US embassy cable - 05VIENNA1726

UNCLAS VIENNA 001726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PM/DTCC (STITZIEL) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC, KOMC, AU 
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON 
APPLICATION 05-960664 
 
REF: STATE 073936 
 
1.  (U)  EconPolCouns and Poloffs met on May 20 with 
Spedition Welz representatives Andreas Praehauser, deputy 
manager for customs procedures, and Rainer Wirthenstaetter, 
director of logistics, at the firm's customs office on 
Franz-Sauer-Strasse 48 in Salzburg.  Praehauser and 
Wirthenstaetter provided the following information in 
response to ref questions. 
 
2.  (U)  Background on Spedition Welz 
 
--  How long has the company been in business? 
 
Spedition Welz, officially known as Welz Internationale 
Spedition GmbH, was founded in 1924.  It is headquartered in 
Salzburg, has over 450 employees worldwide according to the 
company website, and is one of the largest Austrian freight 
forwarding agents.  The company offers a full range of 
international logistical services for all types of goods, 
including chemicals and other hazardous materials.  These 
services include arranging warehousing, intermodal (air, sea, 
rail, truck) transport, and customs clearance, a specialty 
area for Welz. 
 
Spedition Welz, according to Wirthenstaetter, became part of 
the Austrian Quehenberger Logistics Group in January 2000, 
which, itself, is part of the Luxembourg-based firm Thiel 
Logistics and Services.  In 2004, the German firm Quant 
acquired nearly half of Thiel.  Through this conglomerate, 
Spedition Welz has an estimated 172,000 square meters of 
covered warehouse space in over thirty Austrian locations, 
according to its website, with some 32 branch offices 
worldwide. 
 
--  Who are the company's typical customers and where are 
they located? 
 
Spedition Welz has a global customer base.  It is 
particularly active, however, in Eastern and Southeastern 
Europe (including Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine) where it has 
nearly fifty branch offices. 
 
--  Does the company have an established, legitimate customer 
base? 
 
The company has a large, reputable customer base.  For 
example, according to Wirthenstaetter, the Austrian energy 
drink producer Red Bull is Spedition Welz' biggest customer. 
 
--  What kind of records does the company keep? 
 
According to Praehauser, Spedition Welz keeps written copies 
of contacts with its clients.  Welz also offers access, via a 
password, to their online system, where customers can track 
shipments and request logistical services. 
 
--  What is Post's assessment of Welz' on-site security? 
 
According to Praehauser, Spedition Welz stores the munitions 
it handles in a special customs facility with 24-hour 
security coverage.  Emboffs did not tour this facility, which 
is not co-located with the office where we met with 
Praehauser and Wirthenstaetter. 
 
3.  (SBU)  In Post's view, Spedition Welz is a reliable 
custodian of United States Munitions List items.  We saw no 
indication of a connection to the activities mentioned in 
intelligence reporting. 
 
4.  (U)  Contact Information 
 
Andreas Praehauser 
Deputy Director for Customs Proceedures 
Quehenberger Logistik AG 
Handelszentrum 3 
A-5101 Bergheim/Salzburg 
Tel:  43 (0)662 46 80 372 
Fax:  43 (0)662 46 80 370 
andreas.praehauser(at sign)quehenberger.at 
 
Rainer Wirthenstaetter 
Director, Logistics 
Quehenberger Logistik AG 
Franz-Sauer-Strasse 48 
A-5020 Salzburg 
Tel:  43 (0)662 4680 1785 
Fax:  43 (0)662 4680 1709 
Mobile:  43 (0)664 543 41 97 
rainer.wirthenstaetter(at sign)quehenberger.com 
Brown