Fiege Group Celebrates 150th Anniversary with Festive Ceremony

The Fiege Group is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The family-owned company from Greven in Westphalia has developed from a small transport business into an international logistics service provider with 23,500 employees over the past one and a half centuries. Among those attending the festive ceremony for the company anniversary were North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and Münster’s Mayor Markus Lewe.

(Münster/Greven) Milestone birthday: The family business Fiege celebrated its 150th company anniversary on Thursday at the Münster harbor. In the heart of Münster, the logistics service provider from Greven is currently constructing a new, state-of-the-art office building, where around 500 employees will continue to write the Fiege story starting next summer.

The celebration took place, in a way, on the construction site, yet the atmosphere was exceedingly festive: Among the speakers before about 100 invited guests were the company’s co-CEOs, Felix Fiege and Jens Fiege, as well as North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and Münster’s Mayor Markus Lewe. Wüst stated, “Family businesses like the Fiege Group are firmly embedded in the DNA of the North Rhine-Westphalian economy. Over five generations, the company has achieved a remarkable growth and innovation story. Today, after 150 years, Fiege is a global corporation from Westphalia with over 23,000 employees in 15 countries. Fiege is a strong part of the logistics industry in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is one of the growth drivers in our country and leads the way on important issues such as Logistics 4.0, artificial intelligence, and climate protection. The success story of Fiege is far from over – because the company is facing challenges and investing in the future. This courage to invest in the future despite all uncertainties is what we need now and everywhere to strengthen our competitiveness and maintain our prosperity.”

Example of the Importance of Large Family Businesses

Markus Lewe explained that Fiege is “an impressive example” of the significant role family businesses play in society and the economy when they are successfully managed over decades or, as in the case of Fiege, even over more than a century. He continued: “I am very pleased that we will be welcoming Fiege to our beautiful harbor starting next summer. Even though the company headquarters will remain in Greven, Fiege is a great asset for Münster and will be an important employer in our city in the future.”

Cousins Felix Fiege and Jens Fiege, who jointly lead the company in the fifth generation, used the celebrations primarily as an opportunity to express their gratitude. Felix Fiege stated, “With our 150th birthday, we are celebrating a very special milestone in our company’s history. We know that this privilege is anything but a given. Therefore, we want to focus today on our 23,500 colleagues worldwide who have made this great team achievement possible. They deserve our special thanks, for without them, our company would not be where it is now.” Jens Fiege added, “The partnerships with our customers, many of whom have existed for several decades, are also an indispensable part of our long history. Therefore, on the occasion of our anniversary, we would like to sincerely thank not only our team but also our customers and partners for their trust.”

(l. to r.): Dr. Hugo Fiege (owner of the fourth generation), Jens Fiege (co-CEO of the Fiege Group), Markus Lewe (Mayor of the City of Münster), Hendrik Wüst (Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia), Felix Fiege (co-CEO of the Fiege Group) and Heinz Fiege (owner of the fourth generation)

Founded in 1873 as a Transport Company

The logistics company Fiege was founded in 1873 as a transport company in Greven, Westphalia. In the early years, farmer Joan Joseph Fiege performed small courier services and transported coal with his horse-drawn cart. After Joan Joseph Fiege’s death in 1905, his son Josef Fiege continued the business. With the acquisition of the first trucks in the 1920s by his son Josef Fiege Jr., the company entered long-distance transport, marking the beginning of a strong growth phase. After the tragic accidental death of Josef Fiege Jr. in 1959, his sister Anne Fischbach, née Fiege, along with her husband Karl, stepped in and continued to drive the steadily growing freight business forward.

Almost a decade later, in 1967, Josef Fiege’s son Heinz Fiege joined the company and brought his brother Dr. Hugo Fiege on board in 1973. As the fourth generation of Fieges, the two brothers initiated the groundbreaking development of the company from a freight forwarder to a contract logistics service provider. In the 1990s, they received the German Logistics Award (1992) and the title of Eco Manager of the Year (1996) for their pioneering achievements. In 1998, they founded the Josef Fiege Foundation in honor of their deceased father, which continues to support social projects and institutions committed to the welfare of society and nature. In 2014, Heinz Fiege and Dr. Hugo Fiege handed over the business to their sons Jens Fiege and Felix Fiege, who have since jointly led the company and were awarded Family Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2021.

Reinventing the Company Time and Again

Today, 150 years after its founding, Fiege is one of the most innovative logistics service providers in Europe, developing cross-industry, modular solutions in logistics, real estate, ventures, and digital services. Felix Fiege and Jens Fiege summarized the company’s success formula in their anniversary speech as follows: “If there is one thing that has particularly distinguished us in our long history, it is the fact that we have continually reinvented ourselves as a company and have always remained open to change. That has been our path – and it will remain our path for the next 150 years.”

Photos: © Fiege / Caption for Cover Image (l. to r.): Jens Fiege (co-CEO of the Fiege Group), Markus Lewe (Mayor of the City of Münster), Hendrik Wüst (Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia) and Felix Fiege (co-CEO of the Fiege Group)