March/April 2018
Tanks & Containers
B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
7
/dKƚĂŬĞƐůĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƚŽ
ƚŚĞŶĞdžƚůĞǀĞů
W
ith the merger of ITCO and @TCO
completed at the end of last year,
attention is now turning to building up
service levels for the combined membership.
Operating under the brand of the International
Tank Container Organisation (incorporating both
ITCO and @TCO), the newly merged organisation
will continue to develop the programme of work
that ITCO is undertaking, while also integrating
and maintaining the projects that @TCO has
developed over the past six years.
Most of the members of @TCO have accepted
an invitation to join ITCO, thereby strengthening
the organisation’s profi le in Asia. Because of the
ITCO Tank Container Village at Transport Logistic
China 2016 in Shanghai in May, a considerable
focus of ITCO’s work in 2018 will be directed
towards the Asian market.
But more broadly, a new version of ITCO’s
e-learning programme was launched at the end of
January 2018. Reg Lee, the organisation’s
president, spoke to Bulk Distributor about the
revised system’s key benefi ts and the need for
constant change.
The original system, created by Colin Rubery, has
been running since December 2016 and as Lee
explained, is very much still a work in progress:
“The e-learning programme is intended as a
working aid for the industry and when it was fi rst
issued, we advised our members that it would be
an evolving process; this is just our fi rst revision.
We intend to make further improvements each
year or so as regulations change and requirements
need updating. This fi rst update took nine months
to complete but we expect that subsequent
revisions will take much less time,” he says.
Keeping the industry
updated
As well as giving new starters an insight in to the
tank container industry, the e-learning course
allows existing employees to brush up on their
skills and knowledge and keep up to date with
any regulatory changes from the comfort of their
desks.
“ITCO has put 20-30 years’ collective experience
into this one training programme, which is
designed to benefi t members, suppliers and
customers right across the worldwide liquid supply
chain,” adds Lee.
Within the programme there are four separate
sections that cover the A-Z of the industry. These
include its history, marketing benefi ts and the
physical requirements for depot handling.
Although predominantly aimed at new people
entering the tank container industry, the course is
a useful learning tool for marketing and other
offi ce staff that may not have undergone a
training programme when they originally joined
their company. Often within companies people
move from one department to another and
training needs change.
“Today every employee needs to know what is
involved in the safe handling of tank containers,”
Lee believes.
Embracing change
Refl ecting on how much the industry has changed
over the past fi ve decades, he adds: “When I
started in this industry over 50 years ago, the only
way to learn was to sit with a senior member of
dĂůŬĞ͛ƐŶĞǁŐĞŶĞƌĂƟŽŶ
Talke group managing director Alfred Talke (centre) with his newly appointed members of the executive board Markus Glöckler (l) and Christoph
Grunert (r)
T
alke is bringing a new generation onto its executive board. Markus Glöckler, 47, and
Christoph Grunert, 43, are succeeding Armin Talke, 74, and Norbert Talke, 69, both of
whom are moving to the advisory board.
Alfred Talke, 44, will continue as group managing director.
This change in the senior management team is part of the group’s long term programme aimed at
creating the conditions necessary for the next stages of the group’s development. By fi lling the two
executive board positions from within its own ranks and retaining two family members as active
participants on the advisory board, Talke is also looking to strengthen the foundations for the group’s
strategy of continuous and sustainable growth, which it has been pursuing for a number of years.
Christoph Grunert will take responsibility for both European logistics activities and international project
business. He has been with the company for more than 16 years and, since 2012, has been responsible
for the European warehousing and value-added services division. Previously, he was instrumental in
establishing and developing both the group’s business in the Middle East and its consulting and project
activities.
Markus Glöckler has been with Talke since 2014 and during that time has had the fi nance and
controlling division and strategic procurement within his portfolio. In joining the board of directors, he
will now also take responsibility for IT and for the project management offi ce.
“Markus Glöckler and Christoph Grunert are the fi rst managing directors in Talke’s history not drawn
from the ranks of the family itself,” noted Alfred Talke, who as group managing director and co-owner
of the logistics group is a third generation member of the Talke family to fulfi l such a role. “They
nevertheless personify the continuity that is so important for our family, as well as the qualities of
professionalism and innovation that will enable us as a team to lead our company into the future.”
staff and hope they would show you the right way
to handle a tank. You were then sent to various
depots to see how the tanks were handled,
cleaned and repaired ready to re-enter service.
Today not all companies offer this type of on the
job training and most use e-learning programmes
to train their staff.”
Each ITCO member receives one free copy of the
programme and is given the option to purchase
extra copies at a discounted rate of £100. On
completion of the programme, the participant will
be issued with a certifi cate showing their pass rate
and level of understanding. Any new company
applying for ITCO membership will need to
nominate one senior member of staff to complete
the e-learning programme before being accepted.
At the moment the programme is only available
to members, but ITCO plans to offer it to both
logistics and shipping companies, as well as any
other businesses that are interested in the safe
handling of liquid products in tank containers.
New look website
Alongside the revised e-learning programme, ITCO
has completely redesigned and relaunched its
website.
“Following the merger of ITCO and @tco, we
felt that we needed to change the website to
refl ect our members’ needs,” Lee tells Bulk
Distributor. “On top of this, our original website
was 10 years’ old and needed updating. The
new site incorporates the best bits of the old
ITCO and @tco websites and includes the latest
data technology which can be used with
smartphones and tablets to push information
out to members, without them having to log in.
Although it’s early days we have had some great
feedback from our members and look forward
to hearing any suggestions they may have to
improve it further.”
www.itco.org