RoadEfficiency: an efficient vehicle fleet is key to success at Gerdes + Landwehr

No matter what brand of vehicle is involved, transporting cement is a demanding job. This is particularly true if it is destined for production of ready-mix concrete – which is what more than half of the volume of cement consumed in Germany is used for. “This is such a volatile business that even some of the big players have quit the market,” says John Henrik Landwehr. “This is because concrete plants only start up production whenever there is demand from construction sites – and that can fluctuate quite considerably.”

A key factor in these fluctuations is the weather. Most types of ready-mixed concrete, for example, cannot be produced or used at sub-zero temperatures, partly because the water that needs to be added will freeze. But even in stable and fair weather conditions, the quantities required can vary greatly, due to fluctuating levels of construction activity in general. Sometimes it can change between the extremes of “no demand” and “very high demand” in just a few hours. “Orders from the construction sites arrive here until the early afternoon – and the first deliveries are then due at 5 a.m. the next morning,” says the general manager.

– John Henrik Landwehr

And business is indeed booming. “We achieve margins of between five and seven per cent, whereas in Germany generally they are only rarely above three per cent,” says Landwehr. Key success factors are the silo trailers, which weigh 800 kilograms less than conventional models. “We cooperated in the development of these trailers. They allow an increase in payload of three per cent.” The dispatchers also contribute towards a high degree of truck capacity utilisation through a sophisticated system of trilateral and quadrilateral transport routes. The trucks themselves and their on-board equipment take care of the rest. Case in point: Landwehr arranged for the already fuel-efficient Actros to be fitted with the Predictive Powertrain Control as standard – to cut consumption even more.

Rising volumes projected.

Landwehr’s forecast for the coming years: “We expect transport volumes to rise significantly. In Germany, housing construction, non-residential construction and civil engineering each account for about one third of the volume – and all three areas are performing well!” Right now there is actually a certain bottleneck in terms of the available loading capacity. “The manufacturers are simply unable to produce enough new silo trailers to meet current demand.”

There is, however, no shortage of qualified and motivated drivers at Gerdes + Landwehr. “We’re getting more applications now than ever before. The main reason for that is, of course, that we are a nice company to work for,” says Landwehr, smiling wryly. But the general conditions for drivers doing cement runs are attractive as well: they can usually spend their evenings at home. Moreover, while the trips themselves are demanding, the drivers can load their silo trailers independently, and even when unloading they do not have to follow orders from anyone else. Quite different from deliveries to loading bays. SiloNet driver Herbert Schulz is one who appreciates this level of freedom, he says. “But now I do need to get going!” And he’s off, back to the cement plant, to load the next 29 tonnes!  

Photos: Christian Schmid