It all started with a chance meeting between delivery service company colleagues Adrian Dalsey and Larry Hillblom in a food store car park in San Francisco. The two decided to start their own delivery company and, joined by real estate associate Robert Lynn, they set up DHL and began their first courier service between the west coast of America and Hawaii.

Now the company is a world-leading express and logistics provider – and tomorrow, September 25, it marks its 40th anniversary. Frank Appel, CEO Deutsche Post DHL, said: “In 1969, three men set out to do the impossible and conquered the moon. A few months later, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn founded DHL and made the world a little smaller.

“DHL pioneered the international express industry, making it possible for documents to reach recipients overnight instead of in a few days.”

The express company quickly grew to encompass global forwarding and supply chain management, through the strategic integration of leading forwarder Danzas Air & Ocean in 2002 and supply chain/logistics expert Exel in 2005. DHL was thus able to offer a comprehensive suite of services through a global network that spans some 220 countries and territories.

Appel added: “Very early on, we recognised that the company’s success lies not only in listening to what our customers want, but, more importantly, acting on it quickly and effectively. Very often we anticipated what our customers want and addressed these even before they ask.”

DHL established trade routes to countries like Russia and China in the midst of the Cold War and continues to break new ground in various emerging markets, such as the BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – which are touted to be the agents of future trade development growth.

Appel concluded: “Our employees and customers have brought DHL to where it is today. Through them, we are determined to sustain our pioneering spirit, which for so many years has enabled us to offer solutions that help our customers reach their goals. By proactively and continuously encouraging innovative practical thinking, we are confident that we will overcome the current economic situation and are well-positioned to sustain our global market leadership – for now and for many more decades to come.”

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 54 billion euros in 2008.