Marcello Danieli and his company Harder Logistics thrive on companies moving, expanding or setting up new branches. His work can probably be an indicator of economic activity in the country. If business is booming, that can mean two things: Either the economy in Germany is flourishing because companies are under great pressure to expand. Or the exact opposite: the economy in Germany is weakening. Companies are then more likely to invest abroad or even leave the country. The second case is particularly evident right now.
Harder Logistics has once again recorded a new profit record in 2023. At the Neu-Ulm location alone, the company achieved annual sales of more than ten million euros. But managing director Marcello Danieli is not satisfied. The economic success of the past few years is a bad omen for Germany’s development. “We saw our own branch,” he says. And then he lists a whole series of companies for which his company has organized the move abroad. Such as the canned fish producer Hawesta, which was taken over by a Thai company.
The company boss complains about this
Danieli is convinced that Germany has long since lost its attractiveness for many companies. The reasons for this are well known: “Skilled labor shortages, energy costs, bureaucracy and tax burden,” he lists. And the fact that he sounds a little like an association official is perhaps not a coincidence. Danieli is also the board spokesman for the Club der Industrie, an association of regional companies in the Ulm and Neu-Ulm area. It is important to him to be “politically neutral”. He expressly distances himself from politically extreme opinions.
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But it is also clear to him that politicians must improve the framework conditions for companies. Around 90 percent of his clients still come from Germany. These also include public sector contracts such as the Sana Clinic, which has already moved within Biberach in 2022, or the relocation of the Ulm Museum. “But we expect that we will no longer generate our income in Germany in the next three to five years,” says Danieli. In the future, up to 50 percent of sales will come from foreign clients. “We are probably forced to do that,” explains Danieli. Otherwise the company would hardly be able to grow in the future.
Which countries are exciting for the company
And preparations for “internationalization” are already underway. Current projects already involve, for example, relocations from Hungary to Malaysia, from Sweden to Turkey or from Japan to Italy. The company is primarily focusing on the “high-growth G20 countries,” according to a press release. These include Turkey, Mexico, the USA but also Australia and Saudi Arabia. “Germany at the bottom with negative growth of 0.1 percent” in 2023 could “no longer be a growth engine” for the company’s business.
The Harder Logistics fleet at the Neu-Ulm location includes around 30 vehicles. (Photo: Harder Logistics Private)
In addition to existing branches such as in Bulgaria, the company wants to set up additional locations. According to Danieli, an office in Mexico City is planned, which will be built within the next few years.
Company successor is in the starting blocks
Even though the focus of the business is abroad, Danieli also makes it clear that he does not want to disturb the location in Neu-Ulm. This is also clearly demonstrated by the extension building that is currently being built in the Riffelbank industrial area in Neu-Ulm. The second construction phase will begin in the summer and will cost around ten million euros alone.
We saw our own branch.
Marcello Danieli
And the company succession is apparently secured: Harder Logistics has already announced that junior Johannes Danieli is in the starting blocks. The 30-year-old already works as a project manager in the company. And his 61-year-old father Marcello Danieli believes that internationalization is the only way to make the company fit for the future.