H Essers continues to grow

BIG RED

INVESTMENT • H ESSERS CONTINUES ON ITS RAPID GROWTH PATH, ITS LATEST PROJECT BEING THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF THE MEEUS GROUP AND ITS LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES

H ESSERS REPORTS that it is in “advanced negotiations” to acquire the logistics and transport activities of the Netherlands-based Meeus Group. H Essers says the acquisition is in line with its multi-year growth plan, which involves continuing to invest heavily in advanced chemical logistics activities and to expand its footprint in the Netherlands.

“The acquisition of the Meeus Group’s chemical cluster will significantly expand our warehousing footprint as well as our multimodal transport and distribution network in the Netherlands,” says Gert Bervoets, CEO of H Essers. “We look forward to pooling the expertise of our companies: a win-win for both parties and our customers.”

The acquired assets will include: Meeus Group’s chemical cluster and two removal activities, of which one location is in France; Mepavex Logistics, which offers warehousing and value-added services; Meeus Transport, which operates within and between the Netherlands and France; Meeus France; forwarding operations Meeus Freight Management and BGT; Benelux transport operation Darvi Transport; the MCT inland container terminal; and the UTS network of removal companies. Meeus Group’s three Hartog and Bikker companies, which lie outside the chemical cluster, are not involved in the deal.

JOINING FORCES “When we look at our chemicals activities, we see that our customers are increasingly looking for logistics partners with a broad range of services and a large geographic footprint,” says Toon Meeus, third generation head of the Meeus Group. “Joining forces and integrating our chemical cluster in a company such as H Essers will result in a stronger presence in the market. Moreover, it gives me the opportunity to further focus on the development of the Hartog and Bikker companies.”

The acquired companies have an expected turnover of €57m in 2020, making this H Essers’ largest ever acquisition. “The acquisition of the Meeus Group heralds a new growth phase that will allow us to significantly increase our warehousing footprint in the Netherlands, a phase in which we will be focusing on large, modern European distribution centres,” Bervoets explains. “Currently, it concerns 160,000 m² of warehouse space – with enormous expansion potential – with which to offer our customers integrated logistics solutions ranging from storage, picking and packing, to advanced added-value services such as filling activities.”

The deal will also expand H Essers’ transport and distribution network, bringing with it 100 trucks and 590 trailers and chassis. “The inland terminal, strategically located between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, represents a geographically important reinforcement of our multimodal services, which are in full growth,” Bervoets adds.

Neither party has revealed financial details of the acquisition, which remains subject to final agreement and approval by the competition authorities.

SHELLING OUT The major deal follows swiftly on from H Essers’ takeover of Norwegian tank container operator Tank Management A/S this past September (HCB October 2020, page 40). But that is far from all that has been going on at the Belgium-based logistics firm of late. This past October it opened a new warehouse at its site in Kluizendok, Ghent, specifically to handle chemicals for Shell. The development is part of the broader trimodal terminal, where warehousing was established in 2018 and now offers some 50,000 m² of space.

The investment at the Kluizendok location follows the pattern of the new Dry Port Genk terminal, where work also started in 2018, but focusing on synchromodality. This is enabled by the large rail terminal adjacent to the site, certified for handling dangerous goods, as well

BUILDING ON ITS HOMELAND SITES IN BELGIUM,

H ESSERS IS LOOKING FOR GROWTH ELSEWHERE

as fast connections by inland waterway to other ports, including Antwerp and Rotterdam. H Essers built 37,500 m² of warehousing space for two chemical clients and has now expanded that with another 12,500 m² for Shell. “With a total storage capacity of 50,000 m² today and a potential to expand up to 130,000 m², we are able to not only provide our customers with state-of-the-art and personalised warehousing now, but also in the long term,” says Filip Puelinckx, senior project engineer at H Essers. “There is plenty of room for companies looking for new opportunities. What we have to offer is a sustainable approach and a fully synchromodal supply chain.”

“Kluizendok offers a unique opportunity, because we are currently one of the few players who can provide such facilities on such a large scale and fully compliant at that,” adds Christophe Houpels, business unit manager, West.

H Essers and Shell worked closely together to ensure a complete integration of all processes through electronic data interchange. “The less manual input is required, the more the process flows are optimised,” notes Puelinckx. “And once you get that right, you gain tremendously in quality and speed.”

Shell is so far impressed with the development, as Jannes Colaert, general manager of Shell Belgium, explains: “The team proactively thinks about our future, about what our optimised supply chain should look like, and then puts it into practice, step by step.” In addition, the efficiency gains can help reduce the carbon footprint of Shell’s distribution activities through the use of inland shipping. “We not only think about the practical solution our customers need today, but also about green opportunities and growth strategies for the future. For us, that’s the definition of a partnership,” says Houpels.

ITALIAN ACTION Expansion has also been taking place in Italy, where H Essers has positioned itself as a specialist international logistics service provider for the pharmaceutical sector and has recently attracted a number of new customers.

One of those is Fresenius-Kabi iPSUM, a German pharma producer with an Italian branch in Villadose, some 50 km south-west of Venice and close to H Essers’ facility in Monselice. “They needed more warehousing,” comments Lieven Severijns, business unit manager, international expansions at H Essers. “Because of the Corona crisis, which had just begun, there was an urgent need for a large quantity of crucial medicines and semi-finished products that could prove valuable in the fight against the virus. Fresenius also wanted to fully secure the collection and delivery of the products, both in terms of planning and protected transportation of the goods.”

On top of that, Fresenius was looking for packaging solutions and the release of non-released goods, those that have not yet been released for sale and use in Italy. The storage and release of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) requires specific licences in Italy. “We applied for and obtained all the required authorisations immediately,” Severijns says. “We now have three pharmaceutical employees who are in charge of managing the pharmaceutical products, including the APIs.”

Another request arrived from biopharma multinational UCB, who wanted H Essers to take over its entire Italian supply chain. Since this past November, H Essers has taken over all storage, picking, packaging, shipping and transport management for UCB in Italy. Specific aspects of these activities include management of narcotics and full tracing and communication of the so-called bollini, the strict identification characteristics of goods which ensure that counterfeit products and alternative sales channels are avoided. This also meant additional licensing and security measures to handle narcotics, as well as the need for further temperature-controlled warehousing space.

Although pharmaceuticals have provided a solid foundation for the Italian operations of H Essers, the company is looking to extend that into the chemicals sector. “The acquisition of Baxter was a big step in that direction, and the bulk operations of Huktra and Tank Management in the region are also in line with this,” says Severijns. “We are currently very active in the pharma segment, but at the same time we are looking for opportunities to create a fully Seveso-certified site in Italy to support chemical customers in their logistical needs. We are always open to new acquisitions and partnerships that enable us to join forces with other players in the southern European market. And that market really exists: Italy is ready for a logistical breakthrough.” www.essers.com