Rock-It Cargo :: The Best is Yet to Come After Rock-It and Dietl Merger

A merger between two companies—one from the staid and sober world of fine art logistics and the other from the fast-paced mania of concert shipping—might seem unlikely. But more than eight months after Dietl International Services and Rock It Cargo announced that they would join forces, the union has been a boon for both companies.

Dietl International is the brainchild of Fritz Dietl, an Austrian who left home at age sixteen and found a job with a shipping company. In 1988, he moved to New York and took a position with an art logistics firm where he learned the prerequisites of transporting high value artwork. Several years later, a fellow Austrian who was an art collector and gallery owner, approached him about forming a partnership in a new fine art transportation company. Dietl accepted and in 1991, the company that bears his name was established.

By 2008, Fritz Dietl had built his business from one employee in a small office at New York’s JFK airport to 45 employees and offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. At the same time, Rock It Cargo was involved in a number of museum projects in Los Angeles and San Francisco and became interested in expanding their business into fine art logistics. Dietl had called on Rock It in the past to assist with some specialized shipments.

Dietl International’s clients include the world’s most prestigious museums, art galleries, auction houses, private collectors, corporate collections, art fairs and biennial exhibitions. Each project comes with a unique set of requirements and challenges similar to those of Rock It’s customers.

When the idea of a merger was proposed, Fritz Dietl was immediately interested. “We have a very similar philosophy in how we deal with business and how we treat our employees. We have handled projects together over the years and Rock It is a very intriguing company. Now we are working together on developing the synergies to take advantage of our combined strengths,” he says.

Since the merger, both companies maintain separate offices and operations, however, Dietl International has been able to tap into Rock It’s additional resources, such as the pre-screening of cargo, access to more chartered aircraft, specialized equipment, a worldwide network of agents, and a significantly expanded personnel base. Fritz Dietl has assisted on Rock It projects such as a recent Madonna concert in Vienna. Although shipping multi-million dollar paintings and sculptures no longer keeps him awake at night, he has yet to grapple with the peccadilloes of pampered rock stars.