Geodis has announced the finalization of the acquisition of trans-o-flex following regulatory approval.

trans-o-flex is a German network for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical goods and express premium delivery.

In a statement, Geodis said the acquisition would establish Geodis as one of the most prominent players in the key market of healthcare and would significantly enhance its delivery capabilities in Europe.

 Source: Geodis

End-to-end logistics goal

"The acquisition of trans-o-flex, the largest temperature-controlled distribution network in Germany specializing in healthcare, accelerates our growth in a key market for GEODIS," said Marie-Christine Lombard, chief executive officer of Geodis.

"We want to enable trans-o-flex to consolidate its market position in Germany and expand it in the largest European countries. It forms part of our ambition to develop our global end-to-end logistics solutions in support of our customers’ growth and geographical expansion,"  Lombard added.

With this acquisition, Geodis noted that it is adding a wide range of services for time-critical deliveries to its portfolio and offers a fast, reliable and time-definite delivery service in Germany, one of its key geographies.

The addition of trans-o-flex capabilities to the already existing Freight Forwarding and Contract Logistics businesses will also strengthen GEODIS' position in Germany, reaching close to €1.5 billion (US$1.59 billion) worth of revenue with more than 3,400 employees.

Geodis said synergies for both companies will be created by leveraging all of trans-o-flex's strengths and resources, including its strong brand and the expertise of its existing management team.

It added that trans-o-flex would remain independent and would be run under the leadership of Wolfgang P. Albeck as CEO.

The company will operate under a supervisory board chaired by Marie-Christine Lombard, with Christoph Schoeller as deputy chairman.

Trans-o-flex will report to the Europe region under the leadership of Thomas Kraus. To ensure commercial synergies, Wolfgang P. Albeck will join the executive board of Geodis' Europe region.

Christoph Schoeller, deputy chairman of trans-o-flex, said: "We are pleased that trans-o-flex can now start a new, international growth phase. In order to ensure continuity, the entire trans-o-flex management will remain in office. Together we will continue to work on the success story of the Group."

The focus of the express service, which was founded in 1971 and has established special logistics solutions for the cosmetics, consumer electronics and other sensitive goods sectors in addition to healthcare, is in Germany.

In Germany and in Austria, trans-o-flex has 77 network and warehouse locations. The company has also established its own nationwide network for actively temperature-controlled pharmaceutical transports at 2 to 8° C and 15 to 25° C.