“At
our team meeting one year ago, we said United Cargo
was a volcano ready to erupt in a very positive way,”
said Jan Krems, President of United Cargo, as we kicked
off the team’s recent Annual Worldwide Meeting
with a brief history lesson.
“I want to salute
everyone here for their skill and dedication, because
they made that positive change happen.”
The 300+ attendees, who
traveled from all across the globe to the meeting near
O’Hare Airport, sat up a bit straighter and smiled
a little wider as Jan continued.
Days
of Future Past
“During the past
12 months United Cargo has emerged as the clear leader
among U.S. belly cargo carriers—in volume, in
revenue, and in quality of customer service.
“We’ve established
a solid foundation for future growth by keeping our
commitments to our customers and to each other.
“But even as we
celebrate our success, we can’t be satisfied.
“There’s always
a higher goal to pursue, another mountain to climb together.
“We’ve made
progress in optimizing our network, but we can do much
more.
“Our great strides
have been in improving the quality we deliver to customers,
but it can always be better.
“The goal is to
be the best belly cargo carrier in the world, and there’s
no reason to be content with anything short of that.”
TCB
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After choosing “Taking
Care of Business” as the theme for its annual
team meeting in 2015, United Cargo dipped into the same
‘70s rock song bag for this year’s theme:
“You Ain’t
Seen Nothing Yet.”
Climbing The Mountain
“I must say, that
phrase as our theme for this year has a double meaning
for me,” explained Jan.
“One interpretation
is that you ain’t seen nothing like the challenges
we’ll need to overcome as we climb the next mountain
and pursue the next difficult goal.
“The other sense
is you ain’t seen nothing like the fantastic view
from the top of the mountain once you get there.
“On a recent family
vacation my two boys and I had the difficult but exhilarating
experience of scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, so I was able
to use the pictures and memories of that climb to illustrate
both meanings.
“This was a historic
meeting in several ways,” Jan continued.
“We know our Sales
Partners and Service Partners are United Cargo to many
of our customers, and the United folks on our team feel
the same way.
“This year we invited
more of our partners to participate in the meeting than
ever before.
“Their voices bring
a fresh perspective to the Q & A period following
presentations, to breakout session discussions, and
to the group and one-on-one networking with teammates,
which is a key benefit of the meeting.”
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The
Breakdance
On the subject of “breakouts,”
most attendees identified the highlight of these sessions
as the “Build-a-Bike Workshop.” Working
collaboratively, the United Cargo team assembled 32
new bicycles from component frames, tires, and pedals.
The payoff was joyous when kids from the Boys &
Girls Club of Elgin, Illinois, were welcomed and amazed
to receive a brand-new bike and helmet. The Boys and
Girls Clubs is a charitable organization whose mission
is to enable all young people—especially those
who need them most—to reach their full potential
as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
The
Children’s Hour
“Seeing the faces
of those kids, who had dreamed of but never expected
to have a new bike of their own, was an unforgettable
experience for our team,” said Jan.
“The kids weren’t
the only ones crying tears of joy at that moment.”
Business
Reality Check 2016
Shifting gears to the
present, Jan admits that not many tears of joy are being
shed as carriers compare the steep increase in worldwide
air cargo capacity against the very modest growth in
global trade and consequently, cargo volumes.
“Industry trends
look worse than they actually are, because we’re
comparing the elevated levels of last year’s port
strike against the results of the past three months,
when movement in any direction has been sluggish.
“It’s hard
to pinpoint a current economic trend—for every
indicator that points toward the positive, you can find
an accompanying reason to feel insecure.
Keep Looking
Up
“Despite the uncertainty,
there’s a confidence in the United Cargo team.
Based on the quality improvements we’ve made and
the strength of our connections with customers, we believe
that whenever and wherever business picks up, we will
capture more than our share.
Service
Enhancements
“United is redeploying
19 of our widebody aircraft to service U.S. domestic
routes, which is a great boost to our ability to quickly
connect all of the U.S. to Europe and Asia.
“We’ve established
solid customer preference on many of our value-added
products, and set growth records in our TempControl
and PetSafe services last year.
“Our team is aligned
toward a shared goal—energized by the challenge,
tethered together, and ready for the climb!” Jan
Krems said.
Geoffrey
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