Let's make a little bit of history ...
A lot has happened since our early days in 1979. But one thing has remained constant in all this time: We put our heart and soul into this company.
Founding and start of business operations
- Establishment of the logistics company STERAC in Hamburg
- We were just 2 members of staff to begin with
- The focus was on 3 transport regions: Great Britain, Ireland and Switzerlan
1979
The vehicle fleet grew
- Our fleet now had 20 trailers
1985
There was plenty to transport
- The portfolio was expanded to include Spain
- The fleet grew to 24 trailers as well as the first 13.4m curtain side trailer
1990
Pioneering new routes into the outermost south west
- By including Portugal into the transport regions we now covered the outermost south west point in Europe
1991
A proper growth spurt both inside and out
- The word about the quality of our services quickly got out, meaning that we expanded our fleet to 34 trailers, in order to be able to take on more orders
- We expanded our transport regions to include Eastern Europe, thus taking on Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia
1994
Heads up – we’re going Eurasian
- By including Russia in the portfolio we were now reaching as far as the gateway to Asia
1995
STERAC gains in strength
- Following the procurement of our own first 2 trucks we continued our efforts to become independent of subcontractors
1997
Our management quality is now official
- Initial certification according to German Industry Standard (DIN EN) ISO 9001
- The vehicle fleet grew to include another truck
1998
The end of the millennium saw us get stuck right back in again
- STERAC moved into a newly built operating facility in Braak
- Storage space now included approximately 10,000 m²
- of which 1000 m² is solely warehousing space
- By now our coverage extended to Belarus, the Baltic area, Central Asia and Uzbekistan, meaning that we were now represented in the vast majority of Eastern Europe and Eurasian countries
- Our vehicle fleet now comprised 35 trailers and 5 trucks
1999
New millennium, new trailer fleet
- We converted our trailer fleet to modern 13.6 m curtain side trailers with air suspension
2000
Anniversary year
- STERAC celebrated 25 successful years
- Our fleet now included 40 trailers
- The first truck was modernised to comply with Euro 4 emissions standards
2004
The vehicle fleet continued to grow and grow
- Keeping up with the high level of capacity utilisation we expanded our vehicle fleet to include 50 trailers and 7 trucks
2005
There are just never enough trailers
- The vehicle fleet continued to grow and achieved a new record level with 60 trailers
2007
After up-sizing almost 10 years ago it was now time for more of everything
- We built a brand-new logistics centre
- Our warehousing was expanded by approximately 1,700 m² to a total of 11,700 m², allowing us to be able to store an additional 2,500 pallets
- We also acquired adjacent land with a surface area of 6,000 m² with a view to future needs
- Our fleet now stood at an impressive 75 trailers
2008
Each additional year meant more and more
- We leased 6,000 m² of warehousing space at an external location
- The trailer fleet was modernised and expanded to include 77 trailers
2009
More vehicle fleet for more business
- our trailer fleet grew by 15 trailers to a total of 92 Code XL trailers after just one year
- we now had more than 10 trucks
2010
Expansion and growth are the name of the game
- The third expansion step of logistics is under way
- Our warehouse space grew by another 4,215 m², generating space for 12,000 new pallet spaces
1,000 m² of order picking space and 1,000 m² of new office space were also created
- The warehouse went high-tech with the inductive guidance narrow-aisle forklift system
- New logistics software with a web portal connection was put into use
- Our trailer fleet now comprised 100 Code XL curtain side trailers and 12 trucks
2011
New transport region, new business division, new operating equipment
- With immediate effect Greece was now part of the portfolio
- We established a new business division with overseas container transport
- We modernised our fleet by switching 10 trailers and some of the older trucks for environmentally friendly Euro 5 standard trucks
- A GPS Track & Trace system was introduced for all trailers
2012
Modernise, certify, diversify
- Italy became another new transport region
- We obtained S.A.F.E. certification for the first time
- A new product was introduced by the name of “UK Courier”
- The ‘Green Logistics’ concept continued to be implemented step by step, according to which five other older trucks were replaced with newer Euro 5 standard compliant ones
- 10 of the older trailers were also replaced with new ones equipped with GPS tracking
2013
STERAC registered growth across the board
- We purchased new land with a surface area of 16,000 m²
- New transport regions were added with Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania
- Local and regional operations were also intensified
2014
The forwarding business goes organic, and more
- Our food safety competency became certified according to ISO 22000:2005
- STERAC received the Organic seal of approval
- Our first inter-modal SR rail trailer went into operation in Italy
- Our vehicle fleet grew to comprise 14 trucks, of which two fulfil the strict Euro 6 standards
- 20 of our trailers were modernised in line with the Code XL standard
- The particularly high safety level at our company sites led to recertification through S.A.F.E.
2015
Newly positioned - Newly designed - Newly certified
- Repositioning as a full-service-logistician
- Creation of a brand new corporate identity including corporate design
- Relaunch of our website
- We’ve added 5 Megatrailers and 5 Standard Code XL trailers to our fleet
- Completion of our fifth logistics hall with 3,000 m². An energy-plus hall with heat pump and photovoltaic system
- We successfully participated in the Safety Quality Assessment System (SQAS) this year and received the seal of approval
- We have been recertified according to the new ISO 9001: 2015 standard
2016
Taking big steps towards digitization and green energy
- Start of the digitization offensive in the company
- On May 11 2017 we have covered the entire electricity demand of logistics hall no. 5 from our own resources for the first time = 100% Green Energy
- Introducing the electric fuel dispensers on our own grounds to refuel our hybrid vehicles and expand our Green Energy strategy
2017
Communication logistics specialist in the digital age
- 4 new rail trailers with new Power Curtain tarpaulin for more safety and faster loading
- Ad Blue petrol station on its own premises
- LinkedIn profile and Instagram account created (extension of the digital strategy)
- STERAC as a communication logistics provider: we have integrated a video chat on the homepage for more personal communication
- Introduced the STERAC Knowledge Forum
2018
Further Certifications
- IFS Logistics certification 2.2 received for food safety
- Obtained NOP certification (American BIO certification)
- The new transshipment hall 7 was completed and is therefore another building block to our Green Energy concept
2019
Enlargement of our fleet
- 43 new trailers (30 Profi Liner, 10 Mega Liner, 3 rail trailers)
- Acquisition of the first fully electric company cars
- After Brexit: Introduction of new regulations such as customs clearance, etc.
2020
Big steps on the way to more sustainability
- We introduce a flexitime scheme for our employees
- Expansion of the vehicle fleet with additional fully electric company cars
- Construction of a PV system including 8 charging stations for our electric vehicles
- Expansion of further modern office space for our employees
- Start of new construction of hall 6 according to the Green Energy concept and KfW 55 guidelines
- Purchase of 40 new trailers (30 Profi Liner & 10 Mega Liner) / expansion of our vehicle fleet (200 trailers)
- Passing the IFS Logistics 2.2 re-certification with a higher level
- Successful initial certification for information security according to VdS 10000
- Start of the project "Logistics Forest Medium-Sized Businesses"
