As of 1 April, Friedrich-Wilhelm Meyer has been appointed to represent the port of Rotterdam in Germany’s southwestern states. Together with Wolfgang Schlegel, who was appointed last year, he will be responsible for the southwestern region of Germany. Meyer and Schlegel thus succeed Roland Klein, who held the position for the past nine years

Meyer has a background in the German automotive sector and held several logistics management positions in both Germany and the United States. He has a large network and brings extensive experience in international supply chain management. Representing the port of Rotterdam, Meyer is concerned with further expansion of the network in the region and acts as contact person for shippers, industry organisations, local authorities, carriers and freight forwarders.

Due to the presence of many large industrial parties, the southwestern region of Germany is an important hinterland area for the port of Rotterdam. The port acts as a key link in the supply chain to and from this German region. The Port Authority’s ambition is to further strengthen its position as a logistics hub for this region by handling volumes in a sustainable and efficient manner. Sound infrastructure, digitalisation and data sharing are indispensable for this.

This will be the first time that two representatives are active for the port of Rotterdam in a single region. As a result of the energy and raw-materials transition, fundamental changes in freight flows and production locations are starting to take place in Europe. Fossil-fuel imports are set to decrease and new import flows such as hydrogen or biomass will increase. To focus more on retaining existing cargo volumes and attracting new cargo flows, the Port Authority has therefore decided to appoint two representatives. Together with market parties, they will work on further optimising connections between the port and the hinterland.