FedEx completes acquisition of Polish courier firm Opek
FedEx Corp has now completed its acquisition of the Polish courier company Opek Sp., it said yesterday. The company said adding the business to its existing FedEx Express operations in Poland would mean around 12.5m additional shipments each year and an annual sales of around $70m.
Opek customers will now have direct access to the global FedEx network, it said.
The acquired company was founded in 1994, operating out of three hubs in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Lodz and Katowice, along with 44 stations across Poland. The firm has more than 1,200 employees and uses more than 1,300 contracted drivers.
FedEx said the relatively strong Polish economy and prospects for growth in e-commerce made the country one of the key markets for its investment at the moment.
Gerald P Leary, the FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, India and Africa president, said: “FedEx entered the Polish market in 1989 and we have been continuously expanding our services since then. This acquisition is another important step to expanding our presence and accelerating growth in this exciting region.”
Opek general director Marek Opinski said the takeover by FedEx was an important milestone for his customers, as well as for employees and couriers.
“Our customers will benefit from direct access to the worldwide FedEx network and our team members will become part of one of the world’s most admired companies,” he said. “With this transaction, a new era of our company history begins.”
The Opek acquisition comes as part of a broader expansion of FedEx in Europe, which has seen the company sign a deal last month to buy French express company Tatex, and open up 38 new stations in the region this year.
