Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 105
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WE ARE FAMILY
RULES AND SOCIAL
CONVENTIONS
WE HAVE ONLY ONE LIFE
A strong family identity gives our
people a sense of belonging and
that warm and fuzzy feeling! Our
people are proud to be members
of the global family of Oldendorff
Carriers. They have built a network
of commercially-driven champions,
who help each other and share
knowledge and resources.
Henning sometimes jokingly refers
to our company as a “permissive
society”: being liberal and allowing
greater leeway makes for happy
and relaxed teams. If people love
their job and tap-dance to work
every morning, it will be reflected
in the bottom line. There is no
dress code. Everyone is on a firstname basis. Life-long friendships,
relationships and marriages among
our people happen frequently.
We live only once and want to enjoy
what we do. Our boys and girls
want to have “quality time” not only
socially and at home, but also in
the office. We give our people a lot
of flexibility which includes taking
responsibility for their actions. We
have a hard-earned fine reputation
and we trust our colleagues not to
tarnish it.
In order to keep the “family spirit”
alive among our 4,500 employees
from over 60 countries, we maintain
a flat and nimble organisation.
The management structure is
tailored around the people and it
is management’s principal task to
remove barriers and to give them
equal opportunities.
Family ownership gives us an edge
versus many of our competitors,
who have a more anonymous
shareholding structure. We can
pursue long-term strategies as
opposed to short-term gains. We
can be “public when we need to,
private when we want to”.
Sure, our people should be honest,
loyal, hard-working and openminded. Everyone has to lead by
example. We gain loyalty by giving it.
But we love defying petty bourgeois
conventions and hate excessive
rules. Our people are decent and
compassionate human beings, but
too much political correctness
helps nobody and only plays into
the hands of populists. We welcome
mavericks, nerds and the socially
awkward, who are keen to deliver,
but don’t want to be judged by their
behaviour or outer appearance. We
are an equal opportunity employer.
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Playing the shipping game can also
be hugely entertaining and rewarding!
Life should be fun. We should not
care too much about what others
think of us, but simply try to do the
right thing. We work hard, and we
don’t ask for permission to play
hard! Admittedly, we sometimes
push the envelope by going wild!
Rumour has it that Jägermeister is
our corporate drink.
But the next generations also want
to enjoy their lives. We recognise
that clean oceans and clean air
are vital for our survival, both as a
company and as individuals. Since
2013, Oldendorff has invested
$3 billion in 90 new eco vessels built
in China, Korea and Japan, which
have fuel-efficient engines with
reduced greenhouse gas emissions,
exhaust gas cleaning systems and
a number of fuel-saving devices to
reduce consumption and emissions
of CO2, sulphur, black carbon and
other pollutants.
