From zero to hero
with heavy loads and clear ideas
Yesterday
Who gets involved in heavy haulage at the tender age of 19? Christoph Zureck does. This idea doesn’t come from nowhere. His father works in the same industry and gives his son the right tip at the right time. Logistics partners are increasingly being sought for erecting wind farms and transporting the components required for this. Christoph focuses on transporting heavy goods and sets up a heavy haulage escort company. Within a very short time, ten third-generation escort vehicles, known in Germany as BF3s for short, are added to the fleet to escort heavy loads. And because it quickly becomes clear that things need to be done on a much larger scale, one thing leads to another. Instead of just escorting, he takes on the entire organisation of heavy load transports. No half measures here.
Today
But the BF3s are only one part of Zureck Logistik. Its main focus is the haulage business including heavy haulage management. The team coordinates the entire process: planning and securing the route, keeping the roads clear, sorting out the formalities – and then, as always, escorting the transport to its destination. Project and warehouse logistics are also important parts of the company’s operations. The family business’s commitment to growth and innovation are integral to the company ethos. In 2020, a state-of-the-art company headquarters with over 4000 m² of heated warehouse space was therefore opened on the Schmerzke industrial estate.
The transport of wind turbines has proven to be an increasingly significant focus. The tower, rotor blades and nacelle – they all have to be transported separately. As the company now specialises in this type of operation, it is being asked to handle the entire transport of wind turbines.
The company’s close ties with Sweden have meant that most of the transports have been in and out of this country. For this purpose, a Swedish branch with 10 employees was established in Umeå in 2019.
However, when your passion in life is working with anything that has at least two wheels and is heavily motorised, you soon start dreaming of owning your own trucks. As a result, Zureck Logistik now has more than 47 lorries that travel the length and breadth of Europe, transporting anything that needs to get from A to B, whether its timber, steel or furniture. Of course, from time to time the boss himself likes to personally get behind the steering wheel on tours to northern Europe.
With the full support of his wife Julia, the company’s founder also likes to turn his visions into reality. For instance, in addition to the traditional haulage business, the company utilises the latest technology to analyse roads using 3D road scans so as to provide expert guidance for customers of all kinds when things get much too big and much too heavy. This is the only way to ensure that prefabricated structures, such as bridges, arrive where they are needed to connect communities – at night, when everyone is asleep and the roads are empty.
Environmental friendliness is becoming increasingly important not only for Christoph as a nature lover, but also for his company. 2020, together with ZF Friedrichshafen AG and IVECO, the currently most environmentally friendly truck for transporting ZF products was put into operation. From now on, products from ZF, known for its high-performance transmissions for BMW, will be transported without emissions. For the Zureck Group, it’s important to remain receptive to emerging trends and advancements in road haulage while maintaining a swift and seamless service for its clientele.
Tomorrow
With almost 140 employees and almost twice as many vehicles in his fleet, Christoph knows the problems his drivers face: busy service stations, bad food, dirty or non-existent toilets and the desire to keep the trucks that most of them call home clean and tidy. This led to the idea of having our own dedicated truck stop, which is due to be built in 2022 not far from the Brandenburg junction with the A2 motorway. Here, truckers will receive an all-round carefree package. In addition to a restaurant serving hearty German food, there will be 2 truck wash bays, spacious sanitary facilities, around 60 truck parking spaces for overnight stays and a fuelling station. Cleanliness and hospitality at fair prices are clearly the focus for every visitor.
It is hoped that the Zureck Group’s constantly growing fleet will call at its home port from time to time to enjoy the advantages of its own location.
