INTERVIEW THOMAS NIESZNER
Getting three planeloads of Formula One cars and spare parts from A to B is one slick, high-precision operation
ALFRED THA HLA
After business cards and pleasantries are exchanged, we proceed to take our seats, but then suddenly Thomas Nieszner is squinting through his spectacles. He's definitely looking in my direction - and then holds the stare long enough to rattle my composure.
Is he looking at the Finepix S9000 camera in my hand? Or the sauce from the lunchtime hors d'oeuvre that dripped down the front of my made-in-Thailand Armani shirt? Or have I, perhaps, splashed on a tad too much cologne?
To my great relief, it transpires that he's only admiring my favourite tie, the canary-yellow one embroidered with the patriotic legend, "Long Live the King".
Nieszner is CEO for Europe and Central Eastern Europe of DHL Global Forwarding (formed after DHL Danzas Air & Ocean acquired UK logistics company Exel Global Freight Management back in late 2005). A long and important-sounding job title indeed. But that didn't faze me.
No, the single most important aspect of Nieszner's title - to yours truly, anyway - is that the man's in charge of overseeing logistics for Formula One races worldwide. Ah, the magic of Formula One!
DHL has been the official logistics provider for F1 since 2006 in addition to being involved in F1 management over the past four years in its role as part-sponsor of the Jordan racing team.
"We're the official logistics provider, which is appointed by F1 management and not the individual racing teams," he offers by way of clarification, before going on to explain that DHL is responsible for shipping the vehicles and equipment required by all 10 F1 teams, including a full inventory of spare parts and spare cars, between each of the 17 race venues around the globe.
"Under the supervision of F1 management, everything is packed into containers. The cars dismantled as major parts are put on special pallets and brought to an airport from where DHL air-freights it onwards.
"The next race is to be held in Japan and everything has to reach its destination there by Monday [Sept 29]. Things have to be done extremely fast because the next race is due to begin in 10 to 14 days."
The actual packing is done in-house, so to speak, carried out by members of the individual race teams, but getting the stuff to the next venue on time is strictly DHL territory.
"We have 20 to 25 dedicated people who constantly make sure that everything is being done properly."
And could Nieszner give us an idea of what the standard fee would be for the booking the three DHL 747s that are required to move all the gear needed for a single F1 race?
He sidestepped that one by explaining that the price varies, depending on the destination, and declined to comment on revenue figures.
So how different are F1 logistics now compared to the eras of such racing greats as Juan Manuel Fangio, say, or Jackie Stewart?
"It's much more sophisticated. Everything had to be prepared differently because back then the F1 team didn't shift everything at one time. It's changed a lot in the last 20 years. It's extremely precise and we're talking about a very big company."
For a smooth operation, Nieszner said, everything depends on skilled employees working with extreme precision to tight deadlines.
"We can't be late by a day. We must be on time, with the right people on hand who know the business. This isn't normal cargo, like gasoline or other merchandise. You have to have people who've been doing this for years and who have a thorough knowledge of what each team wants; when or how.
"It's not comparable to any normal logistics; there's zero tolerance [of mistakes and delays]. You have to be prepared ahead of time since it is very, very precious cargo."
I again try my luck, fishing for juicy facts by asking whether DHL charges F1 management a premium for its services compared to what it might bill me for, say, overnighting a suit.
"I don't know". Oh, well!
Does he see Formula One teams playing a bigger role in the future in terms of transporting their own cars and equipment from A to B?
"Well, it's a sophisticated set-up and it just wouldn't make sense if they [F1 teams] did it individually. We at DHL are such a well-placed team ourselves; we know what to do."
So, regardless of the ongoing Ferrari-McLaren rivalry or the significance of Singapore hosting the world's first night-time F1 event, DHL with its distinctively coloured advertising billboards looks likely to remain a fixture at F1 races for many years to come - even if that familiar acronym does gets altered at some point to DGF (for DHL Global Forwarding). Nieszner is squinting across the table at me again. This time he's peering at my trusty MP3, even though it's been perched in front of him since the start of the interview.
"Oh! I'm being recorded!"
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