RONNY MEIERHEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

at Emons since 1993

"The perfect combination of geography and figures."

Ronny Meier got his dream job: he began his career at Emons as an apprentice in 1993. Today the Brandenburg native is head of the international department at the Berlin branch and able to perfectly combine his great hobby of travelling with his job here. And when he's not on the road, he spends his time working on the perfect design of his house and large plot about 50 km outside Berlin.

International logistics is a good fit for someone who loves travelling, right?

Yes, that's right; as the head of the international department, I'm often on the road travelling and sometimes the meetings even take place abroad. It's nice to get around and find out about countries that you might not necessarily have travelled to privately. It allows you to quickly overcome any prejudices you might have had, for example, about countries in Eastern Europe. This job is the perfect fit for me and I wouldn't want to do anything else. It’s the perfect combination of geography and working with figures for me; it's what I enjoy and what I also see myself doing in the future.

How did things start at Emons over 25 years ago?

I started at Emons as a 16-year-old with an apprenticeship as a freight forwarding clerk, i.e., today's forwarding and logistics services agent, at the old Busendorf branch. I remember it really well; I was camping with friends when Willi Emons came by in person to invite me for an interview. My grandfather was at home and rowed across the lake to the campsite in a rowing boat to tell me about it. It wasn't as fast as today with e-mail; back then important messages were delivered personally.

Is this personal touch still there in today’s fast-paced times?

Oh yes, indeed. I would even go so far as to say that Emons is not just a company with a personal touch, but actually a real family to me. I've been here since I was 16 and I've simply grown into it really well over that long period. The team, the way we treat each other, it’s just family, there’s no other word. I even met my girlfriend at Emons and she also still works here in the accounting department. You can’t get much more family than that.

Is such an environment motivation enough for your day-to-day work?

Well, logistics is not easy, even with our good working atmosphere and, of course, there are also bad days. But motivation comes mainly from within. Seeing good figures and results and achieving my goals; that motivates me every day. It sometimes happens that targets are jotted down at an informal meeting on a beer mat, which is dug up again at the end of the year. That’s how our superiors motivate us at Emons without building up too much unnecessary pressure. The constant growth that we’re recording in exports shows that we all benefit from this way of doing things.