DEUTSCHE POST TO MERGE DANZAS INTO DHL

DEUTSCHE POST TO MERGE DANZAS INTO DHL

   Deutsche Post World Net on Thursday said the operations of Danzas, its logistics subsidiary, will be brought under the DHL brand name, and its staff reduced, effective April 1.

   The business units Danzas Eurocargo, which covers European land transport, and Danzas Solutions, which covers supply chain management services, will be integrated into DHL and will be managed from Brussels. Danzas AEI Intercontinental, the air and ocean freight unit, will continue to operate from Basel under the name DHL Danzas Air & Ocean. Danzas will remain a legally separate company, Deutsche Post said.

   The announcement comes one week after the European Commission approved Deutsche Post's takeover of DHL. The company acquired 25-percent interest in DHL in 1998, has since expanded its shareholding to 75 percent, and has stated its intent to take its stake to 100 percent 'in due course.'

   Deutsche Post said the moves with Danzas and DHL are part of a broad-ranging group-wide program, called 'Star,' to integrate the group's express and logistics activities and to boost earnings 40 percent, to 3.1 billion euro (about $3.05 billion) by 2005.

   The merger of express and logistics operations activities aims to optimize transportation networks, expand customer service and reduce duplication in service functions, Deutsche Post said.

   The move will also mean staff reductions with the move to Brussels, although the company said it did not know how many job cuts would be involved.

   'The company has successfully met similar challenges in the past,' said Klaus Zumwinkel, chairman of the group's board of management, at a press conference in Frankfurt Thursday.

   'We want DHL to stand for a promise of uniform service quality for our customers worldwide,' Zumwinkel said. 'We intend to become the number one logistics provider in the world, with a single brand, a single administrative center and a single management team.'

   Renato Chiavi, chief executive officer of Danzas, said, 'the nearly complete disappearance of the Danzas brand name is very sad indeed — even though we know that the worldwide DHL brand provides a strong basis for continued growth in this hard-fought market.'

   However, Chiavi said Danzas customers will benefit from an expanded range of services provided through a single contact — DHL — for a range of express and logistics services.