Swiss Post expands its goods logistics
On 1 January 2022, Swiss Post acquired Stella Brandenberger Transporte AG, based in Pratteln.
This family business employs 77 people and specializes in the national transportation of overseas containers. The takeover enables Swiss Post to boost its resources in an economic area that is key to Switzerland, and reinforce its position as a trusted logistics partner for many SMEs in Switzerland. The company has also expanded in Baden-Württemberg, acquiring Hugger GmbH, based in Aldingen (Germany) as of 1 January 2022. Hugger GmbH is a forwarding company with 217 employees that specializes in goods transport by road. At the same time, Swiss Post has acquired the shares in Logistic Center Villingen GmbH (LCV), based in Villingen-Schwenningen (Germany), a company with 12 employees that specializes in storage services.
Employment contracts for the staff affected to remain unchanged
The corporate identity of the three companies will remain the same. There will be no changes for staff. They will remain on the payroll of their respective employers, and have been informed of the changes in ownership. By acquiring the companies Hugger and LCV, Swiss Post is bolstering its current subsidiary Bächle Logistics GmbH, based in Villingen-Schwenningen. The operative business of both companies will be transferred to Bächle Logistics, which has been under Swiss Post’s ownership since 2018. The parties involved have agreed not to disclose details of the three acquisitions.
End-to-end logistics solutions for all of Switzerland
“The increases in the flows of goods we’re seeing, especially through online retail, are not focused on national borders, but on customers and production sites,” says Johannes Cramer, Head of Logistics Services at Swiss Post. “This is why we’ll continue to expand the range of logistics and customs clearance services, including abroad, that we offer our business customers. Acquiring Stella Brandenberger, LCV and Hugger will help us achieve the expansion we need, broaden our expertise and secure key resources such as storage options, vehicles and a skilled workforce. The pandemic has made it absolutely clear that a secure supply chain can only be guaranteed if you have sufficient resources,” explains Cramer. Through these acquisitions, Swiss Post will help ensure that its business customers in Switzerland can continue to receive their goods on time, and that their customers, in turn, don’t experience any delays.
Swiss Post invests in its core business and ensures the provision of the universal service in Switzerland
To ensure that Swiss Post can provide the universal service in Switzerland from its own resources in future, the company will depend on increased income in its core business, i.e. the secure, reliable transport of goods and information from A to B. To help it achieve this goal, the company is investing in its infrastructure, for instance, parcel sorting. Swiss Post is also making targeted acquisitions and business units where they complement its services or contribute new technologies and expertise to the company. In 2021, Swiss Post acquired the shares of four freight forwarders in order to expand its logistics network in international goods trade. On 1 April 2021, Swiss Post took over Ost-West Cargo GmbH, based in Stuttgart, enabling the company to increase its presence in southern Germany, and in particular to bolster its subsidiary Bächle Logistics. It then acquired the transport companies Iemoli SA, based in Balerna and Como (Italy), Otto Schmidt AG, based in Basel, and Intralog Hermes AG, based in Pratteln.
As part of its growth strategy, Swiss Post will continue to make targeted investments in its core markets. By doing so, the company will not only ensure the provision of the public service from its own resources, it will also enable Switzerland to gain improved links to international goods flows.
