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PRESS RELEASE

24.02.2015

Rhenus takes over the Serbian port and inland waterway logistics specialist CFND.

The Rhenus Group took over the Serbian terminal operator and inland waterway logistics services provider CFND A.D. Beograd from the French companies CFNR and ATIC Services on 19 February. This will enable Rhenus to expand its commitment to the river Danube region.

CFND provides handling, charter, warehouse and combined transport services for various types of goods like fuels, building materials, agricultural products and metals at the Danube port of Beočin in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. The company was founded in January 2010 in order to develop logistics activities along the Danube trading route. CFND generated turnover of EUR 3.6 million in 2012.

CFND complements our existing business activities on the Danube with its regional expertise and its qualified members of staff,” says Hubert Mierka, Co-Partner of Rhenus Mierka Danube Shipping. “It’s our aim to expand our range of overall services in the Danube region and develop new tri-modal business sites. The handling terminal in Beočin fits this concept perfectly.”

The port terminal in Beočin is on the right-hand bank of the Danube; this guarantees navigability for vessels with a draught of 2.50 metres and the quay is 110 metres long. Fitted with modern handling equipment, the site has 29,000 square metres of open storage space and special facilities for directly transferring grain on board ships. The goods handled here particularly head for neighbouring countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova.

“As Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube forms an important transport axis between east and west. We view this trading route as a significant growth market for inland waterway shipping, because the movement of goods between the neighbouring states is increasing,” says Thomas Maassen, Managing Director of Rhenus PartnerShip. The Rhenus Port Logistics business area provides end-to-end multi-modal transport chains in this region and connects the North Sea ports with the Black Sea via the rivers Rhine, Main and Danube.

The Rhenus Group established Rhenus Mierka Danube Shipping through Mierka Beteiligungsgesellschaft (MBG or Mierka Holding Company) in 2012 to handle inland waterway transport operations. Rhenus increased its stake in MBG to 51 percent in April 2013. Mierka Donauhafen Krems was able to increase its freight volumes by 18 percent to a figure of 1.5 million tonnes in 2014 in comparison with the previous year. The volume of goods handled by shipping rose by 40 percent to more than 640,000 tonnes.

About Rhenus

The Rhenus Group provides logistics services around the globe and has annual turnover amounting to EUR 4.1 billion. Rhenus employs over 24,000 people at more than 390 locations worldwide. The Rhenus business areas – Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics, Port Logistics and Public Transport – manage complex supply chains and provide a wealth of innovative value-added services.