INTERVIEW WITH NORBERT HEUBER FROM TEAM GLOBAL LOGISTIC

Norbert Heuber, Owner and Managing Director at Team Global Logistic

Born in 1967 as the youngest of three sons, he embarked on his professional path after completing commercial school in 1986. By 1987, he had already set foot in the freight forwarding industry, laying the foundation for a successful career. In 2001, Norbert’s dedication and hard work paid off when he became a shareholder of TGL. From 2006 until 2024, he held the reins as the sole 100% shareholder of the company, steering it towards growth and success. Outside of the office, Norbert finds joy in his family life, with two wonderful daughters and a supportive wife by his side. Despite his decades-long tenure in the industry, he still finds passion in going to the office every day, fueled by his love for the work and the connections he has built over the years. Thanks to his extensive experience, Norbert is not only well-connected with forwarders worldwide but also maintains strong relationships with local authorities from airports and customs, ensuring smooth operations and efficient logistics processes.

1. Can you share your personal story of working in the freight forwarding industry and how you see the future of the traditional freight forwarding business in the future?

I started working in the freight forwarding industry 37 years ago. My hometown is located near Vienna Airport, and our family has always been close to the airport. Starting from my grandfather, my father, and one of my older brothers, I worked a long time at the airport. During my summer break from school, I worked in the cargo area at the airport to earn some money. So, one could say that cargo is part of my DNA.

2. What strategies have helped your company survive and maintain a competitive edge in the industry?

The most important thing for a company is flexibility. This helped us through hard times, therefore, we often made our best figures during economic crises, like back in 2008 and later on. Flexibility is our daily business to solve problems quickly whenever they pop up during transport.

3. Please share a recent example of the best case that you are really proud of.

Most of our transports are just routine, but when you make things move somewhere in the world, which normally others do not succeed, this is what this business never gets boring. A nice example is when we moved a rare jukebox from an attic in the middle of the US nowhere to a big collector of jukeboxes in Austria. Four people went through a steep staircase with on-site crating, and we were able to do so without any damage, as none of the precious plastic and glass parts of the jukebox were damaged.

4. Digitalization and technological advancements are changing the industry. Can you share your attitude towards this trend and planned investments in technology to enhance your logistics operations?

Logistics has always been a part of technological advancements. I can still remember that in our first office, we still had a telex machine. After this, fax machines came, and somewhere in the early nineties, I wrote my first email. The same goes for mobile phones and computers. We always jumped on the newest inventions to speed up our communications and, of course, make our lives and work easier.

5. In terms of multimodal collaboration, where does your company see areas of improvement or potential challenges that need to be addressed?

Transport companies have always been part of globalization, with all its advantages and disadvantages. There is a huge potential in making transport more environmentally friendly. Freight forwardes have the same responsibility for the environment like shipping lines and airlines, so I believe we have to look more closely to reduce our negative effects of transportation to slow down climate change.

6. What are the key strategic partners that your company relies on, and has the start of cooperation significantly impacted the company?

Joining QCS has a great impact on our company. We are now part of a potential group, and together, we will develop a strong base in Austria to serve our present and future clients even better.

7. Team Global Logistic has recently shaken hands with QCS. Please tell us more about what motivated you to make this huge step.

I ran this TGL for more than 20 years on my own, but I was very familiar with the idea of QCS, a family that is also driven by its DNA in freight forwarding, meanwhile in the third generation.

8. What has been your experience with the WOF platform? Are personal networking events still important in order to build new partnerships nowadays?

I haven’t been that long with WOF to judge, but I have been with other networks, and it was always a good thing to meet people from all over the world personally. Talking together face to face and socializing with them are still some of the most important things nowadays. Because everybody likes doing business together with a good friend you have shared some good time.