Palletways acquires Italian operation

Palletways Europe Ltd, the parent company of Palletways UK has acquired the Italian operation it licensed out in 2002.
The development forms part of Palletways strategy to provide a dedicated and integrated pan-European network for the express delivery of small consignments of palletised freight and now means that the company controls all its networks in the UK and mainland Europe, which today comprise some 250 plus depots and 8 hub facilities, handling circa 20,000 pallets every day.
Palletways Italia has gone from strength to strength in the last five years and now has over 60 depots and two hub facilities in Bologna and Naples. As part of the acquisition Palletways has purchased land near the Bologna facility in order to construct a major new hub, which will accommodate future growth in volumes. The 15,000 sq metre hub facility will be fully operational by early next year and will be designed to handle express deliveries across Italy and to other parts of Europe served by Palletways. Said James Wilson, Chief Executive of Palletways: “This acquisition further reinforces our position as Europe’s largest network for the express delivery of small consignments of palletised freight and supports our expansion plans to create the first pan-European operation of its kind.
“The acquisition enables the company to grow its market leadership by strengthening its service offer in the European marketplace through significant investment in Palletways Italia. The investment will build on the excellent progress made to date in Italy by the present management team, who will continue with the business to ensure continuity.
“We place considerable importance on the Italian market, and in addition to the new hub development, we are in the process of linking internationally the Palletways Italia operation with our other networks, covering the Benelux region, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, to enable cross border deliveries between Italy and these countries. In the near future the Italian network will also be integrated with our operation in Spain, which was launched last year.”
Added Wilson: “This integration will open up major new business opportunities for all our members in the UK as they will be able to offer their customers a small consignment express delivery service to anywhere in Italy.”
Palletways Europe Ltd has appointed Roberto Rossi and Bernardo Cammarata as Chairman and General Manager of Palletways Italia respectively. Both have extensive logistics expertise. Rossi was previously President of TNT Traco, in Italy and more recently world wide Chief Executive of TNT Logistics. Cammarata held senior operations posts for both TNT and DHL. Dr Antonio Giambrone has also been appointed as Director of Finance.