Corporate News

Friedrichshafen/ Mainau Island, 08.05.2009 – Arriving right on schedule shortly before 10 am with an aircraft from Intersky Austrian airlines, Queen Silvia of Sweden landed at the Friedrichshafen Airport. The Queen had come specifically to take part in a ceremonial act on the island of Mainau to honor the creator of the Mainau land-
scape, the late Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg, on what would have been his 100th birthday. On the day before, Count Bernadotte’s son had already been wed in a ceremony in the baroque island church, which was attended by numerous celebrities.

When the machine landed in Friedrichshafen, a VOLK DFW 2 Diesel Platform Truck was already waiting to transport the royal baggage to the terminal building.
The vehicle has been in operation at the Friedrichshafen Airport since the previous summer and has been de-
signed to meet the specific requirements of regional airports.
 

The Swedish Queen Silvia at the Friedrichshafen Airport – in the back-
ground of the photo, a VOLK DFW 2 Diesel Platform Truck is waiting to receive the royal baggage.

The VOLK Diesel Platform Truck DFW 2 is designed especially for handling luggage at regional airports

ed by the Swedish royal family just a few years prior.

Under the Count’s direction, the island, which was over-
grown at the time, developed into an attraction for nature lovers from around the world over the following decades. Benefited by the mild Lake Constance climate, Count Bernadotte cultivated endless varieties of flowers. With more than 500 different varieties of roses, 250 types of dahlias and 200 kinds of azaleas, the little jewel in Lake Constance has quite justifiably been named “Flower Island”. A sea of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths formed a colorful backdrop during the Swedish royal visit as well.

As the old hotel industry saying goes, one can recognize the social status of a guest by looking at their baggage – and one can only assume that the staff in charge of handling baggage shares this realization. Unfortunately, we can’t say if Queen Silvia’s suitcases do justice to the expectations linked to such maxims, or anything about their content. And so, we must be satisfied to repeat 

Bad Waldsee, 30.04.2009 – For many years, Saar-
brücken competed with Erfurt for the doubtful honor of having the smallest international commercial airport in Germany. But last year, right on schedule for their 80th anniversary, Saarbrücken Airport experienced their big breakthrough: in addition to an increase in passenger volume of 48%, for the first time in company history they were able to break the magic limit of 500.000 passen-
gers.

Crucial for this upswing was particularly the commitment of the airline Air Berlin, which in 2007 included Saar Air-
port in their network and since then has flown to various national and international destinations from Saarbrück-
en. The second largest German airline after Lufthansa thus positioned itself to become a growth engine for the airport.

This example therefore clearly illustrates how strongly, in many cases, especially the German regional airports re-

More than 17.000 takeoffs and landings were tallied at Saarbrücken Airport in 2008 – The passenger volume also took a sharp upturn: the growth rate in comparison to the previous year was nearly 50 percent

VOLK Type DFW 2 diesel platform trucks are especially designed for operation at regional and medium-haul airports and are therefore optimally suited for service at Saarbrücken Airport

In order to come out on top in this location competition, Saarbrücken Airport invested an extensive amount for
the expansion and modernization of the infrastructure over the past years. A two-figure amount in the millions flowed into the new construction of a new state-of-the-
art terminal with ultra-modern architectural appeal, the modernization of the existing buildings and the expan-
sion of parking facilities.

But in addition to an attractive ambience, especially punctuality and short layovers are significant arguments in negotiations with airlines. Since these key figures are particularly determined by the reliability, flexibility and speed of ground handling, investments in the ground support equipment sector have also been made.

With the acquisition of a total of seven VOLK Diesel Plat-
form Trucks, Saarbrücken Airport put their money on state-of-the-art equipment “made in Germany”. The type DFW 2 vehicles have a payload of 2.000 kg and a spa-

VOLK DFW 2 vehicles are optimally suited for application at Saarbrücken Airport, since they have been designed especially for the requirements of regional and smaller medium-haul airports. VOLK is thereby one of the few suppliers having a dedicated product in their program for this market segment. “Most tractor manufacturers have thinned out their product range in recent years and focu-
sed them primarily on the needs of international hubs”, stated VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur. “Smaller regional airports thereby often fall through the grid”.

This is due to the fact that the operation requirements of smaller airports are significantly different from larger hubs. Firstly, only rarely are more than one or two bag-
gage trailers necessary for the handling of smaller types of aircraft. The spacious loading area of a platform truck is often sufficient to transport the baggage of the few passengers. Heavy tractors weighing three or four tons, which are the order of the day at larger airports, are therefore not required for regional air traffic.
 

Several million Euros were invested in the newly erected terminal building in recent years – The architecture, which is marked by its abundant use of glass and steel, is dominated by a striking roof construction remini-
scent of a bird hovering in flight over the hall

Burtenbach, 30.03.2009 – There are only a few sectors that have been hit by the current economic crisis as hard as the commercial vehicle industry. The number of newly registered commercial vehicles in Europe fell by appro-
ximately one third at the beginning of 2009.

In spite of this sales crisis, Kögel Fahrzeugwerke GmbH has continued proceeding with the expansion it began last year. The manufacturer of trailers and semi-trailers has invested more than four million Euros since last summer in the expansion and modernization of its main factory in Burtenbach (County of Günzburg).

The plant area was enlarged by almost 70.000 square meters to 315.000 square meters. At the same time, the dip painting plant was modernized and changed over to a new process, which makes solvent- and zinc phos-
phate-free nanocoating possible. Three VOLK Electric Tow Tractors were also a part of the investment program. The vehicles were designed in cooperation with the to

Kögel is the third-largest manufacturer of trailers and semi trailers in Ger-
many – With 1.350 employees, the company achieves an annual turn-
over of 450 million Euros

To guarantee consistent high quality, all trailers are put through an exten-
sive testing and inspection program – Up to 100 trailers go through the test hall each day

ing hall, the trailers pass through several stations. At the first station, stickers are affixed with warning and safety information.

Directly after this comes the roller test stand as station number two. To subject the operating and emergency brakes of the trailer to an electronic test program, the trailers are connected to a fixed compressed air unit. Before the trailers leave the testing hall for the outside parking area to await further transport, an extensive final inspection takes place as the last step.

During the trip from the production hall through the test stands to the parking area, the trailers are pulled by VOLK Electric Tow Tractors. The semi-trailers are placed on a two-axle bogie car with a fifth wheel coupling. This car has a conventional truck tongue with which it can be pulled like a normal trailer. The trailer coupling of the VOLK vehicles can be adjusted in height hydraulically and has a trapezoid-shaped threading aid. This can be lowered to the floor for taking up the tongue. In addition,

To make an optimal view of the trailer coupling possible during the coupling operation, the vehicles are designed as rear-seat tractors. While this type of construction is relatively common with diesel tow tractors, it is rather unusual for electric tow tractors. The reason is that with
a rear-seat design, the heavy, bulky traction battery can-
not be placed – as it normally would be – in the space between the from and rear axles. Positioning on the front axle would be the inevitable consequence, resulting in an unfavorable center of gravity and a limited view to-
wards the front. In the special vehicles for Kögel, the dri-
ver’s cab was therefore “cut in half“ so that the battery with a capacity of 80 V / 465 Ah could be positioned in the space between the axles next to the driver’s cab.

This was possible in this case because the requirement profile fit two important prerequisites: First, the vehicles are designed for one-man operation, so that a passen-
ger seat is not necessary. And second, the vehicles
must be constructed significantly wider than conventio-
nal electric tow tractors, since the use at the brake test

The trailers are pulled by VOLK Electric Tow Tractors – These vehicles were customized constructions, which were rigorously optimized for use at the test stands

Lemwerder, 27.02.2009 – The current economic crisis has already rendered many dogmas invalid. One of those principles now proven to be wrong is the belief that luxury goods are less vulnerable to economic downturns than other segments has now also been proven wrong.

The manufacturers of premium and sports cars have been hit particularly hard. Widely diversified luxury goods conglomerates, whose products often range from noble handbags to designer clothing to luxury watches, are also confronted with a significant drop in sales. And e-
ven the leading trade fair worldwide for yachting, the “Boot” in Düsseldorf, recorded a decrease in visitors this year. Only the market segment for so-called mega-
yachts, oceangoing yachts with a length of more than 200 feet (approx. 60 meters), has proved resistant to economic swings thus far.

The reason for this may be that luxury yachts are often regarded as the ultimate status symbol. Wealth and pre-

Abeking & Rasmussen – The shipyard enjoys an excellent reputation for its first-rate design and high technical quality and achieves approximate-
ly 120 million Euros of turnover with its 600 employees

VOLK IndustrialTrailer with Caterpillar 3516 ship engine – The 16-cylinder unit has a rating of almost 1.500 KW, weighs approximately eight tons and is painted completely white for optical reasons

For the past three years, the top rank has belonged to
the 524-foot-long (160 meters) “Dubai“, the state yacht of theemirate with the same name. Ranks two to four are also in the hands of ruling Arabian families. The foun-
ders of two American software companies are also among the Top Ten. In ranks 10 to 20 are mainly Rus-
sian oligarchs and the prominent Greek shipowner fa-
milies. Germany, however, is far behind in the national ranking.

As a consolation, most of the megayachts are at least produced by German shipyards. One of the most re-
nowned is Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder near Bremerhaven. The shipyard enjoys an excellent reputa-
tion in its circles for its high-class design and the out-
standing technical construction of the yachts manufac-
tured here.

The yachts are produced in five gigantic hangars directly on the banks of the Weser. The ships’ hulls are built

Just the priming, grinding and painting of the gigantic steel hull takes up to three quarters of a year. The re-
ward for this toil is an absolutely smooth, perfect hull surface. Like at a construction site, the multi-story hull is surrounded by a scaffolding during the entire production process. During the grinding and painting work, this is additionally enveloped in plastic foil and sealed so that paint vapors and fine dust can be suctioned away more easily. The giant plastic hood, illuminated inside, re-
minds you in this assembly phase of a creation of the wrapping artist Christo.

The interior construction of the ships is usually carried out in close agreement with the interior designer of the owner. Here precious woods, natural stones and and a great deal of leather are used. Golden faucets, on the other hand, are not often to be found. These classic signs of wealth have had to make way for a new practi-
cality in the form of increased use of chrome and stain-
less steel. Only for yacht owners from the Russian and

VOLK Diesel Platform Truck DFW 6 with load-through platform – In the background of the picture, the scaffolding enveloped in plastic foil can be seen, with which the building-high hull receives its last finishing touch

The 78-meter yacht Eminence at anchor in the Weser – The striking con-
trast between the elegant boot design and the sober architecture of the shipyard buildings already offers a hint: The place of birth of this mega-
yacht may be Lemwerder, but its real home is the most beautiful harbors of the world.

the trailers, the diesel platform truck iused more for “light“ loads of up to six tons. A load-through platform allows here for the transport of oversized components and long materials. To make the entry into the inside of the shipyard halls possible, the vehicle is equipped with a diesel particle filter. A road permit allows for the cross-
ing of a public road which divides the shipyard area.

Especially important for Abeking & Rasmussen’s pur-
chase decision was also the high drawbar pull of 20.000 N. An average of once or twice a year, the vehicle is used for an important task: Since the wheel bearings of the rail cars sometimes become stuck during the long con-
struction period, the vehicle, which can easily hold its own with a 30-ton diesel tow truck in terms of drawbar pull, must help pull the rail car free when a yacht con-
struction has been completed.

Despite the current economic crisis, Abeking & Ras-
mussen has numerous yacht projects in its order books and will work at capacity well beyond the year 2010. This confirms the initial observation that the economic crisis has not yet reached the market for super-luxury yachts.

Bad Waldsee 30.01.2009 – The fiscal year 2008 was the most successful year so far in VOLK’s company history. In comparison to the previous year, sales revenues were increased by 22 percent. The average annual growth in the past four fiscal years thus came to a breathtaking 28 percent.

All strategic business fields contributed once again to this positive development. The export share amounted to approximately 35 percent and thus came in just narrowly behind the record figure from 2006. In the industrial vehicle segment, VOLK was able to register a significant increase in demand, primarily in the high performance classes. In this market segment VOLK is the first and so far only manufacturer worldwide to forge ahead in com-
pletely new performance dimensions with the two newly developed electric tow tractors EFZ 60 N and EFZ 80 N.

In the airport vehicle segment, several new customers were gained, among them the baggage handling com-

In full activity even in dark times – VOLK moves into 2009 with double-
digit growth rates, top financial figures and a full order book

The technologicall heart of VOLK – In 2008 the design and development departments were combined in a new engineering office

largest single investments of the past year. With the in-
troduction of the fully integrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV Program, the technical platform for the future company development was also created.

In addition, VOLK consolidated its development and de-
sign activities in a new engineering office. With the new space, the conditions for innovations were further im-
proved. At the same time, the requirements for the per-
sonnel expansion of the engineering department were met.

Although many companies tend to neglect cost struc-
tures during times of rapid growth, VOLK has continued in the past years to work on optimizing processes and increasing efficiency. “We optimized the costs while we had the time to collect the best ideas for doing so,” says VOLK’s managing director Dr. Matthias Baur. 

“As a result, our cost structures are so flexible that even if we had a decrease in sales this year of 30 percent, we

inquiries, VOLK looks optimistically at the coming year. VOLK expects that it will continue to improve its compe-
titive position in the year 2009.

“This short breather will do us good after years of tre-
mendous growth,“ says Dr. Baur with certainty. “It allows us to gather strength and concentrate more on innova-
tions. The expansion of the technical infrastructure of our company will also continue in 2009.”

It now pays off that VOLK has always used its operative profitability to provide a financial cushion. The business equity of VOLK is now in the millions and the equity share rose in spite of the enormous growth rate to well over 30 percent. If one looks at the published financial statements of the main competitors, VOLK has by far the best equity base of the entire sector.

Experience shows that market shares are usually not reshuffled during good times, but during periods of economic hardship. In the coming months it will thus

In fiscal year 2008, VOLK achieved another sales record – There was especially large growth in the sales of heavy tow tractors capable of pulling loads in excess of 50.000 kg

Stuttgart, 30.12.2008 – The company Losch Airport Ser-
vices GmbH has opted for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors. The vehicles of type HFZ 30 NT were recently put into
use for baggage handling at Stuttgart Airport, the head-
quarters of Losch.

Losch has been in activity at Stuttgart Airport since 1990, first mainly in the area of non-regulated ground traffic services, for example airplane cleaning. In 2003 the company was granted a baggage handling license for Stuttgart Airport and has offered this service since then in competition with the local airport operator – the Stuttgart Airport GmbH – as a so-called third party handler.

The way for such third party handlers – and thus for more competition in the ground handling sector – was already paved in the mid-1990’s by the European Competition Commission with the so-called Ground Handling Direc-
tive (96/67/EC). This obligates the airport operators in
the member countries of the European Union to guaran-

At work day and night – The company Losch Airport Services has been in operation at Stuttgart Airport for almost 20 years, since 2003 in baggage handling

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractor HFZ 30 NT with a Ground Power Unit (GPU) in tow – The customers of Losch include among others Swiss International Airlines

suppliers Aviapartner and FCC.

As controversially as this decision for the small local player Losch was initially discussed, people saw with time that it was a stroke of luck for Stuttgart. With a motivated team and numerous innovative ideas, Losch demonstrated its ability to win customers such as the commercial airlines Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, Germanwings and Air Berlin and charter operators such as TUIfly and Condor.

Parallel to the successive expansion of its range of ser-
vices and customer portfolio, Losch Airport Services GmbH also enlarged its geographical footprint. Today the company is in operation at the Munich and Berlin airports as well as the regional airports in Weeze and Memmingen. At this time Losch employs approximately 275 workers, of which about half are located at Stuttgart Airport.

The decision for VOLK was preceded by a long test 

power reserves of the model HFZ 30 NT become appa-
rent. This is advantageous above all in the handling of charter planes with their large amount of baggage.

A further argument in favor of VOLK was the high quality of the vehicles. The model HFZ 30 NT is standard-
equipped with a zind-dipped frame and is well suited for rough airport use with its sturdy construction. After all, the vehicles at Losch Airport Services are in use approxi-
mately 2.500 operating hours per year. With such inten-
sive use, it is clear that maintenance aspects are of great importance. Here VOLK could not only present a central lubrication system, but also scored points with an especially long major maintenance interval of 1.000 operating hours and a maintenance-friendly rapid change diesel engine/generator module. Seats with air suspension and many further comforts were the icing on the cake for making the decision for VOLK vehicles appealing to the drivers as well.

With just over ten million passengers per year, Stuttgart Airport is currently the seventh-largest airport in Germany

Friedrichshafen, 20.11.2008 – The Bodensee Airport in Friedrichshafen is located just a few kilometers away from Lake Constance, in a beautiful region where the borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland come to-
gether.

The airport is the southernmost commercial airport in Germany and is at the same time one of the oldest: After the first of Count Zeppelin’s airships began lifting off in 1900 from a floating platform in Lake Constance for test flights, the first Zeppelin hangar was built at the present location in 1915, marking the beginning of the quickly developing airport.

The geographical location in the border region of Ger-
many, Austria and Switzerland is reflected in many ways at the Bodensee Airport: The local air traffic controllers are employees of the Austrian air traffic control company Austro Control and work with systems of the Swiss air traffic control company Skyguide. And Intersky Airlines, which proudly claims the Bodensee Airport as its home

The Bodensee Airport in Friedrichshafen is the southernmost commercial airport in Germany and is at the same time one of the oldest: As early as 1915, airships took off regularly from here to all parts of the world – Today approximately 670.000 passengers are served annually

VOLK Diesel Platform Trucks are optimally designed for the needs of regional airports and thus enjoy growing popularity

lines and one-third on charter flights. Of the latter, in-
coming traffic showed significant growth: The ski re-
gions in theupper Allgäu, in Vorarlberg and Tyrol are not far away and are thus popular destinations in the rapidly growing ski-charter business. The largest proportion of winter tourists come from Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Since the direct proximity to Lake Constance often brings thick fog during the winter season, it is especially ad-
vantageous that the airport has a modern instrument landing system. Heading for ski recreation is thus pos-
sible even with a visibility of less than 100 meters.

To transport the luggage, the Bodensee Airport uses VOLK Diesel Platform Trucks of the type DFW 2. These have a payload of 2.000 kg and a spacious loading area. With dimensions of 2.500 mm x 1.250 mm, the loading area offers plenty of space even for ski equipment and other bulky luggage. The slightly prism-shaped contour

Vehicles of the type DFW 2 are used primarily at regional airports: For servicing smaller airplanes, more than one or two luggage trailers are seldom needed. Often just the spacious loading area of the vehicle is sufficient. Heavy tractor trucks with a curb weight of three or four tons, as are often found at larger airports, are thus not necessary for regional air traffic.

n addition, the baggage handling areas at smaller air-
ports tend to be structured openly, so that vehicles driven by internal combustion engines can enter without any problems. Diesel vehicles can thus play up their specific strengths here:

In comparison to electric-powered vehicles, diesel ve-
hicles have a practically unlimited range and do not re-
quire time-consuming battery management, and in
com-parison to technologically sophisticated hybrid ve-
hicles, the significantly lower procurement costs are a big plus. Because of these advantages, VOLK Diesel

The Lufthansa subsidiary Cityline offers three daily connections between Friedrichshafen and Frankfurt am Main – The Bombardier CRJ 200 jet has over 50 seats and is considered a typical regional airplane

London, 15.10.2008 – Air France Services Ltd. (AFSL)
has recently opted again for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors. The company provides ground handling services at London/Heathrow Airport for a total of 14 airlines, in-
cluding Delta Airlines, Aeroflot, CSA Czech Airlines and the parent company Air France. Currently about 350 em-
ployees work for AFSL in London.

AFSL is still operating from Terminal 2, but in the course of the opening of the ultra-modern Terminal 5 and the associated consolidation of British Airways activities at this new location, AFSL is also affected by the complex relocation and reorganization processes which will give the airport a new face in the coming months. More than half of the approximately 90 airlines which offer flights to and from Heathrow will relocate their ground handling activities to a new terminal.

The goal of the British Airport Authority (BAA), the owner of the airport, is the consolidation of cooperating airlines through the assignment of the individual terminals to the

With almost 70 million passengers, London/Heathrow is the largest hub in Europe and the third-largest airport in the world – Currently it is undergoing a complex relocation and reorganization process, which will give the airport a completely new face

AFSL currently serves 14 airlines in London/Heathrow, among others the parent company Air France – In baggage handling, the company has relied on VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors since 2005

example American Airlines and Cathay Pacific – will be located in Terminal 3. AFSL’s move to Terminal 4 – the future location of Skyteam, which includes Alitalia and Northwest Airlines in addition to Air France-KLM – is also planned.

The transition period presents great challenges for the ground handling agents. Since not all airlines are mov-
ing at the same time, there are spatial divergencies between the handling agents and the locations of the airlines they serve. Delta Airlines for example, which is served by AFSL, is already located in Terminal 4, while Air France, CSA and Aeroflot are still in Terminal 2.

Since this sometimes results in long travelling distan-
ces, hybrid tow tractors offer big advantages in this cur-
rent phase: They have – in contrast to electric tow trac-
tors – a practically unlimited range outside and can – in contrast to diesel tow tractors – also be driven emis-
sion-free into the baggage areas inside the building.
 

The sturdy vehicle construction and the galvanizing of the complete vehicle frame are a real plus in the rough op-
erating conditions of a large international airport.

Above all AFSL values the modular set-up of the VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors. This patented concept makes it possible to use the vehicle on the apron even during maintenance work on the diesel engine is being per-
formed. The resulting decoupling of maintenance and operating times guarantees an especially high vehicle availability. This is absolutely essential at an airport like London/ Heathrow, which has been running for years at 98 to 99 percent capacity and where the adherence to assigned slots thus has highest priority.

AFSL is still stationed in Terminal 2 – The building dating from 1955 will soon be torn down, however, to make space for a new, larger terminal building

Brussels/Amsterdam, 30.09.2008 – The Belgian ground handling company Aviapartner has again opted for the purchase of VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors, thus continuing its successful cooperation with VOLK. The vehicles were recently delivered to Amsterdam/Schiphol.

Aviapartner has been operating at Amsterdam/Schiphol Airport since 1999, which was immediately after the European Competition Commission’s liberalization policy cleared the way for independent ground handling agents. In the following years, the Amsterdam/Schiphol station developed rapidly. In Aviapartner’s European network of 37 airports, Amsterdam/Schiphol is the fourth largest base. In the year 2007, Aviapartner serviced more than 20.000 flights and 3.6 million passengers with its 470 employees.

Among the airlines which rely on the services of Avia-
partner in Amsterdam are low cost carriers such as bmi baby and Vueling, as well as traditional network airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and

Aviapartner has been in operation at Amsterdam/Schiphol Airport (IATA code AMS) for ten years, for Lufthansa among others – This year the Aviapartner branch there was distinguished for its high service quality in ground handling

The VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors type HFZ 30 NT are second generation hybrid vehicles – VOLK is the European market leader in this product segment

The HFZ 30 NT tow tractors are designed as serial hy-
brid vehicles. These are second generation hybrid tow tractors, which display numerous advantages when compared with the hydrostatically driven tow tractors used in the past – significantly lower acquisition costs, lower maintenance and operating costs and lower downtimes, to name just the most important benefits.

From a technical perspective, the most apparent differ-
ence is that the vehicle is always driven by a powerful
AC electric motor, so that no hydrostatic drive compo-
nents are necessary. During diesel operation outside, the current for the electric drive motor is produced by a generator driven by the diesel engine of the vehicle. The excess power of the generator is used to recharge the traction batteries, so that longer distances can also be covered with battery electricity without use of the diesel engine.

This technology, which is currently creating a sensation in the automobile industry, was used by VOLK for the

The decision for the high-quality, innovative VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors thus stands in accord with Aviapartner’s strategic positioning as a quality provider of ground handling services.

Since central quality indicators in ground handling such as first bag/last bag performance – the time duration between the arrival of an airplane and the appearance of the first or last piece of baggage on the conveyor – de-
pend on the performance and reliability of the ground support equipment, such positioning must necessarily comprise also the technical basis of service provision. The fact that Aviapartner is very successful here is proven by the Passenger Ground Handling Award, with which the company was distinguished this year for its service quality at Amsterdam/Schiphol Airport. 

Aviapartner operates at 37 airports and is the largest independent third-
party handler in Europe – In the year 2007, the company grew by a stunning 35 percent

Cologne, 25.08.2008 – More than ten million passen-
gers passed through Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer Airport last year. Just over two thirds of these travelled on low-cost airlines, whereas the other third flew with tra-
ditional airlines and holiday charter flights. Cologne/
Bonn Airport thus has a special position between the purely low-cost airports, such as Frankfurt-Hahn or London/Stansted on the one hand and the traditional airports such as Frankfurt/Main or London/Heathrow on the other.

This strategic positioning is remarkable, in that it ap-
pears to run contrary to conventional convictions and traditional explanatory models in management theory. It was in 1980 that the American management theorist
and Harvard professor Michael E. Porter published his book “Competitive Strategy”, which has long since es-
tablished itself as a standard work. In this book, he
came to the conclusion that companies had to clearly position themselves under the conditions of growing competitive pressure. Either they pursue a differentiation

With more than ten million passengers, Cologne/Bonn Airport is the sixth largest airport in Germany – Much more impressive, of course, are the annual growth rates, which make Cologne/Bonn Airport Germany’s fastest growing airport

Cologne/Bonn Airport focuses equally on low-cost carriers and business with traditional network airlines – With this hybrid competitive strategy, it occupies a special position between exclusively low-cost airports and traditional commercial airports

However, the latter hardly applies to the Cologne/Bonn Airport. In the last five years alone, the volume of pas-
sengers at the airport has almost doubled. The Co-
logne/Bonn Airport was therefore the fastest growing airport in Germany. “Cheap flight at a by no means
cheap airport – what appears to be absurd does seem
to be worthwhile“, concludes the German Manager Magazine. And the respected German weekly news-
paper DIE ZEIT described Michael Garvens, the Mana-
ging Director of Cologne/Bonn Airport as follows: “He pulled off the paradox: cheap flights from an expensive airport”.

If one attempts to resolve this paradox, two insights are relevant. Firstly it is clear that traditional airports can indeed exploit their natural location monopoly in the immediate vicinity of major cities in order to follow a
dual-track policy, because not everyone who flies to Majorca for 19.90 Euro is also prepared to undertake a journey of several hours half way across the country to get to the airport. And the already very densely populated catchment area of the Cologne/Bonn Airport has be-

indicators (KPIs) take priority for low-cost carriers espe-
cially in the area of ground handling as for traditional airlines. This is because most budget airlines demand clear quality standards for ground handling services and are quite prepared to pay appropriate prices for them. As different as the business models, customer segments and cost structures of traditional airlines and low-cost carriers may be, they make similar demands of their handling agent.

In order to understand this counter-intuitive observation,
it is necessary to examine the business model of the
low-cost carriers more closely. Their cost advantages
are only partly explained by the savings which are for clearly visible to everyone, which result for example from dispensing with on-board meals or from direct sales via the internet. Far more important, however, are fixed cost degression effects, which result from the fact that the high fixed costs inevitably associated with the operation of a passenger aeroplane are distributed over a much higher number of passengers. Moving seats closer to-
gether enables more passengers per flight to be trans-

With the opening of its own mainline Intercity Express railroad station, the catchment area of the Cologne/Bonn Airport has increased significantly – Especially for customers from the densely populated Rhine/Main area, journey times to the airport are now shorter than to the competitor Frankfurt/Hahn in the Hunsrück region

The futuristic-looking glass facade of Terminal 2 – Although the building designed by star architect Helmut Jahn was planned for six million pas-
sengers, less than eight years after it was opened an extension must be considered

As the business model of the low-cost airlines therefore depends to a great extent on the turn-around time be-
tween landing and take-off, ground handling is abso-
lutely critical for success.

“If everything does not run smoothly here and there are delays, the whole business model becomes shake”, says VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur. If one contrasts this with the fact that ground handling only makes up approximately 5 to 7 per cent of the total op-
erating costs of an airline, it quickly becomes clear that excessive savings targets would be extremely counter-
productive here. This applies all the more as low-cost carriers nowadays increasingly fly to so-called warm water destinations, as flights to holiday regions such as the Balearic island of Majorca, for example, usually carry heavy suitcases, which leads to a considerable increase in luggage volume.

It is therefore obvious that high reliability, flexibility and speed of the handling agent are at least just as impor-
tant for low cost carriers as for the established airlines,

the same handling agent, the “ground crew” of Cologne/ Bonn Airport.

However, this does not mean that both customer groups are tarred with the same brush. Instead, Cologne/Bonn Airport offers each group services which are specifically tailored to individual requirements customer-specific, which is reflected not least in the technical equipment.

A good example of this are baggage tow tractors. To transport the suitcases from the airplanes to the bag-
gage handling area and back, Cologne/Bonn relies a-
bove all on so-called hybrid tractors, i.e. tow tractors which can be operated with both an electric motor and a diesel engine – a technology which is currently causing
a sensation in the automobile industry.

With the purchase of patented hybrid tractors from VOLK, which have won numerous innovation awards, Flughafen Cologne/Bonn GmbH demonstrates that it trusts in state-of-the-art equipment “made in Germany”. Whereas the low-cost airlines are usually supplied with the very cost-

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors of the N range are used in particular for handling low-cost airlines – The excellent cost/benefit ratio of these vehicles enables attractive handling fees to be achieved

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors of the NT range are used in particular for handling traditional network airlines – The high power reserves of these tractors are especially advantageous when large volumes of baggage have to be transported, for example on the long distance Continental flight to New York

The vehicles of the N series are designed in a very cost- conscious way and therefore stand out against the competition thanks to a unique cost/benefit ratio. This enables Cologne/Bonn Airport to offer low-cost airlines attractive handling fees despite first-class vehicle avail-
ability and a correspondingly high level of service quality. In view of the usually relatively low volume of baggage from low-cost carriers, the maximum towing load of 8.6 tons (according to German BGV C 10 reulations) is more than sufficient.

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors of the NT series, on the other hand, are designed for maximum performance and therefore always the product of choice when it comes to handling for traditional network airlines. The maximum towing capacity of 11.5 tons (according to German BGV
C 10 reulations) is especially important in view of the usually greater baggage volume of scheduled flights, such as the long-haul flight of Continental Airlines to New York. With an AC asynchronous electric motor with 20 KW and a powerful Deutz diesel engine with 42 KW,
it has sufficient power reserves even with large towing 

Charleston, South Carolina, 24.07.2008 – It is one of the peculiarities of international trade that it is sometimes expedient to manufacture products almost to completion in their country of origin and subsequently dismantle them into subassemblies for export. These are then reassembled at their final destination. This “Completely Knocked Down (CKD)” procedure, as it is known in technical terminology, is primarily used in order to by-
pass tariff and trade barriers.

The import duty on vans in the U.S., for example, is no less than 25 %. The Sprinter models sold by Daimler AG in the U.S. are therefore nearly completely assembled at the German locations in Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde and then dismantled into component groups before shipping. The component groups are then exported in containers to the southern U.S. port of Charleston. In the town of Ladson, just a few miles away, Daimler opened a new assembly plant last year where the component groups are reassembled and outfitted with the em-

The Sprinter assembly plant operated by Daimler AG in Ladson, S.C. has a production area of approximately 43.000 square meters and is designed for an annual production capacity of 32.000 units.

VOLK Electric Tow Tractor EFZ 6 K and five VOLK Industrial Trailers
5.000 prior to shipment to the United States

of 5.40 x 2.45 meters, the industrial trailers supplied by VOLK are large enough to accommodate an entire Sprinter body shell. To achieve a small turning radius
in spite of their large dimensions, the trailers are equipped with an all-wheel steering knuckle drive.

For towing, the VOLK Electric Tow Tractor EFZ 6 K is used. This features a powerful AC drive and has a tow-
ing capacity of up to 6.000 kg. To guarantee uninter-
rupted use during multi-shift operation, the vehicle is operated with exchange batteries, each with a capacity
of 24 V/625 Ah.

Dresden 30.06.2008 – One loves to eat Wiener schnitzel, the other prefers loup de mer – but what is actually the situation with zoo animals? Do they also have their individual preferences and favorite dishes?

The so-called food preparation officer is responsible for compiling the menu in the zoo. He knows exactly what the individual animals need, what agrees with them and what delicacies they especially like. Even diet plans are taken into account, as the animals in the zoo enclosures usually move around a lot less than in the wild.

This is no easy task as at Dresden Zoo around 3.000 animals of nearly 400 different species have to be fed every day as appropriate for their species. Around 110 tons of hay, 23 tons of carrots, 20 tons of straw, 15 tons of beef and 3 tons of bananas are stored, prepared and fed to the animals every year in the food preparation center of Dresden Zoo. However, the menu for the ani-

As Germany’s fourth oldest zoo, founded in 1861, Dresden Zoo extends over an area of more than 13 hectares

Meals on wheels with a difference – the food preparation center of Dresden Zoo supplies its animal charges with a VOLK Electric Platform Truck EFW 2

To ensure that all animals get enough to eat, the VOLK EFW 2 Electric Transporter has a payload of 2.000 kg.
A hydraulic liftgate enables heavy loads to be easily loaded and unloaded – if necessary even halves of cow carcasses. The noiseless electric motor is especially
important in the zoo, which offers large numbers of people rest and relaxation. A battery with a capacity of
80 V/575 Ah ensures sufficient range on the more than 13 hectares of the zoo grounds.

Around 650.000 visitors to Dresden Zoo every year can see for themselves at one of the public feeding times that the food preparation officer and the zoo-keepers know the tastes of their animal charges very well. But actually it’s enough to observe the satisfied animals in their enclosures for a while to know that they are in the best hands here.

Bremerhaven, 30.05.2008 – The fact that Germany de-
fended its position as world export champion for the fifth time in a row last year is thanks in particular to the Ger-
man automobile industry, whose business is still boom-
ing despite the strong Euro. In 2007 approximately four million vehicles were exported, more than 1.1 million of which overseas.

Hardly any of the proud buyers of a new car in the United States, Japan or Australia who have decided on a car made in Germany realize that their brand-new vehicle has a journey of several thousand kilometers behind it before the ignition key is turned for the first time.

Nowadays the automobiles are usually transported to their port of destination all over the world on special cargo ships, so-called car carriers. To be able to trans-
port as many vehicles as possible, the decks in the hold of these ships are scarcely higher than the automobiles they transport. The valuable cargo can therefore be stow-

The “Asian Captain” – With a length of 200 meters, a width of 32 meters and a capacity of 6.000 cars, this Panamanian-registered ship is one of the largest automobile transporters in the world

VOLK Diesel Tow Tractor DFZ 20 N “Carcarrier” – With a vehicle height of less than 1.60 meters, it is excellently suited for use on automobile transporters

around 200 meters and a width of 30 meters.

Since every single car is brought on or taken off board under its own power, the loading and unloading of automobile transporters is an extremely costly matter in terms of time and manpower. It occurs every now and then that a car fails to start, usually because the battery has discharged during the long sea voyage. In these cases, everything has to happen fast, for due to the extremely tight space below deck, one disabled car can impede the unloading of all behind it.

So that no time must be lost, disabled cars are usually towed off board. Many car carriers have on board VOLK Diesel Tow Tractors designed especially for this pur-
pose, which accompany the ship year in and year out to the seaports and auto terminals of the world. There is probably no other area of use in which VOLK vehicles travel such great distances during their lifetime, as over the years they can cover several million nautical miles.
 

cm. Due to the particularly low positioning of the centrally situated driver’s seat, headroom is maintained to a great extent.

To ensure that spare parts can be obtained in every port of the world when necessary, the availability of spare parts is already taken into careful consideration in the design phase. Here VOLK’s over 20 years of experience in this specialized area of application pay off.

The standard multi-layer coating and the optional zinc-
dipping of the vehicle chassis and the driver’s cabin ensure that VOLK Diesel Tow Tractors are optimally protected against corrosion. Nowhere is this more important than on the high seas, where the vehicles are permanently exposed to the salty and damp ocean air.

In 2008, Germany will probably lose the title of world ex-
port champion to China for the first time. In this respect, the continuing shift in the international balance of power is also reflected in the foreign trade statistics. Unnoticed

Two harbor tugboats pull the automobile transporter "Don Quijote" from its waiting position on the Weser to the Bremerhaven International Seaport – the 1998-built ship can carry almost 6.000 cars

A regular guest in Bremerhaven – with a capacity of approximately 1.000 cars, the “Autorunner” is among the smaller of the car carriers

VOLK is not affected by this anyway, because imported cars are also often unloaded by a VOLK tractor after their long voyage, most of them in Bremerhaven, the German “automobile port”.

Kuala Lumpur, 28.04.2008 – With about 25 million pas-
sengers per year, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the largest airport in Malaysia. The airport,
which opened in 1998 just in time for the Common-
wealth Games in Malaysia, is one of the most modern airports in the world and an important hub for southeast Asian air traffic. The airport lies 44 kilometers south of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and can be reached by a highway or a high-speed train connection.

On the railway line between the airport and the main station in Kuala Lumpur (KL Sentral), twelve passenger trains run continuously between 5:00 in the morning and 12:00 midnight – eight direct express trains (also called KLIA Express) and four commuter trains (also referred to as KLIA Transit).

The top-quality furnished KLIA Express trains are equip-
ped with air condition, comfortable contoured seats, a washroom, overhead racks for light baggage and tiered

KLIA Express train – in the background are the Petronas Towers, which were the highest building in the world from 1996 to 2003 with 452 meters in height. 

 on its return trip. The second VOLK Diesel Platform Truck is equipped with a waste water disposal unit mounted on the vehicle’s loading area. This unit consists of a suction and pumping machine with a large storage tank. The sys-
tem is conceptionally designed for one-man operation and is used to empty the waste water tanks of the trains hy-
gienically.
 

Schwerte, 17.03.2008 – Steel profiles play an important role as structural elements and components in virtually all areas of the steel processing industry. The use of profiles offers among other advantages significant material savings and a reduction of machining rework costs.

In practice, standard profiles are usually used which are mass-produced and thus relatively inexpensive. How-
ever, many construction or manufacturing problems can only be solved with special profiles. In these cases, the geometric shape of the profile is determined by the cus-
tomer in accordance with his specific requirements and needs.

The customized manufacture of such special profiles is the core business of Hoesch Schwerter Profile GmbH. Approximately 720 employees at the Schwerte location produce profiles for the automobile, rail, material hand-
ling and construction industries, creating an anual turn-

Hoesch Schwerter Profile GmbH specializes in the manufacture of
special profiles – 720 employees create a turnover of almost 200 million Euros

In the roller depot at Hoesch Schwerter Profile GmbH, hundreds of roller sets are stored – The surface contour of the rollers determines the geo-
metric shape of the profile strand

after leaving the furnace, a steel billet is hydraulically pushed through a forming die using a ram with an extrusion force of 2.200 tons to form a profile strand.

While hot extrusion is primarily suited for highly complex profile shapes and small lot sizes, the forming technique of hot rolling is used in most other cases. Here red-hot iron billets, so-called slabs, are passed through two oppositely rotating rollers to form profile strands.

The rollers, which are arranged over each other in a rolling stand, have a diameter of up to 70 cm and a length of up to 2.8 meters. They are made of solid steel and weigh several tons. On the surface the rollers have
a circumferential rib profile, whose contours in conjunc-
tion with the distance between the rollers in the rolling stand determine the geometric shape of the end product. In this way, an almost unlimited assortment of possible profile shapes can be produced with simple or compli-
cated cross sections.
 

For the transport of the rollers, which weigh several tons, a VOLK Diesel Platform Truck of the type DFW 25 is
used. The loading area features dimensions of 4.200 mm x 2.500 mm and is equipped with a special trans-
port rack to hold the rollers. The sturdily constructed vehicle has two high-quality Kessler axles to provide for sufficient reserves when transporting heavy loads of up to 25.000 kg.

A powerful Deutz diesel engine with a cubic capacity of more than four liters ensures that the vehicle can reach
a speed of 15 km/h even under maximum load. Sur-
mounting a nine percent incline at the factory site is also no problem for the roller transporter. The required trac-
tion is provided by the vehicle’s heavy empty weight of
8.000 kg and two pairs of rear tires in the giant format
10.00 – 20.

In spite of its large dimensions, the vehicle has an ama-
zingly small turning radius of only 7.120 mm. Shunting in tight spaces is made easier with hydraulic power steer-

For transporting the rollers from the roller warehouse to the rolling mill, a VOLK Diesel Platform Truck DFW 25 is used – The vehicle features a load capacity of 25.000 kg

Herrengosserstedt, 18.02.2008 – One of the most ambi-
tious plans within the framework of the German Reunifi-
cation Traffic Projects established by the German Gov-
ernment in 1991 is the expansion of the high-speed rail connection between Munich and Berlin. After completion of the high-speed railway in 2017, the travel time be-
tween the two cities should be reduced to less than four hours.

One of the main points of the construction work currently lies in the erection of the rail route between Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle. Several large viaducts and three tunnels are located on this 123-kilometer-long route which has been designed for maximum speeds of up to 300 kilo-
meters per hour. With a total length of 6.970 meters the Finne Tunnel will be the longest tunnel on this section
of the rail route. It crosses through the Finne mountain range between Herrengosserstedt (Thuringia) and Bad Bibra (Saxony-Anhalt).
 

The construction work at the west portal of the Finne tunnel is already in full progress – starting in May, two gigantic tunnel boring machines will begin digging their way from here through the Finne mountain range

Each of the two tunnel sections will consist of a total of 3,400 such tub-
bing rings – The seven reinforced concrete elements of a tubbing ring are put together fully automatically by the tunnel boring machines 

takes place on special troughed belt conveyors integrat-
ed in the tunnel boring machines.

Just a few meters behind the constantly rotating cutting shield with its carbide teeth, the machine inserts the pre-
fabricated concrete elements of the „tunnel shell“ fully automatically. The tunnel shell is thus completed in a single work step. Each of these prefabricated concrete elements, known in technical terms as tubbing, is about five meters long, two meters wide, 45 centimeters thick and weighs about eleven tons. Together, six tubbings and a smaller end piece form a tubbing ring with an in-
ner diameter of 9.60 meters and a width of two meters. The rings are screwed together and are fitted with rubber seals to prevent water from penetrating.

Upon their completion, both tunnel sections will be com-
prised of about 3.400 tubbing rings each. This is equiva-
lent to more than 488.000 tons of concrete. In light of these colossal dimensions, it is readily apparent that a long-range transport would be associated with enor-

28 days after production in order to harden completely. This also guarantees that the tubbing production will always be able to keep pace with the speed of the two tunnel driving machines during the entire construction phase.

The production process of the tubbings is divided into several steps, beginning with the manufacture of the steel reinforcements and moving on to the installation of the reinforcement cages in the casings, the filling of the casings with fresh concrete, the removal of the casings, the pressing in of the seals along the outer contours of the tubbings, and finally the end inspection and subse-
quent transport of the finished concrete elements to a large storage area outside.

For the transport of the approximately 12-ton concrete charging buckets from the outside concrete mixing plant to one of the 56 casing molds inside the factory, two VOLK Electric Tow Tractors of the type EFZ 20 K with a maximum towing capacity of 20.000 kg and four indus-

VOLK Electric Tow Tractor EFZ 20 K with a tubbing casing in tow – The steel molds are precision tools which were manufactured especially for
the construction of the Finne tunnel

mantled and rebuilt at another site to produce prefabricated concrete elements for the next tunnel construction pro-
ject. The VOLK tow tractors and trailers will be part of the team again, ready to take on the next 100 million kg of trans-
ported loads.
 

Bad Waldsee, 21.01.2008 – VOLK draws a positive ba-
lance for the business year 2007. With around 230 de-
livered vehicles, the company has surpassed its previ-
ous sales record from 2006 by eleven per cent.

“2007 was the third year in a row for VOLK in which we were able to achieve double-figure growth rates” com-
mented the Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur on the gratifying results. He sees the company’s market posi-
tion significantly strengthened through this.

In spite of a large price increase in the procurement markets – especially for raw materials such as steel, copper and lead, as well as the vehicle components manufactured of these, such as vehicle frames, electric motors and traction batteries – the financial results were also above expectations.

All strategic business fields contributed to this positive

In 2007 more vehicles were delivered than ever before in the company's history

Full speed ahead – we have a lot of plans for the business year 2008

Republic and Slovakia, as well as in Romania, Austria and Switzerland.

„We are absolutely convinced that the boom in industrial and airport vehicles will continue in 2008 and that we will continue to grow faster than the market“, said Dr. Baur. He bases this prognosis among other things on the current volume of orders, which is more than twice as high than the comparable figure from the last year. In spite of a significant expansion of capacity – a total of nine new employees were hired in 2007 – production continues to operate at its limit. 

Llanelli, 28.12.2007 – Corus Packaging Plus in Llanelli, South Wales, has announced the purchase of VOLK Electric Tow Tractors of the type EFZ 30 N. The subsi-
diary of the Corus Steel Group manufactures tin-plate for beverage and food cans. Around 900 employees pro-
duce about 500.000 tons of tin-plate annually, which is exported to more than 50 countries.

Corus originated in 1999 as the result of the merger of the Dutch company Koninklijke Hoogovens with British Steel. It was taken over this year by the Indian Tata Steel Company, which has now risen to become the fifth largest steel company in the world. The Packaging Materials division has four locations in Europe, one of which is the plant in Llanelli.

The basic material, hot-rolled sheet steel, is produced
for the most part in the nearby Corus steel works in Port Talbot and then delivered by train. In Llanelli it is first

VOLK Electric Tow Tractor EFZ 30 N – The solid bumper on the vehicle front is a necessity for the tough conditions in the steel works

of many mines and steel works. One of the few companies which was able to resist this general trend was Corus Packaging Plus. Thanks to its deliberate specialization in higher-order value-adding steps, such as metal plating and refining, the company today enjoys great international success.
 

Zalău, 02.11.2007 – In hardly any other sales region was VOLK able to achieve higher growth rates in the last few years than in Eastern Europe. Whether in Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic or in Hungary – VOLK vehicles are used everywhere today. At the latest since becoming a member of the EU at the beginning of this year, Romania has also become much more im-
portant.

For example, several EFW 5 VOLK Electric Platform Trucks were recently delivered to Zalău in Romania.
The customer Tenaris-Silcotub is a global player, but nevertheless to a large extent unknown to many

In addition to Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes, Tenaris is the world’s leading producer of steel tubes. For so-
called seamless tubes, the company is even the un-
challenged world leader with a market share of 19 per cent. The products produced by Tenaris are used, for

The Romanian tube manufacturer S.C. Silcotub S.A. belongs to the global player Tenaris Group since 2004

One of a total of three EFW 5 VOLK Electric Platform Trucks which VOLK delivered to Zalău this year – the morbid charm of flaking plaster must not obscure the fact that more than one hundred million euros have been iinvested in the Zalău location since 2004.

petroleum and natural gas pipelines.

Tenaris thus benefits to a great extent from the high energy prices of the last few years and the investments
of the large petroleum corporations which this has triggered. It is therefore no wonder that the share price of the company has multiplied in the last few years.

With more than 20.000 employees, Tenaris achieves a worldwide annual turnover of 9 billion US dollars. Important production facilities are located in Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Japan and Italy.

In Romania, Tenaris has been producing since 2004, when the company took over the Romanian tube manu-
facturer S.C. Silcotub S.A. At its location in Zalău, where the VOLK Electric Platform Trucks are also used, more than one hundred million euros have been invested. Meanwhile around 220.000 tons of tubes per year are produced there. The crude steel for this comes from the Romanian steelworks Calarasi, which also belongs to the Tenaris Group. The tubes produced in Zalău are

The VOLK Electric Platform Trucks are used at Tenaris above all to transport machine parts, tools and oxygen bottles. The high payload of up to 5.000 kg was particu-
larly important to the decision-makers at Tenaris. The sturdy construction of the vehicles also convinced the operators.

The whole town of Zalău is characterized by bustling activity. The up-and-coming town clearly shows that its citizens are participating in the economic success of the biggest local employer. With 63.000 inhabitants, the town situated on the north-west slopes of the Mezes moun-
tains, foothills of the Carpathians, is one of the larger towns in the region of Transsylvania.

This region became internationally famous above all through the novel “Dracula” of the English author Bram Stoker, published in 1897 and since filmed several

Since the beginning of 2007, Romania has been a member of the Euro-
pean Union – the spirit of optimism can be felt everywhere in the country

Munich, 12.10.2007 – From October 9-12, 2007, the Interairport Europe took place at Munich Airport. Over the course of its more than thirty-year history, this trade fair has developed into the leading international fair for air-
port equipment and complementary services. Nowhere else in the world is the entire industry represented to this extent.

Of course VOLK also made its presence known here. VOLK Managing Directors Lutz and Dr. Matthias Baur and five company employees were at an over 130 square meter large stand in the outside exhibition area to introduce the company's newest baggage and cargo tow tractors. Approximately 500 visitors made use of the opportunity to inform themselves at the stand about our products.

In addition to greeting many existing customers from air-
ports such as Amsterdam/Schiphol, London/Heathrow

VOLK stand at the Interairport 2007 – On over 130 square meters, we presented five exhibits

Our friendly and attentive service personnel – Zeynep and Anett made
sure our guests were well taken care of

hybrid tow tractors from the product lines N and NT, VOLK demonstrated its technological competence in this product segment.

“In view of the growing emphasis being placed on alternative power types for the airport service industry in the face of the current climate debate, this focus has proved to be absolutely right“, commented Dr. Matthias Baur with satisfaction.

Hybrid tow tractors are equipped with both a diesel engine and an electric motor. They can thus be operated in the electrical mode as necessary without producing any pollutant emissions.

This is also advantageous from an operational perspec-
tive. After all, a transfer to alternatives should not only be ecologically viable, but also economically beneficial. In baggage handling, for example, electrical operation allows the vehicle to drive into the baggage sorting areas 

pensive and space consuming electric recharging infra-
structure is not needed.

The visitors to our stand were especially impressed by the patented modular concept of our hybrid tow tractors. Thanks to their modular set-up VOLK Hybrid Tow Trac-
tors can be used on the ramp even during the workshop performs maintenance jobs on their diesel engine. Therefore, maintenance-related downtimes are almost as low as in conventional electric tow tractors.

The big question at this year's Interairport – as at every Interairport – was the weather. Thick fog usually brought an unpleasant chill to the morning hours. As soon as the fog lifted, however, the trade fair visitors and exhibitors were able to enjoy beautiful October weather, which made time spent in the outside area a real delight.

Interairport 2007 – As soon as the daily morning fog lifted, visitors were able to enjoy the beautiful autumn weather

Düsseldorf, 21.09.2007 – Düsseldorf Airport Ground Handling GmbH is banking on VOLK Diesel Tow Tractors for its cargo handling. During the past few weeks, the last of the first order of five DFZ 30 NT Diesel Tow Tractors were delivered to Düsseldorf.

The decisive factor in the selection of VOLK was above all the positive experience with VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors in the baggage handling sector. Since 2006, six VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors have been in use, to be followed this year by six more.

For VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur, Düssel-
dorf Airport offers an example of a typical pattern: “While we are continually increasing our customer base in the airport and ground handling industry, we also see that the new customers remain loyal to us in their subse-
quent procurement activities.” According to Dr. Baur, 

Düsseldorf Airport is the third largest airport in Germany

In order to brake heavy towed loads safely at any time, the VOLK Diesel Tow Tractor DFZ 30 NT is equipped with an especially powerful braking system. Four disk brakes with up to two brake calipers per wheel (front axle) and an ad-
ditional hydrostatic brake ensure first-class deceleration values. Thanks to its high service weight of 4.200 kg, it re-
mains on track even during full brake applications.
 

Brussels/Amsterdam, 30.08.2007 – Aviapartner, the Belgian provider of airport handling services, relies on VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors. Mid-August the last of initially three HFZ 30 NT Hybrid Tow Tractors were delivered to Aviapartner’s Amsterdam/Schiphol base where they will be deployed for baggage and cargo handling.

Aviapartner currently operates at 38 airports in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Aviapartner works for some 400 airlines, including industry heavy-
weights like British Airways, Air France and KLM. Almost 5.000 staff provide ramp handling for over 220.000 aircraft, serve 28 million passengers and handle a million tons of cargo a year. This makes Aviapartner one of Europe’s leading providers of ground handling services.

As a so-called third-party handler, the company estab-

Aviapartner is one of Europe’s leading ground handling companies

thus capable of mastering large distances on the apron as well as emission-free operation in the baggage sorting areas inside buildings. During diesel operation the powerful generator of the vehicle provides so much current that external battery charging is not necessary in the conditions typically encountered in airport use. As a result, downtime due to battery charging and battery changing operations can be ruled out entirely. This is of great importance parti-
cularly at airports, because the continuous multi-shift operation usually leaves no time for battery charging and, what is more, space for charging stations or replacement batteries is usually very scarce.
 

Helgoland, 30.07.2007 – Tranquility, peace, nature and the vastness of the sea – all these are attributes that characterize the North Sea health resort island of Helgo-
land. Another special feature is that automobile traffic has been practically banned from the island – only electric vehicles are permitted. Under these circum-
stances, it’s no wonder to find VOLK electric trucks on the island too!

Right in the middle of the North Sea, approx. 70 kilo-
meters away from the mainland, lies Germany’s only open sea island, Helgoland. Barely 1.500 inhabitants live on the main island of about one square kilometer. The majority earn their livelihood from tourism. The island is visited yearly by up to 500.000 day visitors and approx.
45.000 overnight guests.

Judging from these numbers, the supply and waste managements of the island quite obviously pose a logistical challenge of unusual proportions. There are

VOLK Electric Platform Truck among the sandy dunes of Helgoland – The abbreviation “AG” on the vehicle license plate stands for the “special approval” given to the vehicle

VOLK Electric Platform Truck from the 90’s – This vehicle belongs to Helgoland’s municipal authorities

supplies via electric platform trucks. As a result, it’s no surprise that the soft hum of the electric vehicles is almost omnipresent on the island. Only the emergency medical services, the fire department and, since the beginning of the year, the police use motorized vehicles with combustion engines.

This also explains why Helgoland has the cleanest air in all of Germany. Even at the summit of the Zugspitze, more dust particles fly through the air than here. The clear ocean air, enriched with airborne minerals, especially offers relief to people suffering from allergies, asthma and chronic breathing discomforts.

What is good for vacationers and local inhabitants, however, is considerably harmful for the vehicles on the island. The lightly salted sea air exerts an extremely corrosive effect upon metal. For this reason, the vehicles VOLK has brought to the island are especially protected against corrosion. For example, the vehicle chassis and

steel sheets of the cab are thinner than the massive parts of the chassis, there is danger of warping during the dipping process, where temperatures of the zinc bath rise to several hundred degrees. This can only be prevented by sophisticated constructive measures. “Here our technicians tinkered around for quite some time until we found the optimal solution”, says Dr. Baur

The fact that Helgoland is “car-free” does not imply that there are no traffic controls, however. It is only a few months ago when the news made the headlines that the local police had made a spot check on the island’s electric trolley drivers. "Some of the drivers were quite amazed when they were stopped by the police” explains Wolfgang Boe, spokesman of the harbor police Husum, which is also responsible for the island of Helgoland.

Another VOLK Electric Platform Truck from 1991 – Before coming to the island of Helgoland, the truck had been operated by the parks and garden department of VOLK’s hometown Bad Waldsee for more than 15 years

Geneva, 29.06.2007 – It is a superlative project. On Europe’s largest building site, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator is currently being constructed near Geneva. In order to transport components with a weight of up to 30 metric tons to their destination over many kilometers in the narrow underground tunnel system, compact tow trucks from VOLK are used.

The aim is nothing less than to take a look at the beginnings of the universe. At the CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, the largest technical research system ever to be devised by humans is currently being built: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a gigantic underground particle accelerator which stretches from Lake Geneva to the French Jura mountain range on a ring-shaped path.

The LHC is due to be put into operation at the end of this

VOLK Electric Tractor EFZ 30 NK

One of the dipole magnets in the underground tunnel system of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

of only 2.50 meters, a width of only 1.25 meters and a turning radius of only 2.83 meters, they are ideally suited to use in the narrow corridors of the LHC.

So that they do not get puffed out eventually in the kilo-
meters of tunnels, the vehicles have a traction battery with an impressive capacity of 80 V / 560 Ah. “Our em-
ployees sometimes jokingly refer to this vehicle as a traction battery with a front axle”, says VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur, not without also smiling himself.

While this sounds funny, the battery capacity has been a decisive criterion for the persons in charge at CERN. Most compact tow tractors on the market have a rather small battery capacity. And in the narrow corridors of the LHC, it would be quite difficult to recover a stranded vehicle with a flat battery.

Bad Waldsee, 14.05.2007 – A hybrid drive combines the advantages of an electric mo-
tor with those of a internal combustion en-
gine. With the recent increase in the impor-
tance of hybrid technology in cars, it is easily forgotten that this technology has already been used in the industrial truck sector for a long time. One of the suppliers who were involved right from the beginning is VOLK.

Whereas hybrid concepts are currently being acclaimed in the automobile sector as future technology par excellence, the public is largely unaware that these diesel-electric

Current production VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractor built in 1987

This is typically the case on airports, where baggage tractors have to travel over great distances on the apron and also enter baggage handling areas inside the terminal buildings.

However, there are also many requirements in the manufacturing industry where simple electric tow tractors prove to be inadequate due to their limited battery capacity while it is not possible to replace them by diesel or LPG tow tractors due to emissions.
 

Zurich, 23.04.2007 – Zurich, the city of money. Who doesn’t first think of the noble Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, where high class luxury boutiques, expensive jewelers and watchmakers, fashionable hotels and the finest addresses of European banking stand in a row?

A lot less obvious, and therefore much less present in the public consciousness, are the goods of enormous value which are handled day by day a few kilometers outside the city center at Zurich-Kloten airport.

“It is interesting that worldwide only about 2 % of all goods are transported by air freight, but these make up 30 % of the total value of goods”, says the Managing Director of VOLK, Dr. Matthias Baur, summing up an undoubtedly surprising fact for many. “Products which are of particularly high value are usually transported

Armored VOLK Electric Tow Tractor

monitored on the extensive airport grounds via GPS.

A video rear-view system facilitates shunting of the ve-
hicle and allows drivers to see the area behind the ve-
hicle.

With its powerful 20 KW AC asynchronous motor, the vehicle can tow loads of up to 30.000 kg. However, the most valuable freight is transported in the armored box body of the vehicle. Of course what exactly is being transported remains a well kept secret. But what is certain is that some of the goods transported will even-
tually find their way to the shop windows of the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich.

Hamburg, 15.03.2007 – A new special-purpose vehicle has been produced by VOLK for use in the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) of the Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG (HHLA). Specially tailored to the needs of HHLA, the diesel platform truck is deployed in the con-
tainer terminal for the inspection of overseas containers.

The vehicles are used in the terminal-integrated freight station for checking the containers arriving by rail before they are picked up by one of the three station cranes, buffered in one of 26 storage blocks with a total capacity of up to 16.000 containers and finally reloaded fully automatically onto the ships docked at the quayside via one of a total of 14 two-trolley container bridges.

The container inspection begins with the recording of the container data via a hand terminal. The containers are also inspected for their external condition. To facilitate

Bad Waldsee, 08.01.2007 – In the past fiscal year 2006 VOLK set another turnover record.

After achieving sales growth in the double-digit range in the preceding year, the company increased its sales yet again by more than 20 % in 2006. VOLK capitalized on the cyclical upturn during the past two years better than any of its competitors thus reinforcing its competitive position lastingly and increasing its market share.

This leap in turnover was due not only to a persistently strong demand from the industrial sector but also to
continued growth in the airport sector. Thus the share of sales to airlines and ground handling companies ex-
ceeded 40 % for the first time in 2006. Major new cus-
tomers acquired in this business area included the air-
line Air Canada as well as Düsseldorf and Cologne/
Bonn airports.
 

Ravensburg, 17.10.2006 – VOLK’s longstanding house bank, Kreissparkasse Ravensburg, analyzed the finan-
cial power and strategic position of VOLK and gave it an outstanding rating once again.


The bank rated VOLK with 3 points on a scale of 1 (“very good”) to 18 (“very poor”). This rating corresponds to BBB+ on the classic Standard & Poor’s scale and is an absolutely top rating for medium-sized, unlisted com-
panies. Therefore, it is not surprising that VOLK has an outstanding position also in its immediate competitive environment.

This excellent rating reflects particularly the following factors:
 

VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur, Sparkasse Corporate Accounts Manager Alois Frei and Sparkasse Vice President Andreas Middelberg handing over the rating report

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to major customer ratio with an well above-average percentage of purchases from repeat customers.

A convincing product mix characterized by a full range of tow tractors and platform trucks of all performance categories and drive types as well as a vastly above-average turnover proportion of innovative products.
 
A balance sheet structure characterized by outstanding liquidity ratios and an equity ratio which has continually increased to close to 40 % despite of considerable capital expenditures within the last few years.

The outstanding quality of the management characterized by excellent education and training of managerial employees and timely clarification of the succession issue.
 

Düsseldorf, 06.09.2006 – VOLK has closed a contract
for the delivery of six hybrid tow tractors with Flughafen Düsseldorf Ground Handling GmbH (FDGHG). Only two months after Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH, a further German hub airport has opted for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors.

For VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur this is tantamount to a breach in a dyke. “Although we sold more than twice as many diesel-electrically driven hybrid tow tractors at airports than our main competitor in the past four years“, Dr. Baur noted, “we suffered for a long time from the fact that we were still lacking major refer-
ences in our German home market”.

This has changed radically. “After the number three and the number six among German airports opted for VOLK

other German hybrid tow tractor manufacturers after intensive comparative tests.

The six HFZ 30 NT type hybrid tow tractors will be delivered to Düsseldorf Airort in December this year so that they can be fully deployed during the traffic-intensive holiday season.

Cologne, 25.07.2006 – VOLK signed a contract for the delivery of six hybrid tow tractors with Cologne/Bonn Air-
port. Following Amsterdam/Schiphol and London/Hea-
throw airports, a further international airport has opted for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors.

Less than four years after its market launch, VOLK has with this order sold over 100 hybrid tow tractors and established itself as one of the two leading suppliers in this product segment.

Therefore VOLK Managing Director Dr. Matthias Baur points out particularly the strategic dimension of this business transaction: “Viewed objectively, six vehicles are naturally not a large order“, he explains, “but the decision of another major airport in favor of VOLK is nevertheless an indication of almost seismographic

The six hybrid tow tractors will be delivered to Cologne/ Bonn Airport by the end of October 2006. They are ur-
gently awaited there, particularly since it is expected that this year Cologne/Bonn Airport will handle more than 10 million passengers, thus consolidating its position as the sixth largest airport in Germany.

Bad Waldsee, 31.03.2006 – As of the last update on March 31, 2006, the VOLK website has more than 2.000 individual pages. Thus it is one of the largest Internet presences in the entire industrial truck industry.

The entire VOLK production range is presented in detail on 1.000 pages in German and 1.000 pages in English respectively. The performance characteristics and di-
mensions of about 50 different vehicle types, from a 0.3 ton platform truck to a 60 ton tow tractor, are shown in a clear manner and supplemented by various optional equipment overviews. A convincing impression of the vehicles and the available accessory options is provided by countless photos.

This wide range of information is an expression of our service philosophy. Because often it is not possible to present the entire range including special vehicles or

Bad Waldsee, 02.01.2006 – In the past fiscal year 2005 VOLK set a new turnover record.
 

A product offensive unparalleled in the history of the company was responsible for this increase in turnover. Thus a large number of new and innovative products were launched over the past months. Among other things, they include the very powerful hybrid tow tractor HFZ 40, the extremely compact model EFZ 20 K, which is currently the smallest serially available 20 ton electric tow tractor, and the EFZ 3.5 K – EFZ 12 K series electric tow tractors which are especially safe thanks to their 4-wheel design.
 

Munich, 15.10.2005 – From October 11 to 14, 2005, airport, airline and handling company experts met again at the Interairport Europe in Munich.

We also used this opportunity to present our extensive product range. VOLK’s newest airport tow tractors with hybrid, diesel or electric drive were exhibited on over 120 square meters.

In brilliant fall weather, we welcomed more than 300 visitors from all over the world to our booth in the outdoor exhibition area. In addition to many existing customers from airports such as Amsterdam/Schiphol, London/
Heathrow, Innsbruck or Salzburg, a large number of new prospective customers used the opportunity to obtain comprehensive advice.

Interairport 2005

VOLK booth on the Interairport 2005

Thus the decision to exhibit our products in Munich to boost our airport business and not to participate at the industrial logistics fair CeMAT in Hannover for the first time this year proved to be right.

The visitors to our booth were especially impressed by our extensive product range. One of the highlights at the VOLK booth were certainly the newly developed Hybrid Tow Tractors HFZ 20 NT and HFZ 30 NT which were presented to the public for the first time in Munich.

With a drawbar pull of up to 20.000 N, the two vehicles of VOLK’s new product line NT enable very high speeds on the apron and also guarantee outstanding performance on ramps. In addition they can be used for towed loads of up to 30.000 kg.

Stuttgart, 8.11.2004 – For the third time within one year, VOLK’s innovation performance was honored with an innovation award. After the company had previously re-
ceived the renowned Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle Innovation Award of the State of Baden-Württemberg and the WIR Innova-
tion Award of the administrative district of Ravensburg, VOLK was also presented with the VR Innovation Award of the Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken, one of the leading German banking groups.

The award was presented by the State Secretary Prof.
Dr. Wolfgang Reinhart and GENO President Erwin Kuhn at a business symposium held by the VR banking group. About 1.000 entrepreneurs attended this event in Stutt-
gart.

VOLK was given the award endowed with 10.000 euros for the newly developed hybrid tow tractor HFZ 20 N.
This tow tractor, which is primarily used as a baggage tow tractor on airports, features innovative drive techno-
logy and a patented modular design. Since the award 

VOLK Managing Director Lutz Baur at the award ceremony in Stuttgart – Next to him on the right State Secretary Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Reinhart from Baden-Württemberg’s Department of Trade and Industry and GENO President Erwin Kuhn

Ravensburg, 17.05.2004 – The Society for the Promotion of Economic Development and Innovation in the admini-
strative district of Ravensburg (WIR) conferred its Inno-
vation Award endowed with a total of 10.000 euros on VOLK.

This award is given for the development or implemen-
tation of new products, services, processes and also organizational forms and was put up for the second time in 2004. To qualify for entry, the submitted innovations must have already been successfully implemented.

The applications of 36 medium-sized companies with up to 250 employees were tested, assessed and evaluated by an expert jury with the collaboration of the Government Commissary for Technology Transfer of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Prof. Dr. Johann Löhn.

As one of the four main award winners, VOLK was given prize money amounting to 2.500 euros. As in the Dr.-
Rudolf-Eberle Innovation Award competition, the VOLK

The Society for the Promotion of Economic Development and Innovation in the administrative district of Ravensburg (WIR) is endowed with a total of 10.000 euros – VOLK was given this special distinction for its innova-
tive hybrid tow tractors

Stuttgart, 17.11.2003 – The Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Walter Döring, presented an award to VOLK in the Dr.-Rudolf-
Eberle Innovation Award competition of the State of Baden-Württemberg.

Since 1985, the award endowed with a total of 50.000 euros has been given to small and medium-sized com-
panies from industrial and trade sectors for exemplary achievements in the development of new products and services. Outstanding innovation performance of medi-
um-sized companies gains public recognition with this special distinction. The award is named after its initia
tor, the former State Secretary of Commerce Dr. Rudolf Eberle.

VOLK received the award for the newly developed Hybrid Tow Tractor HFZ 20 N. This vehicle type is primarily used as baggage tractor at airports. The commended vehicle features a modern hybrid drive which enables it 

Dr. Walter Döring, the Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Prime
Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg, presents the certificate to VOLK Managing Director Lutz Baur

Since 1985, the Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle Award, endowed with 50.000 euros,
has been given to honor outstanding innovation performance of medium-sized companies – The award is named after its initiator, the former
State Secretary of Commerce Dr. Rudolf Eberle

innumerable times a day and cover great distances in the process.

A special technical highlight of the commended hybrid tow tractor is its modular design: unlike conventional hybrid vehicles, these tow tractors have a diesel engine that is not permanently installed in the vehicle but is part of a modular unit. This unit can be replaced in just five minutes and can also be operated autonomously. Therefore all conventional maintenance and repair jobs can be performed on the diesel engine even without the vehicle. This is advantageous because the diesel en-
gine is the vehicle component which requires the most maintenance despite a comparably long service interval of 500 operating hours. Thus the modular design helps to reduce maintenance-related downtimes by up to 90 percent.

Vehicle operating companies can benefit from higher vehicle availability and substantial cost savings. What’s more, they can profit from a higher future proofness of their investments: for the modular design of VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors makes them future-oriented and highly flexible tow vehicles.

Thus it is not surprising that VOLK’s sales increased considerably immediately after the introduction of the innovative product on the market. This too – the com-
mercial success – was, in addition to the inventive in-
genuity of the product and the special entrepreneurial efforts made to develop it, a key criterion for the bestowal of the award.

innovation@work^®