IRU awards Theodor Kaplan, KAZATO Secretary General, the IRU Order of Merit for 55 years of outstanding service to the road transport industry.

Geneva - The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the IRU Order of Merit to the Secretary General of its Kazakh Member Association, The Union of International Road Carriers of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KAZATO), Theodor Kaplan, in recognition of his major contribution to the development of national and international road transport in Kazakhstan, the CIS region and beyond.

This year, Theodor Kaplan celebrates 55 years of loyal service to the road transport industry.  After his economic and legal studies devoted to the transport sector, he worked for several years as a senior manager before being appointed Deputy Minister of Road Transport of Kazakhstan, a post which he held for more than 25 years.  In this function, he actively participated in the establishment of the national road transport association, KAZATO, in 1994 and was subsequently appointed Secretary General of the association in October 1998.

Presenting the IRU Order of Merit, IRU President, Janusz Lacny, said, “Thanks to your vision, thanks to your understanding of the difficulties faced by the road transport industry and thanks to your managerial talents, under your leadership, KAZATO membership has steadily increased and currently represents more than 250 companies for a total fleet of over 5,000 trucks. True to the industry’s commitment to excellence, you have also established a professional training centre in Kazakhstan where, to date, more than 2,000 drivers have been trained. We are proud to present your achievements as an example to follow by all professionals in our industry.”

Mr Kaplan was instrumental in the introduction of SafeTIR in Kazakhstan and, under his leadership, road transport operations under the TIR System have increased 33 times over since 1996.

He has always played an active role in promoting the work of the IRU in his region, in particular through the initiation, jointly with the IRU, of the Beijing-Brussels truck caravan in 2005 and the successful organisation of the 5th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference in Almaty in 2009. 

Thanks to his continued efforts in favour of the profession and his major contribution to the development of national and international road transport, Mr Kaplan is considered by his peers to be one of the top road transport professionals in the CIS region.

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