History

In the beginning, Roland was a classic rail freight forwarder. Soon after the founding, Roland entered the container business under founder and managing director Heinz Gutjahr, which became more and more important in the 1980s. This marked the beginning of the specialization in Combined Transport.

After the death of the company's founder, Heinz Gutjahr, his wife Renate Gutjahr took over the business, supported by co-managing director Johannes Blanka, who shaped the company as an authorized signatory.

The Gutjahr family took over all shares of Bremer Spedition, turning Roland Spedition into a fully independent family run business that loyally stands by all its partners. With Christian Gutjahr and Nikolaus Hirnschall, the young generation contributed to a new strategic orientation and led a massive expansion into IT.

Roland took over Confracht, the largest private competitor, and became number one in the Austrian container market as an owner-managed company.

The early 2000s heralded a change of generations: in 2005, the current managing directors Christian Gutjahr and Nikolaus Hirnschall took over the company.

The branch office in Salzburg was established in 2007 so that Roland could make its service even more efficient and closer to customers.

The two managing directors focused on their own routes and continued to capture the market. The high number of Roland’s connections opened a new opportunity for action - also for short-term customer requests.

At the beginning of the 2010s, Gutjahr and Hirnschall focused on increased quality as a distinguishing feature from the competition. With their strong team and advanced, digital systems, customer-oriented service has become the core of Roland’s brand.

30 years of Roland was celebrated with a special gift: the first Roland branded locomotive went into operation in September 2012.

Roland educates the most apprentices in relation to the number of employees in the transport and traffic division and was awarded the "Ausbildertrophy 2014" by the WKÖ NÖ.

Roland continued to expand with two new connections to the important seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, making it a leader in maritime hinterland traffic.

With an app for truck drivers, Roland pushed the topic of digitization in the container business further, and seamlessly informs customers about the transportation process on request - including on the "last mile".

The quality of digital systems is raised to a higher level through new interfaces: communication with authorities and port systems in particular is significantly improved, ensuring even more efficient processes.

The independent CN Logistics and Service Group GmbH takes over the trucking app and launches it on the market as a neutral app under the name TRUDI. Free of charge in its basic functionalities, TRUDI offers all market participants - terminals, freight forwarders, truck companies - an efficient, independent tool to digitize the "last mile" and make Combined Transport even more attractive through increased efficiency.

Regardless of any supply chain issues, Roland continues to perform constantly during the Corona crisis. Customer and service quality are essential even in times of crisis and our team proves this with its commitment to every container.

In addition to new connections to/from Wilhelmshaven, Roland puts another Roland locomotive on track as part of its 40th anniversary and 10-year cooperation with WLC. Furthermore, Roland has been presented with the award Logistics Brand 2022 from the Internationale Wochenzeitung Verkehr in the Combined Operator category.

Roland is expanding its portfolio and reviving the direct connection between the terminals Enns, Graz, Vienna and Wilhelmshaven.

The two managing directors decided to bring Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) on board as a strong partner. While HHLA acquires 51% of the shares, the remaining 49% remain with Christian Gutjahr and Nikolaus Hirnschall, who continue to manage the business.