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In 2013, ten years ago, Christian Witwicki and Rosemarie Siegrist founded courierfactory GmbH in Allschwil near Basel. The company specializes in express and logistics services primarily for the pharmaceutical industry. courierfactory has the necessary qualifications. Meanwhile, the company operates at four locations in Switzerland, Germany, and Poland.
(Allschwil) From a sole proprietorship in the same-day logistics sector with two experienced founders, a driver, and an idea, a Europe-wide specialist in pharmaceutical transport logistics has emerged after ten years. “In 2013, I recognized that we were serving clients from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors for whom there was no satisfactory solution on the market. They were looking for GDP-compliant same-day solutions for small and medium weights and different temperature ranges. Our clients and we quickly realized that at that time, there was no one who could professionally provide this service. So my wife Rosmarie Siegrist and I became self-employed and created the solution with courierfactory GmbH,” explains company founder and managing director Christian Witwicki, who at that time already had 20 years of experience in express and pharmaceutical transport, while Rosmarie Siegrist brought her extensive marketing experience into the business.
Initially focused on same-day delivery
Together with a small team, courierfactory GmbH initially focused on express transports, specifically same-day delivery 24/7. In spring 2016, the company received its pharmaceutical certification. “At that time, the pharmaceutical sector accounted for 30 to 20 percent of our revenue. We had a GDP-compliant refrigerated transport vehicle with an electrically operated cooling machine, which was an absolute novelty in the market at that time,” recalls Christian Witwicki. Today, the share is over 80 percent. The pharmaceutical transport logistics company delivers materials for clinical trials, raw materials, and frozen products and operates throughout Europe, but also offers on-board courier services for sensitive shipments and is a recognized expert in hazardous goods transport by road and air.
Timely transports while adhering to the required temperatures are the core business of courierfactory GmbH
courierfactory GmbH offers a customer-tailored transport service with maximum flexibility at reasonable costs. The packaging of its customers and special cooling pads are stored and shipped ready to go. When the customer needs a transport, packaging and cooling are delivered directly, and the materials are stored with the utmost care and then brought to the destination. “Our special quality is our efficiency, combined with an international trustworthy team that operates from Switzerland and serves the markets in Europe just as well as in Switzerland,” says Rosmarie Siegrist. courierfactory GmbH is characterized by the fact that the service is almost exclusively generated by its own employees, leading to very high flexibility and maximum availability.
Grown through our own efforts
The national and international success of the pharmaceutical logistics specialist shows that these qualities are appreciated. Over the past ten years, courierfactory has grown into a corporate group with currently four locations in small steps, despite the COVID crisis and a weakened economy. For these “small steps,” as they call them, there is an important reason rooted in the company’s philosophy. Owner and commercial managing director Rosmarie Siegrist explains: “We have grown conservatively with our own capital, which is why we haven’t grown as quickly as we actually wanted. But it was important for us not to lose our manufacturing character, because that is what defines us.” This means that Christian Witwicki and Rosmarie Siegrist adhere to the core idea that their company should stand out through quality both internally and externally and fundamentally keep its promises.
The cogs of the courierfactory group are finely thought out and oiled like the proverbial Swiss watch. Employees are trained as specialists in Switzerland, the team works hand in hand like a family and finds a solution for every individual wish. “In recent years, customer requirements in the pharmaceutical sector have increased nationally and internationally. Today, there are also many more market participants than there were ten years ago. But with our Swiss level, we assert ourselves there as well,” says Christian Witwicki, pointing out that the company opened another location in Lublin, Poland, just a few weeks ago. This marks the next step in the company’s development to meet the demands of its customers outside of Switzerland.
Logistics services are also part of courierfactory GmbH’s offerings
Good training and fair wages
“In addition to our manufacturing character, we pursue the philosophy of providing our customers with the best possible service that they can trust. But that also means we cannot be fast and cheap,” adds Rosmarie Siegrist. Employees must be very well trained and receive wages they can live on. The courierfactory group specializes in individual orders – even if they should change rapidly, the wishes of the customer are the focus. “Everything is handcrafted for everyone here,” says Christian Witwicki. “Except for purple elephants, we transport almost everything,” says founder Rosmarie Siegrist with a smile on her lips.
In mid-August, the courierfactory group celebrated its tenth anniversary in 35-degree heat with numerous employees, friends, and business partners from Switzerland, France, and Germany. With sunshine, bouquets of flowers, delicious food, champagne, and to everyone’s delight, with air conditioning, the celebration took place at the Culinarium in Arlesheim. “We are grateful to look back on wonderful ten years with our great team. Without the support and commitment of our employees and the trust of our customers, we would not be here today,” says Christian Witwicki in his welcome speech. The ten years have not always been easy despite growth, but the hard work and the will to succeed together have been rewarded.
About courierfactory Group
The company, headquartered in Allschwil, Switzerland, has two additional locations in Germany in Weil am Rhein and Frankfurt am Main and recently opened a fourth location in Lublin, Poland. Over 40 permanent employees are part of the courierfactory group, as well as a fleet of 30 vehicles. The total storage area of the company is over 700 square meters, including a transshipment warehouse and cooling facilities for temperature ranges of minus 20 degrees, plus 5, and plus 20 degrees in Weil am Rhein.
Photos: © courierfactory / Caption: The founders Christian Witwicki and Rosmarie Siegrist celebrate 10 years of courierfactory GmbH and the development of the company
