History

On the path to growth since 1979

Ideally equipped for the future

A lot has happened since our early days in 1979. But one thing has remained constant in all this time: We put our heart and soul into this company.

Founding and start of business operations

- Establishment of the logistics company STERAC in Hamburg
- We were just 2 members of staff to begin with
- The focus was on 3 transport regions: Great Britain, Ireland and Switzerlan

1979

The vehicle fleet grew

- Our fleet now had 20 trailers

1985

There was plenty to transport

- The portfolio was expanded to include Spain
- The fleet grew to 24 trailers as well as the first 13.4m curtain side trailer

1990

Pioneering new routes into the outermost south west

- By including Portugal into the transport regions we now covered the outermost south west point in Europe

1991

A proper growth spurt both inside and out

- The word about the quality of our services quickly got out, meaning that we expanded our fleet to 34 trailers, in order to be able to take on more orders
- We expanded our transport regions to include Eastern Europe, thus taking on Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

1994

Heads up – we’re going Eurasian

- By including Russia in the portfolio we were now reaching as far as the gateway to Asia

1995

STERAC gains in strength

- Following the procurement of our own first 2 trucks we continued our efforts to become independent of subcontractors

1997

Our management quality is now official

- Initial certification according to German Industry Standard (DIN EN) ISO 9001
- The vehicle fleet grew to include another truck

1998

The end of the millennium saw us get stuck right back in again

- STERAC moved into a newly built operating facility in Braak
- Storage space now included approximately 10,000 m²
- of which 1000 m² is solely warehousing space
- By now our coverage extended to Belarus, the Baltic area, Central Asia and Uzbekistan, meaning that we were now represented in the vast majority of Eastern Europe and Eurasian countries
- Our vehicle fleet now comprised 35 trailers and 5 trucks

1999

New millennium, new trailer fleet

- We converted our trailer fleet to modern 13.6 m curtain side trailers with air suspension

2000

Anniversary year

- STERAC celebrated 25 successful years
- Our fleet now included 40 trailers
- The first truck was modernised to comply with Euro 4 emissions standards

2004

The vehicle fleet continued to grow and grow

- Keeping up with the high level of capacity utilisation we expanded our vehicle fleet to include 50 trailers and 7 trucks

2005

There are just never enough trailers

- The vehicle fleet continued to grow and achieved a new record level with 60 trailers

2007

After up-sizing almost 10 years ago it was now time for more of everything

- We built a brand-new logistics centre
- Our warehousing was expanded by approximately 1,700 m² to a total of 11,700 m², allowing us to be able to store an additional 2,500 pallets
- We also acquired adjacent land with a surface area of 6,000 m² with a view to future needs
- Our fleet now stood at an impressive 75 trailers

2008

Each additional year meant more and more

- We leased 6,000 m² of warehousing space at an external location
- The trailer fleet was modernised and expanded to include 77 trailers

2009

More vehicle fleet for more business

- our trailer fleet grew by 15 trailers to a total of 92 Code XL trailers after just one year
- we now had more than 10 trucks

2010

Expansion and growth are the name of the game

- The third expansion step of logistics is under way
- Our warehouse space grew by another 4,215 m², generating space for 12,000 new pallet spaces
1,000 m² of order picking space and 1,000 m² of new office space were also created
- The warehouse went high-tech with the inductive guidance narrow-aisle forklift system
- New logistics software with a web portal connection was put into use
- Our trailer fleet now comprised 100 Code XL curtain side trailers and 12 trucks

2011

New transport region, new business division, new operating equipment

- With immediate effect Greece was now part of the portfolio
- We established a new business division with overseas container transport
- We modernised our fleet by switching 10 trailers and some of the older trucks for environmentally friendly Euro 5 standard trucks
- A GPS Track & Trace system was introduced for all trailers

2012

Modernise, certify, diversify

- Italy became another new transport region
- We obtained S.A.F.E. certification for the first time
- A new product was introduced by the name of “UK Courier”
- The ‘Green Logistics’ concept continued to be implemented step by step, according to which five other older trucks were replaced with newer Euro 5 standard compliant ones
- 10 of the older trailers were also replaced with new ones equipped with GPS tracking

2013

STERAC registered growth across the board

- We purchased new land with a surface area of 16,000 m²
- New transport regions were added with Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania
- Local and regional operations were also intensified

2014

The forwarding business goes organic, and more

- Our food safety competency became certified according to ISO 22000:2005
- STERAC received the Organic seal of approval
- Our first inter-modal SR rail trailer went into operation in Italy
- Our vehicle fleet grew to comprise 14 trucks, of which two fulfil the strict Euro 6 standards
- 20 of our trailers were modernised in line with the Code XL standard
- The particularly high safety level at our company sites led to recertification through S.A.F.E.

2015

Newly positioned - Newly designed - Newly certified

- Repositioning as a full-service-logistician
- Creation of a brand new corporate identity including corporate design
- Relaunch of our website
- We’ve added 5 Megatrailers and 5 Standard Code XL trailers to our fleet
- Completion of our fifth logistics hall with 3,000 m². An energy-plus hall with heat pump and photovoltaic system
- We successfully participated in the Safety Quality Assessment System (SQAS) this year and received the seal of approval
- We have been recertified according to the new ISO 9001: 2015 standard

2016

Taking big steps towards digitization and green energy

- Start of the digitization offensive in the company
- On May 11 2017 we have covered the entire electricity demand of logistics hall no. 5 from our own resources for the first time = 100% Green Energy
- Introducing the electric fuel dispensers on our own grounds to refuel our hybrid vehicles and expand our Green Energy strategy

2017

Communication logistics specialist in the digital age

- 4 new rail trailers with new Power Curtain tarpaulin for more safety and faster loading
- Ad Blue petrol station on its own premises
- LinkedIn profile and Instagram account created (extension of the digital strategy)
- STERAC as a communication logistics provider: we have integrated a video chat on the homepage for more personal communication
- Introduced the STERAC Knowledge Forum

2018

Communication logistics specialist in the digital age

- 4 new rail trailers with new Power Curtain tarpaulin for more safety and faster loading
- Ad Blue petrol station on its own premises
- LinkedIn profile and Instagram account created (extension of the digital strategy)
- STERAC as a communication logistics provider: we have integrated a video chat on the homepage for more personal communication
- Introduced the STERAC Knowledge Forum

2018

Further Certifications

- IFS Logistics certification 2.2 received for food safety
- Obtained NOP certification (American BIO certification)
- The new transshipment hall 7 was completed and is therefore another building block to our Green Energy concept

2019

Enlargement of our fleet

- 43 new trailers (30 Profi Liner, 10 Mega Liner, 3 rail trailers)
- Acquisition of the first fully electric company cars
- After Brexit: Introduction of new regulations such as customs clearance, etc.

2020

Big steps on the way to more sustainability

- We introduce a flexitime scheme for our employees
- Expansion of the vehicle fleet with additional fully electric company cars
- Construction of a PV system including 8 charging stations for our electric vehicles
- Expansion of further modern office space for our employees
- Start of new construction of hall 6 according to the Green Energy concept and KfW 55 guidelines
- Purchase of 40 new trailers (30 Profi Liner & 10 Mega Liner) / expansion of our vehicle fleet (200 trailers)
- Passing the IFS Logistics 2.2 re-certification with a higher level
- Successful initial certification for information security according to VdS 10000
- Start of the project "Logistics Forest Medium-Sized Businesses"

2021

Always informed via the information highway: Subscribe to all the important news from the industry and our own company.

It worked! >>

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

We have sent you a confirmation email containing a link. Please click on this link in order to confirm that your email address is correct.

Discover more

The latest from transport and logistics

Even the world of transport and logistics continues to turn faster and faster. Here you will find all the latest news and information on the industry. We will also keep you up-to-date on our company's social commitment, and will provide media representatives with official press releases. Click here to see more.


European land transportation, warehouse logistics, value added services and international sea and air transportation are our four service categories. This means that we provide you with almost every conceivable service. Simply click on one of the categories for more information.

*Required
Close

Vielen Dank

Ihre Nachricht wurde erfolgreich versendet.
Wir nehmen sobald wie möglich mit Ihnen Kontakt auf und kümmern uns um Ihr Anliegen.

Always informed via the information highway: Subscribe to all the important news from the industry and our own company.

It worked! >>

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

We have sent you a confirmation email containing a link. Please click on this link in order to confirm that your email address is correct.

Close