The sale of the company in 2022 was, for Thomas Duvenbeck, a step that was meant to open a new phase of growth with the support of a financial investor. The main expectation was further expansion and a stronger market position for the operator.
Now, however, the company’s situation differs significantly from those expectations. Duvenbeck is facing the most serious crisis in its history, which naturally calls earlier forecasts about the company’s direction into question. A divestment process now appears to be one realistic scenario.
A thousand new trucks
It is worth noting that the operator was still making major fleet investments relatively recently. In the middle of last year, Duvenbeck signed a framework agreement with MAN for the purchase of up to 1,000 new tractor units, which are due to be delivered to the company’s European branches by the end of 2027. These purchases were intended to strengthen and modernise the fleet, including through vehicles equipped with a new generation of powertrains with lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. At the same time, the operator was also expanding its e-mobility segment, increasing the number of electric trucks and planning further growth in that area.
A crisis that had been building for months
According to DVZ, the problems began to intensify in spring 2025. One of the main challenges was incorrect volume forecasting. As a result, warehouses started to overflow, and in extreme cases there was a risk of production stoppages, which had to be averted through costly emergency transport operations.
According to market sources, the problems spread gradually – from Romania, through Hungary, and on to Germany.
At the same time, Duvenbeck was said to have been aggressively winning new contracts, even though – according to market sources – they were not sufficiently profitable. It has been suggested that the company was incurring losses running into millions of euros on individual projects. This was linked to an ambitious growth strategy imposed by the owner.
Responding to questions from trans.iNFO about the company’s situation, Waterland said Duvenbeck holds a strong position as a logistics partner to the automotive industry.
“Recently, the environment for Duvenbeck’s key customers has changed fundamentally: the automotive sector is grappling with falling and increasingly volatile production figures, margin pressure and structural change. These changes are also affecting Duvenbeck and require transformation. In this context, the owners, together with key stakeholders, are reviewing appropriate options in order to support this transformation as effectively as possible and to ensure a stable and sustainable development path for Duvenbeck,” Waterland explained.
Management mistakes and lack of sector experience
According to the German outlet DVZ, the company’s difficult situation was worsened by the investor’s lack of experience in the logistics sector. Waterland is said to have underestimated the risks associated with the automotive segment, which is among the most demanding and most sensitive to economic fluctuations.
The company’s situation was also affected by internal factors. These reportedly included misguided staffing decisions, an unclear strategy and inflated growth expectations. In addition, there have been allegations of seemingly arbitrary acquisitions that failed to deliver the expected results.
Transformation and the search for a new owner
Both Duvenbeck and Waterland point in their statements to changing market conditions in the automotive sector, declining and volatile production levels, and growing margin pressure. In their view, the situation requires a deep transformation of the business model.
In practice, however, this means the launch of a process to find a new owner. PwC, the consulting firm reportedly engaged by the operator to find a buyer, declined to comment to trans.iNFO, citing professional confidentiality obligations. According to DVZ, some potential investors, including DP World and Geodis, have already withdrawn from the process. An option under consideration was for the company to be bought back by its founder, Thomas Duvenbeck, but that scenario was not pursued either.
Impact on the German automotive industry
The consequences of Duvenbeck’s problems are being felt more widely than within the company itself. According to the German portal, major German car manufacturers have been forced into a costly and wide-ranging restructuring of their logistics chains. This shows the scale of the interdependence between industry and logistics operators, as well as the risk that comes with destabilising one of the key links in the chain.
Loss of trust in private equity capital
The most serious consequence of the entire situation, however, remains its impact on how financial investors are perceived. In German logistics, there is increasing talk of weakening trust in the private equity model. This is particularly significant in the context of other markets where – both in Europe and in the United States – logistics companies backed by financial investors still play an important role in the consolidation of the sector. As a result, German operators must adapt to a rapidly changing competitive environment.
