News / Röhlig and Penske launch European contract logistics joint-venture

German mid-sized 3PL Röhlig Logistics and US firm Penske Logistics have launched a new contract logistics joint-venture, Röhlig Penske Logistics, operating primarily in Germany and the Netherlands.

The companies, which have co-operated for a number of years, “serving shared customers in Europe”, said the aim of formalising the partnership into a joint-venture was “to expand into further western European countries”.

The deal comes amid the emergence of a new subset of supply chain players – pure-play contract logistics operators (PPCLOs), which has become increasingly prominent since the spin-off of GXO Logistics and has been covered extensively in Loadstar Premium.

It should propel the contract logistics activities of both Röhlig and Penske – currently contract logistics is estimated to account for just 5% of Röhlig’s revenue.

“This is another milestone in the growth of Röhlig Logistics,” said Hylton Gray (above, right), CEO of sea freight, air freight, contract logistics & sales. “We envisage great potential in this venture, which will expand our presence in Europe and offers even more flexibility to our customers in the EU.”

Although financial terms have remained undisclosed, Röhlig will hold 80% of the joint-venture and Penske 20%, with its 55,000 sq metre warehouse in Roosendaal, the Netherlands incorporated into the operation. The 80 Penske employees at Roosendaal are expected to be transferred to Röhlig Penske Logistics.

Röhlig operates a 30,000sq-metre facility at Nettetal, across the Dutch-German border from Venlo, and manages another 200,000 sq metres of global warehousing.

“The new joint-venture incorporates transport management operations and e-commerce logistics, with plans to accelerate additional growth, utilise operational synergies and enhance services levels for potential and shared mutual customers operating in Europe,” a joint statement said.

Bill Scroggie (above, left), SVP international operations for Penske Logistics, added: “We have had an excellent working relationship with Röhlig for many years, serving shared customers in the automotive, food and manufacturing segments. This new venture provides our shared customers with additional scale and service levels and will provide both businesses with additional growth opportunities in Europe.”