HISTORY 1931 - 1984
After slowly but steadily rebuilding the business, Arthur Espey took over from L.W. Cretschmar as owner in 1931 and was thus the new man at the helm of the company.
After founding a branch in Hamburg in 1935, the company entered its second century of existence in 1936. Solidity, reliability and agility were the foundations of the company's philosophy even then. One year later, in 1937, the Wuppertal branch was founded.
After the end of the war, Cretschmar took over the storage of food for the state government and charitable organizations as well as the central distribution of care packages.
The young company also participated in the rapidly growing Rhine-sea shipping industry, which managed the transportation of goods to seaports in Germany and abroad.
As early as 1846, Leopold Wilhelm Cretschmar worked as a co-founder on the development of the Lower Rhine steam tugboat company in Düsseldorf.
In the immediate post-war years, Cretschmar set up a branch in Bremen, opened a regular Rhine-London service, and this was soon followed by shipments to Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Portugal.
Artur E.H. Espey, the owner's son, joins the company in 1951 as an authorized signatory.
In the same year, Cretschmar opened its own air freight office at Düsseldorf Airport.
The reorientation of the transport sector at the end of the 1950s led to an increasing shift in traffic flows from ships to trucks; in 1957, the new grain and general cargo warehouse in Düsseldorf with a capacity of 14,200 tons was completed.
In 1959, Cretschmar moved into a new administration building at Franziusstraße 2 in Düsseldorf's port area. At the time, pneumatic tubes and telex machines were an expression of modern office technology.
Company boss Arthur Espey said: "Whether by ship, rail, motor vehicle or plane: L.W. Cretschmar feels today as it once did as a trustee, consultant, organizer and mediator of the shipping industry."
Direct lines Cretschmar truck trains to many European capitals; Wuppertal developed into a focal point for European groupage traffic.
With the founding of Cretschmar Española in 1968, based in Madrid and with its own stores in Barcelona and Irun, Cretschmar accelerated its growing business with Southern Europe.
The Wuppertal branch had developed into a focal point for groupage traffic. In 1972, the new forwarding center in Wuppertal-Nächstebereck was ready for occupancy. Regular liner services were operated from here to many cities in Western Europe.
The following years were characterized by business expansion and service improvements in all areas. In 1979, Cretschmar built a 10,000 square meter high-bay warehouse on Paul-Thomas-Straße in Düsseldorf.
In 1983, a forwarding facility was commissioned in Hamburg to handle national and international groupage traffic.
In 1983, a forwarding facility was commissioned in Hamburg to handle national and international groupage traffic.
