Sustainability Report 2021

In addition to marking our 150th anniversary, 2021 was an exceptional year in many respects: The Covid-19 pandemic continued to have a significant influence on the world and the logistics industry: The global flow of goods was severely restricted and capacities were extremely scarce, especially in Airfreight and Seafreight. Furthermore, the shortage of containers was a challenge, and additional events such as the Suez Canal blockage put further pressure on the logistics industry. In such an environment, it was essential to maintain global transports chains as well as possible and to offer flexible and individual solutions for our customers.

9 August 2022

Focus

Katja Siefke

Despite these challenging conditions, 2021 was the most successful year in the Hellmann Group’s 150-year history. As a global team, we have succeeded in increasing our shipment volume by 25 % compared to the previous year. Group sales increased by EUR 1.5 billion and amount to more than EUR 4 billion for the first time. In addition to the increase in shipments, the freight rate development also contributed to this. As freight rates already increased in 2020 due to the capacity shortage, this trend once again intensified in 2021.

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Board: Reiner Heiken, Chief Executive Officer, Jens Wollesen, Chief Operating Officer & Martin Eberle, Chief Financial Officer

»Despite these challenging conditions, 2021 was the most successful year in the Hellmann Group’s 150-year history.«

During the reporting period, we again demonstrated the strength of our team and our ability to generate record results even in turbulent times. We want to continue this development in the current fiscal year. Sustainability – with its three pillars economy, ecology and social – will have an even more central role in the future. While "Live Sustainability" has always been firmly anchored in our corporate DNA, sustainability will now also become an integral part of our strategic corporate development. After all, sustainable corporate action not only meets our demand for responsible management but now is also crucial for the company’s long-term success.

As a global family business, we want to grow sustainably in such a way that the 150t anniversary year will be followed by many more successful years in the company history. With this in mind, we would like to take this opportunity to once again express our sincere thanks to all of our employees who, despite all the challenges, were never tired of finding solutions for our customers and implementing them together with our partners. At the same time, we would also like to thank our customers for their loyalty and excellent cooperation.

Read the full Sustainability Report 2021 here.