Schuon Receives SPD Chairwoman Saskia Esken

High-profile visit at Alfred Schuon GmbH: Last week, SPD party chairwoman and member of the Bundestag for Calw/Freudenstadt, Saskia Esken, visited the Haiterbacher transport and logistics service provider. After a tour of the company headquarters and an insight into the fully digitized dispatch process, management and the politician discussed the challenges facing the industry. Topics included the difficult recruitment of personnel, better capacity utilization through the general approval of long trucks, and technological change.

(Haiterbach) “Logistics is the backbone of the economy. Without logistics, everything comes to a standstill. It is all the more important to address future issues such as the energy transition or digitalization,” said Alexander Schuon, managing director of Alfred Schuon GmbH. The Haiterbacher forwarding and logistics company welcomed Saskia Esken, SPD party chairwoman and member of the Bundestag for the Calw/Freudenstadt constituency, on Thursday as part of her summer tour. “We need the support of politics. That is why we are grateful for the opportunity to exchange political questions with Ms. Esken,” Schuon said.

The management team of Alfred Schuon GmbH provided the SPD chairwoman with an insight into the daily work of a freight forwarder. Following a brief presentation on the service offerings and goals of the family business, a fruitful discussion ensued, during which Alexander Schuon was able to express his demands and ideas. Among other things, the discussion focused on simplified employment of foreign skilled workers, the traffic strategy of the state of Baden-Württemberg, the comprehensive expansion of mobile networks, and the often-blocked establishment of logistics companies in cities and municipalities.

Esken shared the view that Germany needs to become a country of immigration and that bureaucratic hurdles must be reduced. “The traffic light coalition and Chancellor Olaf Scholz have recognized that we need to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers. We must consider the specific needs of the industries, such as the recognition of driving licenses and other qualifications in the case of logistics. However, we also expect that the workers will be employed under social security contributions in accordance with collective agreements – there must be no immigration into dumping wages,” Esken stated.

At the end of her visit, the SPD chairwoman had the opportunity to take the wheel herself and drove a few laps with the truck on the Schuon yard under expert guidance. “We were very pleased with the visit and the openness of our member of the Bundestag. We hope that we were able to provide Ms. Esken with some suggestions and are happy to stay in touch,” Schuon thanked.

Photo: © Schuon / Image caption: Theo Schuon (l.) and Alexander Schuon (r.), managing directors of Alfred Schuon GmbH, conveyed their wishes and demands to the SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken.