1 November was a momentous date for OHL Logistics A/S. At the time, 50 years ago, Otto Ohl Güterfernverkehr GmbH from Itzehoe established a company in Padborg. They probably had not expected that 50 years later, the company would count branches in Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
There Was Never Enough Space
The core service is, and has always been, logistics and services. A concept that, according to Gert Nicolaisen, has lasted for all those years.
Gert himself has been involved in the Ohl adventure for 47 years:
‘I started in a room behind the old bookstore on Nørregade in Padborg together with our German boss and an accountant. We also had an office in Copenhagen, and I still remember how I travelled around to the companies with my travel suitcase, selling our services. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then’.
The 50 m² behind the bookstore quickly became too small, and the next step on the road to success was the acquisition of a building site of 5500 m² on Industrivej. When, already after seven years, the 1200 m² building on Industrivej became too cramped, the company started an expansion on Plantagevej, and, today, they fill up this space quite well.
One of the years that Gert especially remembers is 2011. That year, his son Mark asks if it is not about time for him to ‘come home’.
‘I was happy of course. Naturally, he should come home and work in the family business. In our industry, it is clearly an advantage to see some of the world before settling down’.
Today, Mark Ohl Nicolaisen works as sales manager in Ohl Logistics and is a member of the Board of the company.
The Recipe for Success at Ohl
When asking Gert Nicolaisen what he aims for when hiring employees in Ohl Logistics, he comes up with the following features: humble, down-to-earth and rational – and, most definitely, no ‘braggers’.
‘People who brag about everything they are able to do usually have nothing to show for it’.
At Ohl Logistics, it is not uncommon for employees to celebrate their 25th and 40th anniversaries. There are also employees who have been in the company all their working lives.
‘It is not because of us (the management) that we are successful. It is thanks to our customers and our loyal employees’.
There is a lot to be proud of, and rightly so. A big part of Gert Nicolaisen’s job satisfaction stems from the customers’ success.
‘We strongly believe that the services we provide are in a partnership with our customers. When the day is over, we must all be able to make a living based on our work. Transportation will not be less important in the future, and our production companies cannot exist without transportation, because their products have no value if they are not delivered to the consumer at the right time and place’, concludes Gert Nicolaisen.
