Fifty years on – and still going strong

Olaf Westfehling is trying to retire. In fact, he has been trying for several years. Unsuccessfully one might say for every morning Westfehling can still be found at his desk – working. Employees at Geodis Wilson in Kempton Park are, however, not complaining. “I never knew he had retired,” says one. “What would we do without him?” says another. A former director of Rohde & Liesenfeld, which was bought out by Geodis Wilson some years ago, he has been working for the same company for 50 years. Ask him for his title and the answer brings about girdles of laughter in the passages of the offices of the freight forwarding heavyweights. “I am nothing. I am trying to retire,” he says. Westfehling grew up in wartime Germany, the only child of a merchant navy captain and his wife. Born in 1941 he knew without a doubt that he could not wait in Hamburg for life to happen. “I wanted to travel, to experience other cultures and see the world. I even went so far as to learn to speak Spanish as I was very interested in Argentina and wanted to visit South America.” But after two years of commercial school he found himself joining Rohde & Liesenfeld in Hamburg as an intern. “I started in the warehouse loading boxes onto trucks. In those days you were trained by being exposed to every department of the business and after three years you knew what a forwarding business was all about.” But before he could convince the company to send him into the world, the German army came knocking. “I had to march for a year and a half, but I was still determined to travel. I returned to Rohde & Liesenfeld where I was appointed airfreight manager.” His dedication and commitment to the industry saw him progressing and by 1967 he was offered the job of managing the Johannesburg office. “I knew nothing of Africa, but I was happy to come – it was a new continent after all.” Soon after his former secretary followed him for a visit. “She never left. We have now been married for 40 years,” he laughs. The couple, parents to twin boys and a daughter, now enjoy spending time with their three granddaughters, who all live in Johannesburg. “We speak German at home, but we have not lived in Germany since the sixties.” In 1977 he was transferred to head up the New York office and also spent much time in the Far East. “Freight forwarding has not changed much since the days I started. It has become faster though. I miss the personal contact we used to have. Computers and email have taken over – we no longer talk to each other.” His love for the business is clear. His passion has not subsided a bit in 50 years. “I liked the people I worked with, I liked the places I worked in. I have been blessed in having a career that was always full of excitement. I would do it over in a heartbeat.” Retiring is difficult, he says. “It is not as simple as just closing the door and walking off. There are projects that have to be completed – freight forwarding is a hectic industry. You know Sol Kerzner is still building hotels and he is in his seventies already. Now I am no Sol, but I love and enjoy what I am doing.” His family remain supportive, he says. “They are one of my greatest achievements. I think they are a measure of my success.” His love of the bush has kept him in Africa. “I escape to the bush every chance I get. I still love travelling as much as when I was a young man dreaming of seeing the world.” And that is what he will do, if he ever manages to walk out of the door permanently. “Spend some time in the bush with my wife, play with the grandchildren (two more are on the way), maybe take time to play a little bit of golf every now and then, visit some more countries, who knows, the journey still continues.”