APLL looks to Europe
APL Logistics. part of the Singapore-based NOL Group, is continuing its shopping spree. <Previouslv APL Logistics really had very little presence in the US, but the acquisition of GATX Logistics was a major milestone in creating a presence in North and South America.” Mike Gardner, CEO of APL Logistics in Oakland said at a recent press conference in London. One or more acquisitions were being considered in Europe. APLL has however not vet managed to identify a European counterpart to the GATX Logistics (with its 3000 strong workforce). APLL will therefore probably carefully stake out one or two smaller firms. Gardner added that he was <> hut was not prepared to give any further details at this stage. We have spent some time on trying to become stronger in some of the geographic regions in which we have traditionally not been strong enough. Europe is another area where if you want to do business and to be a global 3rd or 4th party logistics provider, you have to have dots on the map, you have to have real people, you have to have a lot of presence and operational capabilities.>>
Organic growth
“At the same time, we want to grow organically. In the early months of the year 2001. we started to build up our infrastructure in different European countries,>> said Thomas Poulsen, now APL
Logistics’s vice president for European operations. > Poulson said.
Expansion in Asia, too
As Rick Moradian. president responsible for Asia and the Middle East, explained, APLL has been active in Asia for many years. in more than 27 countries to he exact, including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Currently. China holds out the promise of a
particularly large growth potential. Of a population of about 1.2 billion, around 120 million Chinese are considered to be <> (i.e. almost half the total population of the USA). and this figure could grow to 500 million over the next decade. Demand for all types of consumer goods will therefore increase enormouslv. However. are thinking of creating joint ventures, rather than making acquisitions. as the former would be easier to establish for administrative and political reasons,” Moradian said.
The situation on the Indian market is comparable with that prevailing in China. A 240 million strong middle class is creating a large demand for consumer goods. Moradian said. On the other hand, the country’s overall infrastructure is up to 50 years behind of what we would regard as world class. “Hence, again a tremendous opportunity to create an integrated solution from an infrastructure perspective. from an IT perspective and from an information perspective.
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