Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 18
The Oldendorff family knows all
about ships. They know which
ones to invest in and have built a
business on this knowledge since
Egon Oldendorff bought his first
vessel, the 1893-built SS “Komet”
in 1921. So when Henning acquired
Concept Carriers in 1995 it was a big
gamble. He wasn’t buying a ship, he
was acquiring people. He wanted
to get closer to the customers and
extend his company into the world
of cargo – and, in order to gain the
expertise, he had to make a new
kind of investment.
What did he invest in? A bunch
of young, brash upstarts. Very
bright and ambitious, but a motley
crew – and nothing like the people
currently working in Oldendorff.
But Henning trusted them to put
his vision into action.
YOU, YOU AND YOU
The new arrivals could have come
from outer space. They were
completely different to the Egon
Oldendorff chartering managers.
Younger, noisier, less respectful.
They even talked differently.
Amongst the more traditional
directors the form of address
was “Sie”. Within Concept Carriers
everyone was on a first-name basis
(“Du”). Bertram Sartoris recalls the
arrival of Concept Carriers clearly:
“No one in shipping talked like that.
You always called colleagues “Herr”
or “Frau”. You just didn’t use first
names. These guys were different.”
This informality of speech was
accompanied by a disdain for
conventional rules of business.
And many Oldendorff people didn’t
like it at all. They preferred the
formal way. Where everything
was top-down. Where you were
rewarded for your obedience and
punctuality and for following the
rules the company laid out for you.
Where people called you “Sie”.
The Concept Carriers team did
things differently. No one wore suits
and ties. There was no formality,
little hierarchy and, importantly,
no secretaries. As Peter Twiss puts
it: “Everyone should do their own
crap.” They arrived for work at
any time in the day or night SHINC,
contrary to the then-standard
Oldendorff working hours from 8 to
5. They chatted. They occasionally
played office golf or watched TV. In
the evenings or at lunchtime, they
would go out drinking. But they
worked hard and they worked late
into the evening – sometimes even
sleeping under desks. They did what
they had to do to get the job done.
They had a hunger to succeed and
they wanted to do it their way.
Henning was from a traditional
German shipping background but
he knew he was enabling a different
kind of company. He was presiding
over the rebellion, so it was “Du”
for Henning too.
THE DIVIDE HEALS
They became known as his
“kindergarten”. Or “Henning’s
little zoo”. But they were clearly
part of the future and for younger
employees, such as Mark Pistorius
and Bertram, it was exciting. Mark
recalls: “We were a little jealous.
They were clearly Henning’s
favourites, but they were also
a breath of fresh air. It was all
changing and we wanted to be part
of it.” Henning had planted a seed
and his intention was for it to rub
off on the traditional shipowning
division as well.
As time went by, the new culture
displaced the old. After Egon
Oldendorff and Concept Carriers
were officially merged to become
Oldendorff Carriers in 2001, the
combined company initiated the
development of a team spirit and a
working culture unlike anything else
in the German shipping industry. It
retained the rebellious energy of
Concept Carriers. According to Dave
Cook in Vancouver, this is a unique
14
asset. “The Oldendorff formula is a
difficult one to copy. We’re unique
– not because of what we do, but
because of the culture. Many other
companies try to copy us but they
never quite get the culture because
there is a streak of irresponsibility
and a whole lot of freedom in there.”
The divide between original
Oldendorffers and the Concept
Carriers people had healed. People
no longer referred to one part of the
company or the other. It was just “us”.
The “Du” and “Sie” had become “Wir”.
