Horst Mosolf

• Horst Mosolf was born on January 25, 1928, the son of a transport entrepreneur, in Wittstock (Brandenburg). He studied haulage in Berlin and in 1953 moved to West Germany, where he worked as a dispatcher at haulage company Bez in Kichheim/Teck.
• Mosolf stands as a pioneer of vehicle logistics. By establishing Horst Mosolf GmbH & Co. KG, he set new standards in specialsed road transport and revolutionised this sector of the transport industry. The standards he set are still applied today in automotive and vehicle logistics. Mosolf also sent a signal beyond the boundaries of his own business, showing that specialisation was a model for success in the transport industry.
• The idea of specialised road transport came to Mosolf while working for Bez. The haulage company carried bodywork pressings made by Allgaier Werke in Uhingen to the automobile manufacturer Borgward in Bremen. Horst Mosolf: "The people who went to collect the cars didn’t only have to take a holiday to travel by train to Bremen, they also had to get a red licence plate and have an inspection made on the way back after 400 kilometres, otherwise they lost their warranty. So I thought to myself: with a car transporter I can do it much cheaper."
• He put his idea into practice in 1955. Mosolf founded a haulage company that specialised in automotive logistics and thus filled a gap in the transport industry. He bought a used Mercedes-Benz L 6600, together with a three-axle trailer. At the Kässbohrer vehicle works in Ulm, he had the vehicle converted into a fully enclosed car transporter. The first double-decker superstructure was introduced in 1959 – which later became the standard - and he was able to carry twice as many cars.
• The haulage merchant soon realised that in addition to transport services car makers needed other services like storage and workshops. To offer this enlarged service concept near the works of farther away, Mosolf established his business first in Europe and then worldwide. The first Technology and Logistics Centre opened in 1972 in Illingen/Baden-Württemberg, thus laying the foundations for dedicated services for technical logistics system providers. The new vehicles were not just stored there, because Horst Mosolf became the first to offer car makers additional services. These included de-conservation (removal of a protective transport wax coatings).Today, Mosolf ranks among the most important vehicle logistics suppliers in Europe.
• People who knew Mosolf professionally describe him "a person with exceptional skills, broad entrepreneurial thinking and great vision." In all professional decisions, he always communicated with customers at eye level and always listened to his employees. Mosolf’s highest principles were to be fair to customers and employees. Quality, reliability and forward-thinking were his values in his cooperation with customers. This earned him great respect in the transport industry. Daimler once said of his company that its innovation potential was very high, while the quality of service and service provisioning was not just printed in brochures but was delivered every day.
• For his services to the industry, Mosolf was awarded honours including the Federal Cross of Merit and the Economic Medal of Baden- Württemberg State.
• Mosolf died in August 2015 aged 88. Until his death he remained a senior partner at the company.

Born January 25, 1928 in Wittstock an der Dosse, Germany

1953 fled from East Germany to West Germany via Berlin

1953 worked as a dispatcher at a haulage company in Kirchheim/Teck

1954 began cooperation with Mercedes-Benz

1955 founded his transport company "Horst Mosolf Spedition und Transporte" in Kirchheim/Teck

Died August 14, 2015 in Friedrichshafen, aged 87