ROHLIG SUUS Logistics now offering logistics services to the defence industry
ROHLIG SUUS has been granted a government internal control system certificate, issued by the Polish Inspection and Certification Centre (PCBC). The certificate enables its holder to transport arms and military equipment from Poland to any location around the globe. ROHLIG SUUS has for many years cooperated with trusted partners, experienced in working with this type of cargo.
Countries all over the world have been increasing their defence budgets. A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute indicates that global defence saw constant increases for 13 years starting from 1998, fell slightly between 2011 and 2015, and rose again in 2016. Defence spending in Eastern Europe is a particularly interesting phenomenon, due to its recent increase by a combined 13%. Authors of the report chalk this up to the ongoing hostilities in the Ukraine, of keen interest not only to those countries that border the war-torn areas, but also to Poland and the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia).
Poland’s defence spending is also on the rise. According to this year’s forward estimate of the Polish budget, defence will receive over PLN37 billion, a PLN1 billion increase in comparison to last year. Aside from the increase in the defence budget, another important fact to note is the Polish military’s increased presence abroad, gathering experience during various military operations in regions such as Afghanistan, Iraq or Chad.
'Participation of Polish military contingents in foreign operations constitutes a huge logistical challenge for the Polish army, as not only personnel, but also armaments and specialised military equipment need to be transported to their destination, which requires global experience in this type of transport operations', said Marek Gawliński, chief of ROHLIG SUUS Logistics’ Warsaw Office.
In order to support the domestic defence and security industry, Polish authorities adopted the so-called offset act, requiring all foreign companies supplying military equipment to the Polish army to meet certain conditions intended to increase the potential of Poland’s defence industry. Furthermore, 2013 saw the creation of the Polish Arms Group, an association of over 60 companies from such industries as defence and new technologies, whose main aim is to integrate the Polish defence industry with the participation of the public and private sectors.
The logistics sector, however, also requires the government’s support; almost 80% of services in this area have been outsourced to private companies in many countries around the globe. This approach leads not only to lowering the costs of servicing deliveries, but also increases the position of domestic companies. We must remember, however, that the outsourcing of logistical services by the army is not yet fully developed and discussions concerning this topic are ongoing all around Europe.
'Outsourcing logistical services by the military is becoming more of a trend. We believe that the field has a lot of potential for development, which would benefit both the army and logistics operators. In our opinion, outsourcing these services to Polish-controlled companies does not constitute a threat to Poland’s defence capabilities, on the contrary, it would allow the military to take advantage of the latest logistical solutions and fully concentrate on its defensive tasks', added Marek Gawliński.
ROHLIG SUUS Logistics is one of the few companies in the Polish market to provide services of transporting hazardous goods, such as ordinance or military missiles, which require obtaining specialised permits and maintaining standards necessary when carrying this type of cargo.