Category: News-2014

From year to year, the ordinary course of events leaves no room for boredom. Thus, also the month of December 2014 offers an opportunity to look back on a successful cooperation of shippers, barge owners, and forwarding agents and on the benefit from new employees, anniversaries or the Targobank run.

But we also think of those people who have little reason to smile because they experience difficult and challenging situations. Therefore, instead of customer gifts, we have donated also this year an amount of money to two charitable institutions, the Bunte Kreis Duisburg and the Hamburger Spendenparlament.

Since June 2002, the Bunte Kreis Duisburg e.V. – Niederrhein und westliches Ruhrgebiet have been supporting premature, disabled, severely and chronically ill children, and adolescents and their families on their way home from hospital into a well-organized life. The Hamburger Spendenparlament is an association of citizens caring for people in need by collecting and distributing donations. They promote social projects that tackle homelessness, poverty, and social isolation.

We would like to thank all our customers and staff for their cooperation, wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas.
Have a healthy start into the New Year!
Your DTG team

People on the adjacent picture: Dr. Gabriele Weber (left), Chairwoman of Bunter Kreis Duisburg e. V. – Niederrhein und westliches Ruhrgebiet, Dr. Sassa von Roehl, Public Relations Officer, and Roberto Spranzi, Board Member of the Deutsche Transport-Genossenschaft Binnenschifffahrt eG.

As of 1 January 2015, the new Agency De Grave will take over the tasks of our previous agency Benerijn.

The address is:

DE GRAVE – ANTVERPIA N.V.
Schomhoeveweg 15
2030 Antwerp
BELGIUM

Phone: +32 3213 43 43
Fax: +32 3 213 43 00
Email: dga@degrave-antverpia.be
Homepage: www.degrave-antverpia.be

Contact:
Ms Pascale Rottier, phone: +32 3213 43 39, email: p.rottier@degrave-antverpia.be
Representative:
Ms Wendy Mertens, phone: +32 3213 43 42 email: w.mertens@degrave-antverpia.be

Further contacts are Mrs Kathlijn Jansen and Mr Geert Bertels.

The CEO of DTG, Roberto Spranzi, participated in the Exchange Session of the traditional “Schifferbörse zu Duisburg-Ruhrort e.V” on 27 November 2014. Again, the members of the Exchange Session appointed Spranzi to serve as Vice Chairman for Frank Wittig and passed a vote of confidence in favour of the entire Executive Board, acknowledging their work. After the election, Spranzi signed his name in the Golden Visitors’ Book of the “Schifferbörse e.V.”, which is quite a speciality, as this book is even older than the Golden Visitors’ Book of the City of Duisburg.

After that, the “Schifferbörse zu Duisburg-Ruhrort e. V.” hosted the traditional “Schiffermahl”, a meal for all participants symbolizing the connection between shipowners, barge owners, shippers, and forwarding agents in the system of inland waterways. The “Schifferbörse” significantly promotes cooperation of all groups involved in inland waterway, representing their joint interests towards policy, administration, and public.

Copyright: Niederrheinische IHK (Lower Rhine Chamber of Trade and Industry)

The 9th running event over 5.9 kilometers conducted by the Targo Dienstleistungs GmbH started on 14th August 2014 at 7:00 pm in the Duisburg city centre. According to the principle “Reliability is our trump card”, DTG had as well sent eight runners of both sexes. Working and running together – that’s what real DTG teamwork looks like. 
After an exciting run, the “DTG Team & Friends” ranked between 51st and 3071st – a remarkable result with respect to just under 5,600 participants. In the team score, the DTG men even placed 320th of 966. 
The after run party gave all participants the opportunity to celebrate their minimum times together with colleagues and friends. Live music and synchronously launched fireworks in front of the Duisburg Opera House provided an all-around successful close to a pleasurable evening.

Rainer Pinnow is usually on duty for DTG with his motor vessel Moira. Yet, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of “Ehrmann’s Almighurt”, a joghurt speciality of the nationally renowned Bavarian dairy company, he has converted his ship and is currently on tour event on the rivers Rhine and Main.

The complete conversion of the vessel took almost six weeks, including both the exterior and the cargo area. Among others, 120 tons of material were installed and almost 5 km of cable laid to make it shine in typical Bavarian splendour.

The events at the various stops are open to the public and an experience you don’t want to miss. There will be live music by the band “Happy Bavarians”, typical Bavarian food, games, raffles, and worth knowing about the Allgäu region and the agriculture. Everybody can enjoy himself and have a good time on deck or in the inboard dining area.

More photos and information about the tour, which will cease on 13th August 2014 in Kehl, can be found at www.ms-moira.online.de and at www.almighurt.de.

On 28th June 2014, DTG and TGB held their annual general assembly at the Congress Centre of the Maritim Hotel Bremen. More than half of the active members were there, and there certainly would have been even more if some hadn’t had to meet loading or unloading deadlines.

Under the direction of Chairman Reinhold Scheermann, board members Matthias Bunger and Roberto Spranzi reported on the 2013 business development of both cooperatives. Then, questions of the members were answered by the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board.

After completion of the official part, members and their families, staff, and board of cooperatives met for the traditional evening event. Due to the high number of participants, the hall, initially considered as too large, was quickly filled. Wii and foosball were available for the kids in a separate play area while grown-ups were dancing the night away – depending on talent and stamina – to the music of the “Ingrid-Schwarz-Band”. Later, all guests were staggered by the legerdemains of magician David Lavé. Quite a number of cheerful “expert discussions” did not finish until the small hours.

We would like to give our warm thanks to the team of the Maritim Hotel Bremen, to the “Ingrid-Schwarz-Band” and to David Lavé.

Our special thanks go to our members and their families. We look forward to seeing you again alive and kicking at next year’s reunion in Münster.

Some changes are essential. This is why DTG will change to a new telephone provider. Yet, despite all planning and coordination, problems of accessibility may arise during this process. As of June 30, 2014, all our branches will be successively switched to the new provider and it may take up to three weeks until a flawless communication is possible in our singe branches.
So if we are not available via the usual landline, just look for the mobile number of your DTG contact in our website.
We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to your call, mobile or landline.

As a border and unifying element, the River Rhine has always been a symbol of Franco-German relationship. Thus, it was selected by the Bonn artist Hannah Schneider as a motive for her film “arpenter le rhin/bäuchlings auf dem Rhein” (“measuring the Rhine”). The shooting took place on board the MS Hartenfels, a DTG fleet ship.
Last year, Hannah Schneider received the art award contemporary 2013 by two Rotary Clubs, Bonn and Strasbourg, for her complete works. This award, presented in 2014 in the context of Franco-German friendship, is aimed at young artists under the age of 35. Three exhibitions frame the award ceremony: while in the first exhibition venue, Bonn, Rhine sand was the defining element, a movie on board the MS Hartenfels has now resulted for the follow-up exhibition in Strasbourg. “The idea to make the film on a cargo ship originated while studying the Rhine as a connecting element between both countries, and the venues themselves,” says 30-year-old Schneider. Via DTG, contact was made with Bernd Hink, owner of the 82 metre long and 8.2 metre wide MS Hartenfels. And it was rather easy for Schneider to convince Hink of her art project: “We are accustomed to quite some hustle and bustle aboard. After all, the vessel has been serving as a scene for various reports for the German television stations ZDF, WDR, and VOX.” Reporters, too, have stayed several times on this historic ship built in 1927. The project had a good start.

Premiere in Strasbourg
The film premiere, which was accompanied by an organ improvisation, took place in the church Temple Neuf in Strasbourg on April 24, 2014 – unfortunately, without captain Hink, who is a full time boatman. The third exhibition station for Hannah Schneider will soon be Saint-Louis in Alsace. She won’t tell what she has exactly planned for this event, but should a cargo ship play any role… DTG will certainly be collaborative.

Tobias Engels, who has completed his training from 1998 to 2001 with the former Haniel Reederei GmbH in Duisburg and worked with the successor companies until he quitted, is no unknown quantity in inland navigation. With only 33 years of age, he enjoys a very good reputation in the industry and among shippers due to his expertise and excellent communication skills as a dispatcher and account manager.

We would like to welcome Tobias Engels and look forward to his active support as a member of our dedicated team.

There is nothing really special about a 10th anniversary of employment. Yet, a 50th anniversary is quite another thing – who can look back on 50 years of service for one company? Our staff member Wilfried Neynes does. In order to honour him, DTG organized a small party at the cult café “Kaldi” in Duisburg-Ruhrort on 4th April 2014. This place (formerly known as the pub “Zum Anker”) is well-known to all fans of the German TV crime series “Tatort”: several scenes of the very first episode with the meaningful title “Ruhrort” were shot here, starring Götz George alias Horst Schimanski. With great attention to detail, the present managers have succeeded in preserving the memories, as well as some souvenirs of these good old times.