FL jubilæumsbog EN 101123 web - Flipbook - Side 58
FRODE LAURSEN HESITATED TO
ESTABLISH ITSELF IN POLAND
Throughout the 1990s, German and Eastern
European trucks became increasingly common on Danish motorways. Czech, Polish and
Lithuanian drivers carried goods in Denmark
in the years aer their countries joined the
EU.
They were allowed to drive into Denmark,
deliver a load and pick up a new one. The
EU’s ‘cabotage’ rules also allowed drivers to
transport three loads while in Denmark. The
same was true if the driver brought goods into
Sweden or another EU country. In addition,
Danish vehicles and drivers competed directly
with Eastern Europeans regarding European
exports.
The Eastern European drivers worked to
different terms than the Danish drivers; in
particular, they received lower remuneration.
Therefore, many logistics companies considered
it necessary to establish a company in Poland
or another Eastern European country with local
drivers and trucks registered in that country so
as not to lose customers.
IT WILL PASS
“Up to the year 2000, Danish export vehicles
could compete with foreign ones. Danish vehicles accounted for 80 per cent of cross-border
transport. Today, the opposite is true. Foreign
56
vehicles now account for 80 per cent because
we can’t find enough drivers in Denmark and
the costs are too high,” says Thorkil Andersen.
Frode Laursen hesitated for a long time to
go with the flow and establish a company in an
Eastern Bloc country. The board discussed the
maer several times, but Thorkil was against
the idea. As an old export driver, he put a lot of
heart and soul into the maer.
“You might think, ‘It will pass,’ but it never
does. Never. We started five to seven years too
late.”
POLISH COMPANY IN 2007
The first step was geing larger hauliers to
drive for Frode Laursen with foreign vehicles
and drivers. The quality quickly proved to be
too poor. One reason was that the drivers were
regularly replaced. There was no loyalty.
“I had meetings with the hauliers and gave
them some more money to spend on giving the
drivers beer conditions.”
Over the next few months, Thorkil visited
some drivers during their breaks and spoke to
them.
“I was told they hadn’t got as much as an
extra cent in a pay rise. As I drove away from
one of the meetings, I decided that we had to
establish ourselves in Poland.”
FRoDe LAURsen HesItAteD to estABLIsH ItseLF In PoLAnD
