Rapid but not rash action
In conversation with Nicole Fischli and Max Sgouridis, Rast Logistic. In 1986 Thomas Rast founded his own trucking firm. Today he keeps himself more in the background, as deputy managing director. The company doesn’t stop reinventing itself, however. ITJ editor Andreas Haug talked about this to Nicole Fischli, head of the Basel branch, at the firm’s Swiss headquarters in Pratteln, and to CEO Max Sgouridis, speaking remotely from Jacksonville FL (USA).
Mr Sgouridis, Rast Logistic was founded in 1986. What were the major developments for the company?
The company can be traced back to Thomas Rast, who was originally a truck driver himself and then teamed up with colleagues. Their own fleet grew more and more, and in 2004 they decided, together with a former client, to give the firm a new focus on brokerage.
I myself knew Thomas Rast because I was also a former client, and then joined in 2012, when he gave me the opportunity to do so after another personnel change.
At the time I lived in Scotland and commuted between Glasgow and Basel, but I was able to help shape the company further. So business took its course, and today we’re well-established.
...in Florida too, from where you’re speaking to us today. How did this interesting move come about?
Ten years ago we dared to expand. It was a childhood dream of mine to live in the United States of America. I was born in Switzerland, but – like many people in our industry – I’ve always wanted to move out into the wider world too. At first I thought I’d give Scotland a try, which then turned out to be ‘home’ for 15 years.
So I said to myself, if I don’t take the opportunity now, when then? In addition, the technical possibilities for teleworking had improved greatly over the years. It took some time for customers to get used to calling the USA for transport requests in the Switzerland / Germany region, but now they’re used to it. Location doesn’t really matter as much anymore as it did before the outbreak of Covid-19.
Why did you choose Jacksonville?
First, because of the acceptable time difference between Florida and Central Europe. But also for logistics reasons. The city with its huge seaport and millions of inhabitants is a very useful location. We’re developing very well here.
USA or Europe – where does the company do more business today?
We’ve started buying our own trucks in the United States now too. We’ve simply ascertained a lot of opportunities here, because the market is so big, there are no tolls and fewer regulations than in Europe.
There are certainly problems here too, starting with a lack of (trained) staff. At the moment, our business here is smaller than in Europe, but the maxim at Rast is – don’t rush into anything, but grow judiciously.
What’s your main activity?
We can handle all logistics requirements through networks and partners, but our core business is and remains road haulage on behalf of freight forwarders, not for end customers.
We don’t carry our activities out with our own trucks, because with Swiss licence plates you won’t make a good profit in Europe. We rely on long-standing partners. We do well with this approach, if you also see how long our customer relationships are.
What do clients appreciate about Rast?
There are many things. One thing is certainly our rapid responses. 99% of all price requests submitted to us – whether for express or normal freight – are answered in five minutes. We also manage to combine the numerous shipments from our pool from all over Europe well, and drive everything directly.
What fleet do you deploy, Ms Fischli?
It’s made up of approximately 50 vehicles of different types, most of which are motor vans, which are slightly smaller than regular semi-trailers. This allows us to concentrate on three consignments per unit. They’re fast, flexible and therefore also quite profitable.
Another question for the CEO. How has business been of late?
The period affected by Covid-19 was a bit difficult, because of the unpredictability of the situation and of the availability of vehicles. The last two years have been very good though.
What are the differences between the USA and Europe?
As far as regulatory requirements are concerned, I’d like to say this. The USA today is like Europe was let’s say 25 years ago. The issue of visa allocation for truck drivers from outside the Schengen area is comes on top of over-regulation there.