Girteka CEO: “I think it’s harder to make money with each passing year.”

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In an interview with Lithuanian news service delfi.lt, Girteka CEO Edvardas Liachovičius has denied all the accusations made against his company in a recent documentary. Liachovičius also went on to explain how challenging the road transport market is at this moment in time – even going as far as to say “I think it’s harder to make money with each passing year.”

Liachovičius made the above comment after being asked by Delfi journalist Ernestas Naprys Ugnė Karaliūnaitė about upcoming challenges and the possibility of Lithuanian carriers losing their positions Europe:

You can be a successful carrier no matter what size you are, but the farther away, the harder it will be, like other traditional businesses. I think it’s harder to make money with each passing year. It all depends on the level of management of the company, the team, the level of digitization in the company, the customer base. And the most pressing issues now are the Mobility Package and the situation of carriers in peripheral countries, which is not in a good starting position. And this has nothing to do with improving working conditions – it is about returning empty trucks.

Liachovičius was also quizzed about the salaries Girteka Logistics offers its drivers. The CEO said the salaries it provides are “Great in terms of the profession” and added “In terms of competencies and salary paid, it’s pretty big money.”

Another area covered in the interview was the recent accusations from the Norwegian Truck Owners Association, who said Girteka Logistics was guilty of illegal cabotage. Liachovičius denied any wrongdoing on the part of Girteka Logistics and said that the rules in Norway are unclear:

Whether in one country a foreign carrier is more successful than a local one, it is not for me to judge. Girteka does everything according to all requirements. The requirements for cabotage are not universally transparent and comprehensible, but are interpreted differently by different officials. Depending on the region, we have a list of contentious issues, but there are not many of them.

During the recently released documentary film produced by LaisvėsTV, Girteka Logistics was also accused of deducting money from drivers’ salaries for uneconomical driving. Again, Liachovičius emphatically denied the allegations in the Delfi interview, stating “There is no such practice in our company, such a practice is not compatible with our clients. We cannot work with major brands under such schemes.”

The lengthy interview saw Liachovičius provide numerous insights regarding his views on the state of the road transport industry in Europe. According to the Girteka Logistics CEO, 98% of the company’s turnover is from large global customers. Moreover, Liachovičius argued that the company is successful not only “due to the price of the service, but also the management skills and the qualifications of the people.”

However, the boss of the logistics giant did appear to talk his way around questions regarding how many Lithuanian drivers the company has on its books, as well as whether he thought he was “loved or unloved” in his country.

The interview can be read in full here.


Photo credit: Jimmy / Flickr

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