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Hupac’s ‘Future of mobility’ conference focused on digitalisation.
Half a century is a good and solid age. The intermodal operator Hupac, which is headquartered in Switzerland, made the best of its anniversary to not only stage a wonderful party in Lucerne and gift itself with a 50th birthday present of its own, but simultaneously staged a conference that looked to future challenges. Christian Doepgen joined the international audience in nigh-on tropical Lucerne.
The managers in charge of Hupac could not have asked for more – the previous year’s solid result and the glorious weather represented the perfect setting for the intermodal operator to celebrate the 50th time that that day of the year returned when it was founded in June 1967. 50 years ago five Swiss entrepreneurs – including the Swiss state-owned railway SBB – brought the brothers roads and the railways together for trans-Alpine operations. Modest beginnings have been turned into success. Today the Chiasso-based Swiss company has 440 employees and generates sales worth around CHF 470 million.
Beni Kunz, managing director of the Hupac group, cited the five operational pillars of Hupac’s business success – a clear strategy, direct re-investment, innovations such as the firm’s shuttle train or gateway concepts, proximity to its clients and well-trained staff. Adolf Ogi, a former member of the Swiss government and considered the ‘father of the NRLA’ (New Rail Link through the Alps) as transport minister from 1988 to 1995, described how it was possible to convince the country’s European neighbours of its goals. He also pointed out that the building of efficient feeder lines to and from the NRLA remains the task of the route’s littoral states.
Hupac’s managers are clear about the challenges facing them. Hans-Jörg Bertschi, the president of the board of directors, pointed out that with regard to digitalisation, “road is a tough competitor for rail. Platooning, automated driving and Uber-like platforms will allow the road haulage sector to save up to 30% of its costs over the next ten years. The railways, in contrast, are frequently not yet capable of exploiting their wealth of data to increase productivity.” There is thus no dearth of tasks for the managers. Read more
Source: ITJ
