M.G. International

History

The companies which the M.G. International - Group of Companies (Max. Grünhut) finally emerged from, were established in 1891 and 1908.

In 1891 the 26 year old Maximilian Grünhut established a company for transport- and commission business under his own name in Hamburg. At the same time he set up a branch in Bremen.
The two seaports and Free Hanseatic Cities of Bremen and Hamburg, which are competitors in the handling of cargo and transportation of goods, did have a lot of regular liner schedules which competed against each other but also special routes for each individually.
Already at that time the native Viennese discovered that for this reason you should use both seaports for your business.
Especially the business with America turned out to be profitable. The North-Atlantic-Routes of the “Hamburg-Amerika-Linie” and the “Bremer Norddeutschen Lloyd” were one of the prestige routes amongst cargo and passengers of one of the two largest German ocean carriers.
Max. Grünhut became a notedly forwarding agent for the USA so its own transatlantic branch made sense. Grünhut was one of the first German sea freight forwarding agencies which established a branch in New York – another location couldn’t be considered at that time.
This took place in 1905 to service the local clientele and acquire new customers.

In 1938 Hermann Hecht was forced to rescind from his position as managing director of the Rhenania group due to the political development. For 30 years he had been on top of a company whose establishment and development was effected at the great influence of him and his brother Jacob Hecht. Very seldom have there been brothers working together as ideal as Jacob and Hermann.
On the one hand there was Jacob Hecht the business focused hothead who loved to take a risk and on the other his counterpart Hermann Hecht, who was the down-to-earth businessman considering everything carefully.

Both companies became leading national and international providers. Max. Grünhut wasn’t only a forwarding agent for groupage cargo but also for project cargo to Africa and South America (e.g.) in an substantial extent. Furthermore, Max. Grünhut may call itself among the pioneers which developed the shipment by container. Besides its principal activities of inland navigation and warehousing, the Rhenania group also started to develop into the international project cargo and found branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Iran and later, in 1974, in Iraq.

At the turn of the years 1984/85 the shareholders of Max. Grünhut decided to sell the company with its 230 employees to the English conglomerate Bowater Industries plc. London. After one and a half years Bowater decided to tighten their interests in the transport sector and consolidate the German Bowater concerns Rhenania and Max. Grünhut. Max. Grünhut advanced to the ocean freight forwarder of Rhenania meaning hat new Max. Grünhut branches were set up and a larger range of services could be offered.

In 1989, the M.G. International Transports GmbH, based in Bremen and Siegen, was established especially for miscellaneous activities in the Middle East. The complete operative business was centralized in these two offices. In close collaboration with the branches abroad and the branches in the seaports, the office in Siegen took over the development of the worldwide project cargo.
The same year, 1989, the new Bowater management started reorganising the Bowater group, which they had already decided in 1988. In the course of that Max. Grünhut, being one of the three parts of Bowater “International Freight Division” which were up for sale, was taken over by the Harper Group in San Francisco.

The business orientation of the Harper Group and the activities of the M.G. International Transports GmbH, which was found and taken over in 1989, couldn’t be continued under one roof for strategic reasons. In 1993, the shareholders of the Harper group agreed on the takeover by the management of M.G. International Transports GmbH. The co-partners Joachim Donath and Uwe Stupperich took over the complete company shares of M.G. International Transports GmbH based in Siegen and the branches in Tehran/Iran and Baghdad/Iraq.

Soon after the takeover they introduced a computer system which was connected to all other branches and their oversea partners. Both shareholders realised that already at that time you could only be one of the top providers by not just dealing with the transportation of goods but also by providing the exchange of information and additional services.

The positive development of M.G. International Transports GmbH made it essential to reorganise the different business segments. Besides project cargo to the Middle East region, the airfreight, oceanfreight and road transportation departments continued to grow successfully. In 2001 and 2002 these three group split-up to become new establishments and were transferred to other companies.

Today the M.G. International (Holding) GmbH with its shareholders Joachim Donath and Uwe Stupperich represents the M.G. International Logistics GmbH and M.G. International Transports GmbH and controls the strategic concept.

The M.G. International Transports GmbH as fully-owned subsidiary of the M.G. International (Holding) GmbH still focuses on project cargo to the Middle East region together with its branches in Jordan, Iraq and Iran and different regional partners. Another positive development in this area of operations has been the extention of business to the Far East.

The M.G. International Logistics GmbH as 100% of the M.G. International (Holding) GmbH includes the segments of road transportation, ocean freight and air freight as well as contract logistics. Currently these segments are expanding their business to Eastern Europe (e.g.) as well as the traditional markets in the Far East and to the USA - connecting with the traditions of their predecessors.

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History