Raben Strengthens Position in the European and German Market

The Raben Group is consistently pursuing its growth strategy: With the integration of the Greek partner Intertrans S. A., the Portuguese market leader Torrestir, and the Dutch BAS Group, the logistics service provider has established daily direct connections this year and strengthened its position in the European market.

(Mannheim) In addition to the well-developed Eastern European routes, the new connections to Southwestern and Southern Europe ensure fast and efficient imports and exports along the entire supply chain. With the acquisition of Luible Logistik GmbH in Upper Swabia’s Leipheim and the planned completion of a new branch in 2022 in Sarstedt, Raben is also expanding its national groupage network. The owner-managed company organizes the transports within a tightly scheduled distribution concept.

This makes the new routes attractive for shippers who need to transport small shipments under time pressure. In particular, the automotive, chemical, and consumer goods industries benefit from the daily direct connections. “With the help of international acquisitions, we are closer to our customers, directly at their production sites, and can thus feed goods into our network more quickly,” says Markus Schmitz, Managing Director of International Freight Forwarding at Raben.

The Greek partner Intertrans S.A. is the newest member of the Raben Group, which is now represented in 14 European countries. The transport network of Intertrans covers twelve countries and 23 hubs. Raben offers daily direct services from Wuppertal, Fellbach, and Nuremberg to Athens, Thessaloniki, and Limassol in Cyprus. “With the main office at the Port of Piraeus, near Athens, as well as two other branches in Thessaloniki and Crete, we have incorporated the important logistics market in Greece into our portfolio,” explains Schmitz. The 70 Greek employees manage the efficient and effective transportation of goods to the European part of Cyprus with around 90 transport vehicles.

Shippers Benefit from the Close Groupage Network in Italy and Portugal

Already in May, Raben expanded its partner structure with the Portuguese market leader Torrestir. The acquisition strengthened the direct services from all German locations to the Iberian Peninsula. Also new to the Raben network this year is the Dutch BAS Group. On the route from the Netherlands to Italy, Raben transports 90 percent of the goods by rail. This combined road-rail transport from the Port of Rotterdam to Italian Busto is particularly cost-effective and sustainable.

Southern European Traffic Increased by 35 Percent

In 2021, Raben recorded a 35 percent increase in Southern European traffic. Schmitz expects further growth on these routes in 2022. Therefore, the logistics service provider increased the daily departures from the German locations. For example, at the Wuppertal branch, ten additional trucks are deployed, and up to nine additional trucks per week in Fellbach. To keep the CO2 footprint as low as possible, Raben primarily uses large-volume swap bodies measuring 7.82 meters in length and approximately 3 meters in loading height for all Southern European routes. This allows for optimal utilization of the available cargo space per vehicle. Additional emissions from extra vehicles can thus be avoided.

Expansion of the German Groupage Network

Raben is also expanding the German groupage network with new branches. With the acquisition of Luible Logistik GmbH in Upper Swabia’s Leipheim, Raben has a strategically excellent location near the highway junctions A7 and A8. In mid-2022, the group will move into a new branch in Sarstedt, Hildesheim district. This will replace the current location in Langenhagen. In doing so, the logistics service provider is primarily responding to the growing customer demands for modern contract logistics, for which an area of 27,000 square meters is planned.

With a 5,400 square meter transshipment hall and 30 loading and unloading ramps, Sarstedt represents a significant expansion of the existing network in Lower Saxony. “Due to the continuous expansion of our national forwarding network, we are creating new synergies for our customers to minimize their transport costs,” says branch manager Felix Thiele.

Thomas Nolepa, Head of Contract Logistics Germany, adds: “The direct connection of contract logistics to our forwarding network at one location accelerates processing and processes, thereby avoiding unnecessary intermediate transports.”

Photo: © Raben Group