The major French transport and logistics group Geodis has acquired the Italian contractlogistics operator Bertola Servizi Logistici to expand its presence in the country, according to
international media reports.Through this acquisition, Geodis reaches an annual turnover of €400 million in Italy while alsodoubling its storage capacity. With a workforce of over 2,000 staff in the country, the subsidiaryof the French rail operator SNCF is thus also gaining presence in Veneto, the second most importantlogistics region in Italy. It is one of the country’s 20 regions located in the north-east. Geodisalready has 18 sites in Italy and aims to become a leading multi-business-line service provider inthe country.
Under the new deal, Geodis will provide a complete service range including groupage,full-truckload transport, contractual logistics, freight forwarding, and 4PL.
Bertola’s logistics premises comprise a total area of 286,000 sqm with four sites in Castel SanGiovanni, Rovigo, Pavia, and Novara. As the tenth largest contract logistics operator in Italy, thecompany employs 92 staff with reported revenue of €60.9 million in 2008.
This new operation will enable Geodis to strengthen its position in several customer industriesand to increase its expertise in Italy through Bertola’s customer portfolio, primarily made up ofkey accounts in sectors of strategic interest to Geodis including textiles, and automotiveindustry. Among Bertola’s main customers are national and global companies such as Lavazza, Lindt.Xerox, Bosch, Giochi Preziosi, Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, Varta, Johnson Controls, Fracarro andManfrotto.
“With this acquisition in Italy, Geodis is continuing its strategy of offering a completeservice range for all transport and logistics sectors,” explained Jean-Louis Demeulenaere, managingdirector, Geodis Italy.
