Berlin / Rostock, September 12, 2017 – An era is coming to an end in Rostock: Gerold Claus, co-founder and long-standing Managing Director of HOMTRANS, is taking his well-deserved retirement at the end of the year. In his honor, the Rieck subsidiary held a summer party on September 2. Philipp Strenge, Managing Director of the Rieck Logistics Group, paid tribute to Gerold Claus’ extensive professional achievements.
Around 150 former and current companions, employees and friends of Gerold Claus accepted the invitation to the HOMTRANS headquarters in Kavelstorf near Rostock. In his welcoming address, Philipp Strenge emphasized the great achievements of Gerold Claus, who celebrated his 68th birthday on 8 September. He has been at the helm of HOMTRANS for 27 years. “Gerold Claus founded HOMTRANS, built it up and developed it into an important logistics player in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,” said Philipp Strenge. “This significant success deserves great recognition and our respect.”
On March 6, 1990, Gerold Claus founded HOMTRANS, one of the first joint venture companies in the former GDR, together with Hamburg freight forwarder Peter Dezelske. However, Gerold Claus has his roots in seafaring, as he initially trained as a deep-sea fisherman in Rostock. Born in Saxony, he then studied business administration in maritime transport in the Hanseatic city and graduated with a degree in engineering. This was followed by national and international positions with the GDR state shipping company DEUTRANS – including four years working in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Successful development
During his time as Managing Director, Gerold Claus has developed HOMTRANS into a successful service provider offering transportation, warehousing and logistics services as well as air and sea freight handling. Its customers are mainly medium-sized companies, including those in the automotive and industrial plant sectors. With the gradual transfer of shares to the Rieck Logistics Group, Gerold Claus set the course for a successful future for the company at an early stage. HOMTRANS is currently expanding the existing logistics area from 14,000 square meters to 23,000 square meters. The Rieck subsidiary will commence operations in the extension at the end of the year. Ten additional jobs are then expected to be created. More than 150 employees are currently working on customer projects at the Kavelstorf site.
“Even though Gerold Claus is handing over the management of the company at the end of the year, his expertise, advice and vision will remain very important,” says Philipp Strenge. “We would like to thank him for the successful years together and wish him all the best for the future.”
