Rickmers appoints Dunelm and Haack to handle its international media relations

Rickmers, the German project liner and heavy-lift specialist, has appointed Haack Public Relations and Dunelm Public Relations to manage its media relations. Hamburg-based Haack will focus on press relations in Germany and Austria and on handling more localised Rickmers events and issues. Dunelm Public Relations, based in London, is to develop a global media relations programme for Rickmers focusing on the trade press in Europe, Asia and the US, all important markets for the German company.

This partnership is welcomed by Andreas Elger, General Marketing Manager for Rickmers:

"We approached Renate Haack because of her excellent relations with German-speaking media, especially with regard to the shipping and transportation sectors. However, as we prepare for a substantial upgrade of our existing services, we felt the need to increase our international press coverage. This is why we have called on Dunelm's assistance.

"Dunelm has extensive experience in the maritime and freight transportation sector and has excellent links with the relevant media in Europe, Asia and North America. This will, we are sure, stand us in good stead as we introduce new tonnage into our Round-the-World service during 2002/3.

Rickmers-Linie was established in 1834 but was sold by the Rickmers family to Hapag-Lloyd in 1974. However, in January 2000, the Rickmers family in the form of Bertram R C Rickmers, owner of Rickmers Reederei, one of Germany's leading shipowners, re-acquired the company and set about its reconstruction. A new management team has been formed and nine new ships have been ordered for delivery in 2002-2004.

Andreas Elger explains that the image of Rickmers is changing:

"We are today seen as a very traditional shipping company. In some respects, this is a correct view as we still hold hard to our professional ideals and our seafaring tradition. We excel in carrying extremely large and difficult pieces of cargo and when it comes to loading such cargo, there is no substitute for experience. However, we are still moving with the times and as "The Smart Line", we are updating not only our hardware but also our approach to the liner shipping business.

"We are confident that the Haack/Dunelm partnership will enable us to present to our global customer base "Rickmers - The Smart Line" as a modern, efficient carrier committed to offering a specialist breakbulk service tailor-made for shipping project and heavy-lift cargoes in the 21st Century."