Menzel has relocated to the Greek port city of Piraeus and said he was attracted by the prospect of working in the head office of a company that offered direct lines of communication and clearly defined decision-making processes.
“Neptune Lines has been growing quite quickly over the last few years but the commercial side was handled by different people,” said Menzel. “Anticipating further growth it has become necessary to put more focus on the commercial side,” he said.
Asked about specific challenges in the new role Menzel said those details would become clearer as he settled into the new role but he did say that the major direction will be towards expansion of the international customer base and improved customer service in general.
Neptune has three main areas of business according to Menzel. The first is in the local European short-sea businesses in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, with a strong emphasis on the Black Sea and North Africa trade. The second area is the transshipment of vehicles for the larger carriers, such as Wallenius and K-Line, and the third is the high and heavy business, which is showing significant growth. The company is also looking at other areas where it can expand its services.
Asked whether the slump in the southern European market was affecting business Menzel said that in contrast the car carrier business has been strong over the summer period.
“Perhaps the issue might be that some of the western European marques are down in consumption but there are still other brands that perform strongly,” he said.
Previous to his tenure at K-Line Menzel worked for Shoeller Holdings and Senator Lines.
Vascor, the North American-based automotive logistics joint venture between APL Logistics and FujiTrans, has appointed William Garrett as its new CEO following the retirement of James Dunn.
Garrett is a veteran of the automotive and supply chain industry of 25 years and joins the company from DHL Exel, where he served as head of the automotive sales team. His experience includes work with many of the world's leading automotive companies as well as with UPS Supply Chain and Customized Transportation (now Ceva).
"A company as focused as Vascor requires a leader with an exceptionally high degree of both automotive and supply chain management experience, and we're pleased to have found that in Bill," said William Villalon, vice president, Automotive at APL Logistics and a member of the Vascor Board.
Vascor, which is based in Georgetown Kentucky, offers third-party logistics services to automotive companies in the US and Mexico.
Vincent Rambaud is stepping down as managing director of Peugeot at the beginning of October this year and will be replaced by Maxime Picat, currently managing director of DongFeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles. In an official statement PSA Peugeot Citroën said Rambaud had chosen to leave the company for personal reasons “to give a new orientation to his career”.
Rimbaud was director of operations for Gefco for two years before becoming director of Latin America for PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2007. He took over as managing director of the Peugeot in 2010.
Maxime Picat has been managing director of DPCA since January 2011, having previously held the post of deputy managing director between August 2008 and January 2011. He joined the PSA group in 1998 and has worked in various jobs in manufacturing at the Mulhouse and Sochaux plants before being appointed as managing director for the manufacturing facility of Wuhan in November 2007.
ProAct International, the supply chain software provider, has appointed Ian Littlemore, formerly programme manager with the company, to the new role of projects director with direct responsibility and authority across all projects both with new and current customers.
The move also means that Littlemore will become a member of the board of directors.
Littlemore has been with ProAct now for more than six years and brings with him nearly 25 years’ experience in project management in logistics, freight forwarding and supply chain on projects around the world and across a number of industries.
The company said his promotion was in recognition of his skill, knowledge and commitment to its customers over the years.
The UK’s Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) has appointed Peter Harvey MBE as its new chief executive. He replaces David Ellison who has retired following more than a decade in the role.
Harvey comes to the role following a 37-year career with the British Army.
“Peter is an exceptional communicator, who brings with him a wealth of experience in management, planning and policy,” said FLTA chairman Martyn Fletcher.
“He has, in David, a very tough act to follow, but I am certain Peter will play a pivotal role in the development of the FLTA and the entire fork lift truck industry.”
Commenting on his tenure with the association Ellison said that it had evolved beyond recognition over the past decade
“There has been phenomenal growth in the level of support and the range of services available to our members and as a consequence we have enjoyed continuous growth in our membership. Peter has the skills and vision to guide the association to even greater successes.”
In response Harvey said that he saw great potential for growth, especially in the relationship between the FLTA and the many thousands who own, operate or work close to fork lift trucks every day.
