Friday, August 11, 2017

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Group Buys Specialist Events and Commercial Removals Company

Expansion by Acquisition Policy Continues
Shipping News Feature
AUSTRIA – Freight forwarding and logistics outfit Gebrüder Weiss has continued its policy of expansion by acquisition with the takeover of Kapeller Internationale Spedition GmbH (KIS). In January the Lauterach based group picked up the German Deutsche Transport Compagnie Erich Bogdan GmbH & Co. KG (DTC) shortly after the split with long-time partner Röhlig.

This time the deal is closer to home as the Tyrolean company operates from two locations in Innsbruck and Wörgl, specialising in events and commercial relocations as well as warehousing. KIS employs about 40 members of staff and is to be integrated into the Gebrüder Weiss network as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Both parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

The two companies have worked together for some time and the company,whilst retaining its own identity, will see owner Gerhard Kapeller handing over the management of the company to Hannes Mayr, who has been running the Gebrüder Weiss branch in Tyrol for eleven years. Meanwhile son of the owner, David Kapeller, will manage the branch office in Innsbruck.

Hannes Mayr commented that the freight forwarding company has been involved in handling events, removals, warehouse and furniture logistics as well as art transport since 1958. Currently KIS is involved in multimodal transport along with end-customer delivery (B2C) including assembly services, a segment that also Gebrüder Weiss has successfully expanded in the past few years. He observed:

“Kapeller has already been a reliable partner to Gebrüder Weiss for many years company is well-established on the market and finds itself in an economically sound position. With this special logistics know-how we are expanding our product portfolio for our customers in the region.”

Gebrüder Weiss has also had offices in the Innsbruck/Tyrol since the 1950’s and with this acquisition is now represented with about 300 employees at three locations in Hall, Wörgl and Innsbruck which the company says will enable it to offer intermodal links via its subsidiary TSSU (Tyrolean road-rail-transhipment company) together with a portfolio which also includes land, sea and air forwarding, and both bespoke and automotive logistics solutions.