BLG and biggest Dutch cold store operator seal partnership

BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG sells 51 percent of its shares in the Bremerhaven cold store to the Dutch enterprise Kloosterboer. In future the joint venture will bear the name Kloosterboer BLG Coldstore GmbH. The cooperation targets joint positioning in the temperature-controlled logistics sector in northern Germany.

BLG Coldstore Logistics GmbH was established in 1985 and operates the biggest commercial cold store facility in Bremerhaven in the freeport with a storage capacity of around 29,000 pallet slots. The core business encompasses storage of frozen food products from non-EU overseas countries. Kloosterboer is the largest Dutch cold store operator and one of the biggest providers of temperature-controlled logistics in Europe. Headquartered in Ijmuiden, the Dutch company also has operations in France, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the US.

“With Kloosterboer we now have a strong international partner at our side with whom we will further expand the cold storage segment and enlarge our extensive network in the international fish and seafood sector,” says Lüder Korff, who already headed BLG Coldstore Logistics GmbH and will be Managing Director of Kloosterboer BLG Coldstore GmbH.

Both sides benefit from the strategic partnership: Kloosterboer pursues an international growth strategy and, by acquiring 51 percent of the shares in BLG Coldstore, achieves market entry in Germany. The focus was clearly placed on Bremerhaven as the preferred location for deliveries of frozen food from overseas countries, such as raw fish products from Alaska. Accordingly, Kloosterboer Managing Director Hans Kroes sees numerous advantages in the cooperation: “Aside from enlargement of the service portfolio, we want to create and exploit synergies in all areas. In this way we can offer our customers more flexibility, competitive advantages and savings in the framework of the supply chain.”

The transaction is still subject to approval by the cartel authorities.