Two Great Teams
As One For The Region
In summer 2017, DHL Hub Leipzig teamed up with SC DHfK, Leipzig’s most popular handball club. The partnership includes sponsoring the players’ shirts and promoting the next generation of young talent. As a Gold sponsor, we also support the SC DHfK handball academy. Ralph Wondrak, chairman of the Management Board of DHL Hub Leipzig, believes it is “an ideal partnership – both SC DHfK and DHL Hub Leipzig owe their success largely to a committed and focused team performance”. We wanted to strengthen the ties with our new partner so we invited the SC DHfK players to come and take a look behind the scenes at the hub. Top defensive player Basti Roscheck recalls his visit and describes his impressions.
Basti, how often do you accept parcels for your neighbours from DHL couriers?
Quite often actually! My unusual working hours have made me very popular with DHL couriers (grins).
So you’re probably very familiar with DHL. But the company does so much more than only delivering parcels, as you saw here at the hub. What was the most interesting for you on the tour?
For athletes like us, it’s always nice when sponsorship involves more than just financial support. The exclusive guided tour through the hub showed us how effectively the just-in-time system works there. Everything is carefully coordinated and all processes are perfectly in sync. I was also impressed by how DHL has become a positive role model for companies in and around Leipzig and has created a great working environment for its staff.
DHL Hub Leipzig celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018 and now employs nearly 6,000 people. As an adopted citizen of Leipzig and a representative of the city, how important do you think it is that companies like DHL base themselves in the region?
It’s hugely important for the region. DHL has become a very prominent ambassador for Leipzig, just like SC DHfK. They both demonstrate values that people from inside and outside the region associate with the city. The city's rapid growth and development would have been inconceivable without companies like DHL Hub Leipzig.
After your glimpse behind the scenes at the company, what do you think of the work that goes on there? Do you feel you could do it yourself?
I take my hat off to the employees at the hub. The work they do, particularly during the night, is clearly very challenging. They can’t afford to make any mistakes, just like us when we play a match. If I were to go and try to do one of those demanding jobs, I’d be all fingers and thumbs and I know I wouldn’t get very far (laughs). I’ve almost finished my Master’s in Economics, so the insights that we gained into the company were doubly valuable and interesting for me. They’ll also be useful for my future career when I eventually retire from handball.
You’ve started wearing the DHL logo on your chest this season. Do all the DHL drivers wave to you now?
The couriers are just as friendly to my neighbors as they are to me. In my five years with the club, I’ve seen how more and more big companies from the region have become partners with SC DHfK – including DHL Hub Leipzig. Obviously that makes me feel very proud! Our mission is to repay the faith and loyalty shown in us by playing with as much passion, dedication and enthusiasm as we can every week.
Thank you very much for talking to us, Basti!
— Andrè Hoffmann