Foundation and Development

1991

17 December 1991 – The company is founded under the name of Polzug Polen-Hamburg Transport GmbH in Hamburg as a joint venture between three companies: HHLA (40 %), Spedition Egon Wenk (20 %) and PKP (40 %).

1992

Regular container block train operation commences on 29 January 1992 between Hamburg and Warsaw, as of November also from Bremerhaven. In its first full year of operation, Polzug moves 4.800 TEU.

1993

First own terminal established in Pruszków near Warsaw.

1994

Second transport hub established in Poznań (Gadki).

1995

Terminal established at the junction between the European standard gauge and Russian broad gauge systems in Sławków (with link to Ukraine).

1996

Office opened in Kiev.

1997

Wrocław terminal taken over by POLZUG. Regular services to Lithuania and Ukraine. A representative office is established in Seoul (South Korea).

1998

Egon Wenk, one of the shareholders, retires on account of his age. The Deutsche Bahn Group comes aboard (today named DB Mobility Logistics AG). The shares are redistributed, each partner now holding one third. One of the Polish partners is taken over and integrated as POLZUG Polska Sp.z o.o. The Block Train Operating Software (BTOS) developed in-house is introduced.

1999

Offices opened in Poti (Georgia) and Baku (Azerbaijan) to manage activities in the Caucasus and Central Asia. POLZUG is the market leader for intermodal transport to and from Poland.

2000

POLZUG is awarded the “Eurofakty” prize in Poland, for innovative investment concepts and exemplary efforts to integrate the Polish transport market into the European Community.

2001

Aid shipments to the Russian exclave Kaliningrad. Office set up in Bremerhaven. POLZUG receives the “Intermodal Award” from the EIA for its innovative transport achievements. The transport volume exceeds 50.000 TEU for the first time.

2002

The subsidiary Silk Road Express LLC is established in Georgia. Aid shipments to Poti (Georgia) and Afghanistan carried out by intermodal transport (rail/ship/rail).

2003

Transport operations to Mongolia launched. Extensive modernisation of control software, chassis and transhipment equipment in the four company-operated Polish terminals.

2004

Major humanitarian aid shipments transported to Moldavia. Electronic order registration introduced for customers.

2005

New Rotterdam service to and from Poland. Company renamed POLZUG Intermodal GmbH. ISO 9001 and SQAS certification. Representative office set up in Detroit (USA). POLZUG Intermodal moves more than 75.000 TEU for the first time.

2006

Number of trains running increases by 50% against the previous year. The 100,000 TEU mark is passed for the first time.

2007

Representation in the United States expanded (site: New Jersey). Acquisition of 75% shares in SILK ROAD EXPRESS Georgia LLC. Within two years, the POLZUG transport volume has almost doubled to more than 143.000 TEU.

2008

The Wrocław container terminal is modernised. Representative offices opened in South America.

2009

The POLZUG subsidiary SILK ROAD EXPRESS Georgia runs the first container block train in the Caucasus. Walter Schulze-Freyberg, Managing Director of Polzug, has been awarded the "Golden Environment Rail" by the Federation of Managers of German Rail Companies.

2010

Subsidiary Company SILK ROAD EXPRESS changes its name to POLZUG Intermodal LLC.

2011

27. September – POLZUG and HHLA opened  the first hub terminal in Poznan