Following a staff increase of several hundred new employees in the first half of the year, Waberer’s will recruit another 400 truck drivers to add to its driver staff. This increase was made necessary by the acquisition of 1,300 new truck-trailers, in order to maintain the fleet’s average age of two years and to extend its capacity, as well as to increase the driver-to-truck ratio. The latter measure, which allows longer rest time for drivers and improves work safety, will generate additional costs to one of Europe’s largest road transport companies in the order of 100 million Forints.
The source of the investment is the two-digit growth of Waberer’s Group’s revenues and the similar improvement of its transport gross margin, compared to the same period of last year.
The number of drivers for the current fleet of 3,232 truck-trailers is close to 4,000. In the first six months, the truck fleet travelled 8.7 per cent. greater distance on Europe’s roads than in the same period last year, totalling 202 million kilometres. Waberer’s trucks, meeting the strictest environmental standards, consumed nearly 3 per cent. less fuel per 100 km. The loaded ratio of the trucks exceeds 91 per cent., which represents a 1.8 per cent. improvement.
In the first half of the year Waberer’s largest market continued to be Germany, followed by Hungary, France, United Kingdom and Italy, in the order of freight volume and revenues, respectively.
Building the EU-wide network of Waberer’s companies is in progress. Following the establishment of Waberer’s France, in Paris this spring, Europe’s FTL specialist will establish a company also in the UK this autumn, and in the Netherlands and Italy in the remainder of the year. The role of the new subsidiaries will be to better fulfil the country-specific needs of customers.
