Founded in 1974, the family-run agent, Quick Cargo Service, is growing strongly in Europe. This process is to continue steadily, with the founding of a further station in Antwerp, Belgium. However, the company’s plans go much further: QCS intends to become the biggest independent German freight forwarding agent. Lubos Lukác (LL), Chief Commercial Officer of the QCS Group, announced this extremely ambitious goal in an interview with CargoForwarder Global on the fringes of the latest BUD Cargo Day in Budapest.
Lubos, roughly two years ago, QCS launched its Eastern Europe initiative by setting up stations in different states. What is today’s status of your ‘Go East’ strategy?
L.L.: We are very happy with the development since 2022, where we either changed the set-up, starting from green field or by widening our footprint through M&As in these countries: Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. This was followed by a branch in Slovenia becoming our latest family member. Besides these mergers, QCS grows predominantly organically based on cost efficiency. Core consideration is to bring the right people to manage the projects where we can build subsidiaries and branches around them to create a local market. This way, the QCS family culture is kept, which employees are familiar with, and can be further developed as the group grows, reaching the next stage.
CFG: Is QCS’s ‘Go East’ approach a reaction to the derisking strategy of many western industries that want to reduce their dependency on China by channeling their funds into safer heavens?
L.L.: QCS is a very fast-acting company due to its lean structure of management and ownership. We can quickly adapt to market trends and demands from customers or partners. Also, we don’t have such big overheads and huge operations, which helps us to avoid pitfalls and manage the daily business. We follow our customers, who tend to change trade lanes and collaborate with other suppliers. As we don’t run any offices overseas, we are not dependent on China. Since QCS is a member of some intercontinental alliances, we have no difficulties finding suitable strategic partners that best complement our own network and enable our global reach.
CFG: A growing volume of QCS’s ocean freight is processed in Koper, Slovenia. Could the Mediterranean route for sea freight surpass Hamburg volumes – your preferred port so far?
L.L.: Hamburg and Rotterdam continue to be key gateways for us. But the Slovenian Port of Koper is an important gateway for the Central Eastern European region (CEE); particularly for the automotive business. This accounts as well for the markets in the Middle East and India, with Africa listed next on our agenda. With the office we just set up in Slovenia, we will be able to create synergies to support our business model and have a seaport Hub for Central and Eastern Europe in place.
CFG: While we spoke, you stated that QCS intends to become the biggest independent German freight forwarding agent. Didn’t you raise the bar too high? After all, Dachser achieved revenues of more than 7.1 billion euros in 2023 – far more than the family-run QCS Group.
L.L.: It’s not my quote, but a mission statement from our CEO, Stephan Haltmayer, who said that QCS is on its way to becoming the number one Independent European Freight Forwarder. Yes, that’s our aim – long-term. Admittedly, this is a high hurdle but manageable, as evidenced by the last 1.5 years, when our company grew disproportionally, and demonstrated by the network we set up in Eastern Europe. And the good news is that all offices are in the black, after just a short start-up period. A personnel and organizational decision also played a role in this development. All our branches set up in Eastern Europe, are headed by proven and loyal individuals to whom the Haltmayer family offered the role of managing partner. This promotes personal initiatives and increases the identification with the company enormously. Simultaneously, it also has a positive effect on the employees on site. These are positive prerequisites for above-average growth in the years ahead.
CFG: According to rumors, QCS is planning a new station in Belgium. What is the time horizon for the project? When will it happen, and what might be the consequences for Hamburg, your current ocean freight hub?
L.L.: Belgium is an important market for us in Western Europe, which we handle via our offices in the Netherlands or Germany, but where we also want to increase our footprint. Antwerp is a big hub for project cargo and the LATAM market. An Antwerp station supplements our well-running setup in the Netherlands, making us even stronger in these thriving markets. For Hamburg, this will not be an issue at all. Our Hamburg office is extremely busy. A tighter-knit network combined with close collaboration between QCS stations, will enhance the business, leading to improved customer experience and tailored logistics solutions.
CFG: Where will QCS be in 5 years’ time?
L.L.: This is a great question, but I don’t have a crystal ball. QCS has several goals for the next 5 years, split into internal and external targets. Internally, we want to be a much sought-after company to work for. Our family culture will be kept, combined with new digital tools and tailored solutions to make life easier in daily operations, thus benefiting the customer. External presence is also a key factor enabling us to open the next stations in 3 to 5 countries. Currently, we put opportunities under the microscope that fit our business model and philosophy best. This includes M&A solutions as recently done at Vienna Airport, Austria. However, the key factor is our P&L statement that decides investment initiatives. This said, the sky is the limit for us in the next five to ten years.
