Kuehne + Nagel announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to take over the shares of Grupo Eichenberg, Porto Alegre, Brazil. This strategic acquisition will enable Kuehne + Nagel to provide integrated door-to-door logistics solutions and to speed up expansion in Brazil.

Grupo Eichenberg, a family owned business, can look back on 75 years of history. Today, headquartered in Porto Alegre, the company is managed by the family’s third generation and employs approximately 700 staff. At 14 locations, the Group provides integrated logistics solutions.

In the road logistics sector, Grupo Eichenberg is one of the leading providers, both in the domestic market and in Mercosur trades; the company operates daily services to and from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Besides this core competence, Grupo Eichenberg is also very successful in domestic airfreight forwarding, another important segment of the Brazilian logistics market.

Karl Gernandt, Chairman of the Kuehne + Nagel International AG said the acquisition is in line with the company’s global growth strategy and ideally fits its objective to significantly expand its activities in particular in Brazil, one of the world’s key growth markets.

According to Gernandt, Grupo Eichenberg complements the service offering and customer base of Kuehne + Nagel strongly performing national company. Together, the companies are able to increase their value proposition by providing global integrated door-to-door solutions in Brazil, said Gernandt.

Gerson Eichenberg, Chairman of Grupo Eichenberg, noted that in a dynamically growing market, companies from industry and trade are looking for global logistics solutions, allowing them to create value and increase competitive advantage.

Jointly, the two companies can optimally meet these requirements, and thus further strengthen Kuehne + Nagel’s market position, said Gerson Eichenberg.
 
With more than 60,000 employees at 900 locations in over 100 countries, the Kuehne + Nagel Group is one of the world's leading logistics companies. Its strong market position lies in the sea freight, airfreight, contract logistics and overland businesses, with a clear focus on providing IT-based lead logistics solutions.

Kuehne + Nagel is a financially strong, stable and independent firm. Its global logistics network, cutting-edge IT systems, in-house expertise and excellent customer service are aimed at turning it into the market leader. These attributes have placed the company at the forefront of the industry, and positioned it to continue increasing the scope of its customer solutions and services.

18th July 2011