PES regularly publishes exclusive features from Rickmers-Linie, but we’ve never had the honour of a face-to-face interview with any of the company’s executives. Until now. We travelled to Hamburg to catch-up with the Director of Marketing and Sales, Gerhard Janssen, to find out a little more about him, his organisation, and his thoughts on the future of the industry.
PES: Welcome to PES magazine, can you firstly explain a little about your role and how it impacts upon the wind industry?
Gerhard Janssen: Rickmers-Linie is one of the world’s leading specialists in the global transportation of breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo by sea.
The company is part of Rickmers Group, which offers diversified activities in the fields of liner shipping, ship-owning and ship-management, investments and real estate as well as maritime-related services. The wind industry is a key industrial sector with high significance for Rickmers-Linie. Consequently, we are following closely the development in this industry and offer transport solutions to our customers.
PES: How did you first become involved in the industry?
GH: After finishing college and two years in the German navy, I worked in a liner agency based in Bremen that represented Hansa-Line, HAPAG and Lykes Lines amongst others.
Hansa-Line and Lykes Lines, which was at that time offering its ‘Seabee’ service to the US-Gulf, particularly sparked my interest in the project and heavy-lift business. When Senator-Lines started operating, I joined that company and held various management positions in Europe, USA and Hong Kong before teaming up as Head of Marketing and Sales with Rickmers Linie in Hamburg in 2003. Back to my roots, basically.
PES: Which part of your job excites you the most?
GH: First of all, I very much like the fact that the breakbulk, project and heavy-lift market is still a pretty personal business. Being active in a niche market, meeting the customers personally and actually knowing the cargo gives business a nice personal touch.
Furthermore, the opportunity to meet clients from across the world with different cultural, business and ethical backgrounds can be challenging but is also very fascinating.
