DSV
turns 45 today, Tuesday 13 July.
In
45 years, DSV has developed into one of Denmark's largest companies,
With
a market value of more than DKK 300 billion.
But
it was not in the cards in 1976 at Lindenborg kro near Roskilde, where DSV was
founded by 9 hauliers.
The
name was DSV (De Sammensluttede Vognmænd/the merged hauliers) of 13-7-1976.
It
could well have been the unwanted hauliers ”
SID,
Danske Vognmænd, several work organizations,as well as one of the largest
Danish hauliers did what they could for many years to shut down the DSV idea.
Including
a quote from Børsens Nyhedsmagasin from 2002, more than 25 years after the
founding of DSV.
"It
simply came to our notice then. Michael Svane speaks openly about what he calls
"the dark side of the DSV business model":
“Transport
is a very visible activity. A 47 ton truck takes up a lot of space on the road.
And DSV's wagons - regardless of whether they are self-employed hauliers -
often carry the company name on both light signs and trailers. The day that an
overturned tanker trucks and pollutes a river - or the day a lorry is involved
in an accident with dead or injured - then there is a great risk that DSV will
be held responsible. “
Director
Palle Egebjerg from the transport buyers' organization ETU (Business Transport
Committee) also points out that transport buyers can no longer afford to close
their eyes to how their transport suppliers behave:
I
usually say this to people who work with transport: Imagine that you use a
haulier named Hansen and your own company is called something with
"Chemistry". If there is a serious accident with a transport, then it
is not Hansen who appears on the front page of the newspaper - it is the
company that has something called "Chemistry". “
The
ethics problem can become urgent for DSV - precisely because of the special
business model, assesses one of the group's biggest critics, the Special
Workers' Union's business manager Leif Rasmussen. ”
The
article is attached as a file…
A
little foundation history:
With
the exception of Jens Flemming Jensen, the other shareholders were small
hauliers with one or a couple of trucks. Trucking companies with a single truck
were the most common in the 70s. Of the approximately 9,000 registered haulage
companies that existed during the period, over half had only one truck, and
just two out of ten businesses had more than three cars. The number of
companies with 20 or more trucks accounted for only one percent of the trucking
industry.
Haulier
Knud Nielsen from Kirke Hyllinge is listed as one of DSV's founders, but this
is not correct. He joined DSV at the request of haulier Erik B. Pedersen
several months after DSV was founded. He too was strongly warned by his
neighbor, now deceased truck driver Egon Larsen.
“It
will be your downfall. The house smokes at forced auction, and you are without
a roof over your head. One day when you come home, all your furniture is out on
the street, "he thundered to Knud Nielsen and his wife Betty. She was so
upset by the neighbor's doomsday prophecies that Leif Tullberg had to come to
Kirke Hyllinge to reassure her.
In
addition to the nine hauliers who subscribed for a share on the day of the
foundation, extra people were written on the shareholder list from the circle
around the hauliers and Leif Tullberg - so it seemed more. They were deleted as
soon as there were hauliers who bought a share. Leif Tullberg also acquired a
share, but had to return it shortly after. The reason was, according to Leif
Tullberg, that Børge Jakobsen's lawyer believed that it was in conflict with
the competition law that Tullberg owned and operated block wagon transport
after selling his block wagons to Børge Jakobsen earlier this summer. Other
sources claim that the return of the share was due to the fact that Leif
Tullberg still had a subpoena hanging over his head after the bankruptcy of
Tandem Transport and therefore was not allowed to own anything of value.
It
was a disappointment for Leif Tullberg and the first hauliers in the
collaboration that the connection to DSV was not greater at the Lindenborg
meeting. The reason for the modest connection must largely be attributed to
Leif Tullberg's reputation and reputation.
‘I
had a reputation for being a bit of a bandit,‘ and now he’s starting again ’. I
was fucking naughty and was not the hauliers' cup of tea, "says Leif
Tullberg's self-knowledge more than 35 years later. It had probably not gone
unnoticed by the hauliers either, that Leif Tullberg had had a controlling
supervisory role towards them as a fieldman for Hans Frederiksen, and that he
had an elaborate manner.
But
also the general skepticism towards new initiatives has contributed to the
caution. Likewise, the deposit amount of the 10,000 kroner has been a barrier.
It was a relatively large amount in 1976, and some of the hauliers who
subscribed for a share on the first night were financially distressed and had
to borrow the money, while others were allowed to repay the amount several
times.
The
disappointment was hard to hide at the meeting, but Leif Tullberg stood up
unchallenged, and with his 100 kg firmly planted in his clogs, and his face
framed by the wild black full beard, he stated: "No matter what, the train
is running now." The hauliers who had bought a share were happy with that
wording. The setting was fine, now they were on their way. DSV was a reality
and the business adventure could begin. The time as auxiliary hauliers was
over. They had become masters of their own house and now drove for themselves
and each other.
When
DSV A / S was a reality, the news quickly reached Borup Autotransport. The
company's general manager Kurt Larsen was in no doubt:
"We
should buy such a share," he told owner Lars Viggo Jensen. »DSV will be a
success. Nothing can keep up with the small self-propelled hauliers. They drive
until they are finished and repair the truck at the weekend. "
Kurt
Larsen was to be right and also later become an A-shareholder in DSV, but it
would take almost 15 years.
*******
All
hauliers could become shareholders in DSV, provided they were approved by DSV's
board of directors. But the driving cooperation was most interesting for the
small hauliers, because the political system that applied was ‘one haulier one
voice’. This meant that regardless of the size of the haulier's business, he
had only one vote at the general meeting. Also the driving principle was built
around one haulier, one truck. This means that all participating hauliers had
to be employed with one car before DSV could give tasks for car number two to
the individual haulier. One of those present at the founding meeting was a
large haulier from South Zealand. He asked in an accusing tone what all his
other trucks could then expect to drive with. Leif Tullberg made the haulier
aware in a cash and straightforward way that the collaboration was probably not
something for him.
Truck
driver Hardy Mortensen, who, like several of the other shareholders, only owned
a single truck, described the concept as almost entirely social democratic. DSV
was to be an advantage for the small hauliers without administrative resources,
and it had been easy for Hardy Mortensen and his brother Vagn to join the new
driving co-operation. The shareholders, who were all hauliers, were called A-shareholders
or A-hauliers. Auxiliary hauliers who had regular driving for DSV without being
shareholders were called B-hauliers, while those more loosely affiliated were
called C-hauliers.
The
financial settlement principle was apparently simple, but could still seem
opaque to the individual haulier. The rule was that the haulier should have the
price paid by the customer, minus five percent, which went directly into DSV’s
coffers for rent, administration, salaries, etc. The settlement principle was the
same, regardless of whether you were a shareholder in DSV or drove as an
auxiliary haulier when there was more driving than the shareholders themselves
could handle. But the tasks were more or less lucrative, and the customers paid
differently. If there was good earnings on a driving assignment, Leif Tullberg
took 10, 15 or up to 20 percent to the common coffers before the five percent
was taken from the amount. The haulier never knew what percentage of the
earnings had gone into DSV’s coffers before he himself received his payment.
Only Leif Tullberg knew how the current financial settlement had been screwed
together.
The
fear of losing control was the reason why Leif Tullberg introduced regular
meetings for the A-shareholders in DSV. Here, the hauliers could discuss
everything concerning the operation of DSV and set guidelines for future work.
Everything that nagged the hauliers could also be ventilated, and steam could
be shut off, so that the harmony was restored. Leif Tullberg was very aware of
this.
The
A-meetings, as they were called, were popular, and both the hauliers and
Tullberg looked forward to the meeting, although the director could have some
butterflies in his stomach: What have they come up with now? The meetings were
often held at Elverdamskroen near Roskilde with subsequent dining. On a daily
basis, the hauliers sat in their respective cabs and barely had time to eat
lunch. And Leif Tullberg was also very much alone in everyday life with all the
decisions. For the meetings, one could exchange experiences and talk together.
Discuss the customers, the tasks, the competitors and the guidelines for the
collaboration. And most importantly - you could enjoy the fruits of victory.
Despite inertia and resistance from the market, things went forward for DSV,
and it is always nice when you are on the winning team and on your way up the
table.
Quotes
from the book about DSV-Rasmussen & Aagaard Transport-GIGANTEN - the story
of DSV.
Some
reflections from co-founder Leif Tullberg.
The
resistance that DSV has been through is, in my opinion, based on the fact that
there is a general aversion in Denmark to everything new,
As
well as a desire to preserve the existing, as well as the large organizations
in the labor market, consider their own existence as the most important.
The
new ways of acting require new rules of the game, but there is not much desire
for that.
3F
is still opposed to everything new and is trying to impose online market
agreements there over 50 years old.
There
is a reason why the trade union movement has only organized approx. 53% of the
workforce ..
A
big thank you to everyone who has been along the way, and not least to those
who took over after me in 2005 ..
Congratulations"
Sorry
for my Google English but it was only for seven years in Danish primary school
..
Best
regards Leif Tullberg co-founder of DSV and CEO of DSV from 1976 to 2005.
Rendebækvej
2 Venslev 4050 Skibby.
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