Global Cement (GC): Can you provide our readers with a brief history of the company Karl Mossandl?
Andreas Mossandl (AM): Mossandl was established in 1961. The headquarters of Mossandl is in Dingolfing in Bavaria, Germany. Today the company employs over 100 people. Mossandl is active in the business segments of sand / gravel production, ready-mix concrete and disposal and in logistics for powdery goods, including cement.
GC: Is the company a cement trader, a cement transporter or both?
AM: Mossandl is a transporter of cement, not a trader. It first started transporting cement in the early 1980s when it began supplying its own concrete factory. Recently, in 2014, the company constructed a cement handling plant in the eastern harbour in Regensburg. It has four dedicated silos and a total capacity of 6000t. This has succeeded in shifting our distribution so that several thousand truck loads can now be taken by rail. Only the ‘last mile’ of the delivery to the customer is now by truck.
We have a fleet of 30 silo trucks and several permanent contractors. Around 15% of our income comes from cement transportation activities. We also sell trucks and have acted as a dealer for Scania since 1984. In addition, we have lots of partnerships, such as with GHH Rand and MAN Truck & Bus.
GC: Can you elaborate on the partnerships?
AM: Mossandl is dealer as well as service partner of Scania. The company also has a partnership with GHH Rand. GHH Rand’s compressors are integrated in all of Mossandl’s trucks, which we use for cement distribution. Additionally GHH Rand products are sold and used in Mossandl’s truck garage.
Customers and markets
GC: Which cement-producing companies does Mossandl currently work with?
AM: We work with a large number of multinational, national and regional players. In fact Mossandl collaborates with nearly all of the cement producers that operate in southern Germany. This includes Cemex, Opterra (CRH), HeidelbergCement, Rohrdorfer Zement, Lafarge Zement, Solnhofer Portland-Zementwerke and Schwenk Zement. From the location in Regensburg, Mossandl distributes cement by truck across the whole of Bavaria and Southern Germany.
GC: How have these areas changed over time?
AM: Over the years our silo logistics business has developed from single regional customers into an exhaustive Bavarian-wide distribution operation.
Now that we have the transfer plant in Regensburg, both rail and ship can be connected with the road. With a large number of our own vehicles and permanent subcontractors, we are in a position to offer a range of customised logistics solutions.
GC: How is the lower cost of fuel affecting operations at the moment?
AM: The lower fuel price is expected to be a short-term development only, so the long-term strategy of our company is not affected. Unfortunately, the positive cost effects of low fuel prices are being completely depleted by increasing personnel costs due to a shortage of skilled employees.
The future
GC: What are the greatest threats to Mossandl’s cement distribution at present?
AM: There are three main threats. Firstly, we expect energy prices to rise in the longer term, which will affect our outgoings. Secondly, there is a shortage of trained truck drivers, which means wages are high. Thirdly, the road and rail networks are increasing congested, which slows down all of our operations.
GC: What is the greatest opportunity for the company?
AM: It is our expectation that, due to the housing shortage, which is being added to by the influx of refugees into Germany, there will be an increase in the number of building projects, which is good for the
construction sector and good for us as a cement transporter.
There is also a need to expand the road network to relieve the increasingly congested roads.
GC: What about the company’s greatest strength and weakness?
AM: The greatest strength of Mossandl is the diversification of the enterprise. The company stands on different pillars like disposal, selling trucks, logistics, sand and gravel-production and more. Due to our broadly diversified business segments our customers can get everything from one source.
Furthermore Mossandl is a family-controlled company in which short communication paths rule. This means that quick decisions are possible to adapt to change.
Our major weakness is that we are not yet established outside of Germany. This means that our development is directly linked to the health of the local economy.
GC: And how do you think the cement sector will develop in south Germany in the next five years?
AM: Our expectation is a very small steady growth. With that in mind, we are open-minded to further expansion and interesting possibilities.
GC: Thank you for your time.
AM: You are most welcome!