Militzer & Münch arrives in Serbia
At the end of last year, the logistics market heard the news that the German company Militzer & Münch launched its operations in Serbia. Specifically, the Militzer & Münch Group has launched a joint venture with the Serbian logistics company Invictus. Both partners plan to turn the joint venture into a leading logistics company in Serbia in the coming years. Filip Simović, CEO of Militzer & Münch, talks about what the company is offering to the market and further plans for the region. Mr Simović studied in German and who gained his professional knowledge in Austria and Germany.
Could you tell us more about Militzer &Münch?
The company was founded back in 1880 and has headquarters in Hof, Germany. Today, we can proudly say that we have decades of experience in the field of transportation and logistics, with over 2,100 employees in more than 100 locations in 27 countries, one of which is Serbia. The Militzer & Münch Group is an integral part of the TransInvest Group. Otherwise, TransInvest is an international group with several independent holding companies which operate under the auspices of the TransInvest Group, headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In the Balkans, Militzer & Münch has been doing business in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania so far.
The Militzer & Münch Group has launched a joint venture with the Serbian logistics company Invictus. How did this collaboration come about?
In Germany, the company wanted to launch a business in our market and from here, further expand across the Balkans. Serbia is an important bridge to the EU, and it also has great geostrategic importance in regard to the new Silk Road. These facts helped us to reach a quick and easy agreement with our German partners. The company was founded in October last year. The talks lasted about a month, during which period we agreed on the particulars and the conditions of the entire deal. Under this agreement, Militzer & Münch owns 51% of the company in Serbia, and our company, Invictus, 49%.
What are your plans for the Serbian market?
Many clients who have worked with our company saw for themselves the quality and professionalism we offer. We are working hard on developing the domestic market, but we are also actively expanding our network in the Balkans. As far as this region is concerned, we focus on all customs countries that are not part of the European Union, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. We want our headquarters to cover them all. Militzer & Münch has a quite strong market position in Bulgaria and Greece and it is up to us to develop our business in these other Balkan countries. In Serbia, we will primarily focus on road transport. Some of our long-term goals include increasing our profits and the number of employees to 120 in several years.
What sets your company apart from the competition? What logistics services do you offer?
Our services consist mainly of export, import and customs clearance. In the near future, we will expand our portfolio by adding air and sea transportation, warehousing, intermodal traffic, distribution and home delivery. Our goal is to develop the company in the next two years to become the leading logistics company in Serbia. In terms of service, I would like to single out that Militzer & Münch has a lot of hubs across Germany. Bearing this and a large number of German investments in Serbia in mind, companies in this area are important clients to us. Our portfolio also includes a large number of trucking companies that work exclusively with us. What sets us apart from our competition is the prices, short delivery terms and the fact that we approach each inquiry with a carefully formed offer.
What are some of the challenges you faced when starting a business and what is your main asset?
The fact that we are new to the market poses a challenge for us and we are still looked upon with a dose of distrust. This is the reason why we have been working on our brand. Our trump card is a team of people who have many years of experience in logistics. This is the most important thing. We like to say that we are not working with companies but with people.