Obituary: Fritz Mumenthaler

HLPFI was saddened to hear of the passing of Fritz. His last role in the project logistics industry saw him head up the Basel-based forwarding company General Transport as partner and ceo. 

Born in Basel in 1946, Fritz’s career began in 1964 with an apprenticeship at a logistics company called American Express, with whom Fritz learnt the “pleasure of forwarding”. After a spell with Belgium’s Ziegler group, he joined Thyssen Haniel Logistics in April 1979, becoming a vice director in June 1980 and ceo in 1983. Fast forward a decade and Fritz made his move to General Transport. 

Speaking to HLPFI in 2018, as he planned his retirement from General Transport, he described his involvement in the shipment of a huge quantity of frozen beef to North Korea from 2002 to 2003 as one of the “most interesting periods of [his] life”. His career took him all over the world, including a meeting with a teenage Osama bin Laden while coordinating logistics services for infrastructure projects underway in Saudi Arabia. He also secured a Guinness World Record for arranging the heaviest item ever carried by aeroplane in 2009. 

Looking forward to his life after work, Fritz told HLPFI of his plans to take cruises with his wife and enjoy time at his second home in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while continuing to indulge in his passion for cigars and red wine. “I am looking forward to having the time to work in the garden, to be in the fresh air and to construct my days as I wish, without any pressure,” he said in 2018. 

His advice to would-be project forwarders at that time: “Be innovative, but remember that this is not a business where you can just do the paperwork – you have to go to the site and you have to have the relationship with your customer. That is the most important thing.” Fritz was also a strong advocate of embracing oneself in local cultures. “Wherever I went, I always tried to respect the local customs, and to respect the people. You are not there to teach people, you are there to listen.” 

Over the course of his career, Fritz made many enjoyable trips to India, often working with long-time friend Armin Kalyaniwalla (formerly of MHTC, a company sold to Allcargo Logistics in 2012, and now director of Aurum Logistics). 

“Fritz was a very, very dear friend – more an elder brother – to me,” Armin told HLPFI. “Fritz was an icon of the logistics industry, always smiling, always extending his large heart and hands to help colleagues. 

“Most people whose lives he touched will surely remember him as the ‘Bud Spencer’ of the logistics world – a gentle giant. Fritz was humane, kind and above all, a legend of his lifetime.” 

Having had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Fritz in Basel and at various Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC) events across the years, the team at HLPFI express their heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. 

Fritz is survived by his wife, Stana Mumenthaler.