Supplying the tourist stronghold Majorca calls for reliable island logistics specialists. One of these is ‘Mallorca Logispeed S.L.’, a subsidiary of the German forwarding agency Spedition Schumacher, headed up by a manager whose roots are in Majorca – and with an affinity for trucks bearing the star.

More than 15 million visitors annually, 300,000 hotel beds, 45 million overnight stays – the tourism industry is and remains by far the largest sector of Majorca’s economy, contributing 75 per cent to the island’s total economic output. The other sectors of the economy are also closely linked to tourism: construction and agriculture, for example, produce what tourists need: a functioning infrastructure, a roof over their heads, and food.

German holidaymakers have been the largest group of travellers to Majorca for many years now. There are more than three million every year. But this Balearic Island also attracts numerous visitors from Great Britain, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries. Many of these visitors are regular guests. Quite a few of them have a second home here. Some even settle permanently on the island after they retire.

In addition to the large number of tourists, another factor is important for the island’s economy: a relatively large number of financially well-off people love Majorca and are willing to invest and spend money here. This in turn leads to a cross-border flow of goods that needs to be well organised.

One company that has built a good reputation in this field over the last four years is Mallorca Logispeed S.L., a subsidiary of the forwarding agency Spedition Schumacher, based in Würselen near Aachen. 

Despite the fact that the parent company is in Germany, Luz Cloquell, the general manager of Mallorca Logispeed, attaches importance to the fact that her enterprise is a purely Majorcan one: “Anyone wanting to offer transport and logistics services in Majorca needs to have a good understanding of the identity of the island and its inhabitants. Being a modern logistics provider with the typical German characteristics, such as clearly defined processes, high-quality services and great reliability, is not enough.”

This is not just about language – on Majorca people use Mallorquí as their everyday language, a dialect of Catalan. It is also about networks and relationships that go back many years. And it is about an awareness of the traditions and current customs. “Only people who understand this will be able to go beyond the status of a guest and achieve sustainable business success on the island,” Luz Cloquell is convinced. She and her team are currently working on bringing even more of Spedition Schumacher’s highly regarded expertise in fresh-food logistics to Majorca in an effort to generate more growth in this segment.

A good basis for implementing this strategy is the constant demand for transport and logistics services in both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business segments: the company imports motorcycles, cars and sports boats for holidaymakers and for people who adopted Majorca as their home of choice. They also handle complete removal operations and bring in building materials for those who are building their own homes on the island. 

This is all in addition to the typical German products that many people do not want to go without during their holiday. During the high season, when large crowds congregate at the well-known German venues like the “Bierkönig” on Majorca, rigs sporting the Mallorca Logispeed logo on their trailer ferry German beer to thirsty customers on the holiday island several times a week.

However, carrying freight in one direction only generally would not make for a sustainable business, and the imbalance between imports and exports was indeed one of the main challenges facing the company in the early days. Since then, many new relationships with more and more shippers based on the island and in northern Spain have been developed. Today the Aachen-based Schumacher trucks regularly arriving at the port of Palma by ferry from Barcelona on behalf of Mallorca Logispeed increasingly embark on their return journey with a full load. To give just one example: an interior designer based on the island is currently fitting out several new hotels built by a German hotel chain. This customer also makes good use of the state-of-the-art warehouse capacities Mallorca Logispeed provides for its customers in Palma.

During harvest time, oranges grown on Majorca are just one type of cargo carried on the return journey to Germany. Then there is the large community of often affluent customers who have a residence in Majorca as well as in Germany and have their cars, motorcycles or bicycles transported back and forth.

Even Luz Cloquell and her two nearly grown-up daughters regularly commute between the Balearic island and Aachen – only they do it for love. “What used to be a strain in the beginning has turned into an inspiring lifestyle for us today. We simply combine the best of both worlds.”

“Impossible” is not an option – this has always been the guiding principle in the life of the resolute 36-year-old. Her grandparents emigrated from Majorca to Argentina after World War II; Cloquell returned to the island as a very young mother in 2003. She wanted to escape the Argentinean economic crisis and establish her own, independent livelihood. “My parents had also returned to the island of their ancestors, and we still had many relatives here. But I still had to make it on my own.”

After graduating from her studies in administration and business management focusing on international trade, her first career steps were in the real estate sector. A few years ago, she met Josef Schumacher Jr., the general manager of the forwarding agency of the same name in Germany. The two have been living together ever since, and Luz Cloquell is pursuing her plans to build a logistics enterprise that offers German business virtues yet is firmly rooted on Majorca – Mallorca Logispeed.

For Cloquell, reliability is a must – and so is running her own fleet. The vehicles are part of the Schumacher fleet of 200 trucks, and they are virtually all from Mercedes-Benz. Reliability, efficiency and safety as well as the great acceptance among the drivers are the main arguments in favour of the trucks with the star, says Luz Cloquell. The trucks with the Mallorca Logispeed logo look brilliant with that reversed AC – a playful symbol for the solid ties between Majorca and Aachen.

“No matter where they come from, we always get positive feedback from our customers about our reliability,” says Luz Cloquell. “This is a crucial factor in our success, and it is what shapes the attitude of our employees, the precision of our processes and last but not least, it is also inherent in these trucks that look great and never let us down.”

There is a saying that Majorca is the 17th federal state of Germany. Yet as is often the case, this brazen assertion that so blatantly ignores the island’s own identity does contain a grain of truth. Be that as it may, Mallorca Logispeed in any case is making the most of the close ties between the island’s economy and Germany, via the close connection with Schumacher. And in doing so, they are combining Majorcan virtues with customary German traits to offer an overall package that is appreciated by customers wherever they happen to be.