The customs broker immediately demonstrated its flexibility when border checks were introduced on the German/Polish border at the beginning of March; this led to enormous traffic jams stretching back several kilometres on the approach roads. “We transported our employees as far as the border using a taxi shuttle service in both countries and picked them up again on the other side, so that they could reach their place of work at all. After all, many of the workers live and work in different countries,” says Thomas Kaulbach, Managing Director of Spaarmann.
Spaarmann is a logistics specialist operating at the crossover point between Eastern and Western Europe and it handles customs declarations like import, export and transit clearance, applies for import licences at the Federal Office for Economics and Export Control and looks after the subsequent recovery of import dues, refunds and waivers on behalf of its customers.
Ever since the restrictions were imposed on commuter traffic, the employees have been working at the customs terminal in the country where they live. “This is going very well, because the team has existed for 25 years, is very experienced and members can speak more than one language. We’ve been making use of the “local hero success” method for a long time – that is to say, we give them the freedom to make decisions on the spot. This has proved beneficial, particularly in the current situation. I’m particularly proud of the huge sense of solidarity among the workers, who are demonstrating great team spirit,” Kaulbach adds.
The two terminals in Forst and Świecko handle about 400 vehicles every day. This takes between 20 minutes and two hours, depending on which customs procedure is required. As the German customs service, to which the goods have to be declared, is directly located at the Spaarmann site, customers also benefit from having everything at one place. “Even if the German customs service is no longer allowed to process goods in Poland, we’re also able to act on the German side and can take over the tasks here straightaway,” says André Tonn, the Customs Manager at Spaarmann.
Spaarmann operates branches in Dinslaken and Hamburg in addition to having its administrative headquarters in Forst and customs offices in Forst and Frankfurt (Oder).
Herzog-Adolf-Straße 3
+49 2602 95099-14
+49 2602 95099-17
