gdansk, Gdynia, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Antwerp. In addition, new rail products, like the regular service that was launched in May from Kutno in central Poland to Chengdu, China are aimed to shift more transport volume to the railway.
The considerations of Dariusz Stefanski and his team are focussed on positioning PCC Intermodal as one of the leading combined transport operators in CEE to handle container shuttle trains in the catchment area of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor. What is still lacking, are regular transport services from Poland to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and northern Italy with a focus on Trieste. However, the first southbound Rail Shuttle is already on its blocks. In mid-July, PCC Intermodal and Rail Cargo Operator, with the support of LTE as traction provider, launched the first regular service with three weekly rotations from Gliwice to Sopron.
PCC Intermodal and Rail Cargo Operator will shortly launch their first regular service to Sopron.
“Via the hub in Sopron, we serve the economic centers in eastern Austria, western Hungary and parts of Slovakia. There are also options to forward shipments from here to Romania, Greece, Turkey, the northern Adriatic ports and the Western Balkan countries,” explains Dariusz Stefanski. He can also imagine launching block train services to Austria, “if the conditions and the corresponding time windows are available.” He currently puts the most emphasis on the completion of the expansion and modernization of the PCC Gliwice Container Terminal. The project was implemented with an investment of around EUR 12 million.
Dariusz Stefanski, CEO PCC Intermodal S.A.
Today PCC Intermodal operates five own container terminals, and has a sixth site in the pipeline. The PCC Kutno Container Terminal has an annual capacity of 250,000 TEU and serves as a hub for transports within Poland. Its counterpart for international operations – including the block trains to Duisburg – is located in Frankfurt/Oder, “where we can handle an annual volume of 120,000 TEU,” says Dariusz Stefanski. The PCC Gliwice Container Terminal with an annual capacity of now 150,000 TEU serves the area of Upper Silesia, while the PCC Brzeg Dolny terminal serves the regions in Lower Silesia. In south-eastern Poland there is the PCC Debica Container Terminal.
Holding 69.52 percent, the PCC group managed from Duisburg is the majority shareholder of PCC Intermodal. Hupac Ltd. holds 13.94 percent of the share capital, the remaining 16.54 percent are in free float – the company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. PCC SE has close to 3,000 employees in the chemicals, logistics and energy divisions, and generated a turnover of EUR 571 million in 2015. The chemicals division accounts for 87 percent of this amount, followed by the logistics division with 9.9 percent or EUR 56 million. The latter one includes the main company PCC Intermodal, operating 110 road tankers for the transport of liquid chemicals, as well as the companies PCC Autochem and Moscow-based ZAO PCC Rail, operating 600 wagons carrying building materials, metals and coal on the broad gauge routes in Russia and in neighbouring CIS.
Author: Joachim Horvath
Translator: Barbara Schuster