STEF launched its commercial brand in the Netherlands at the opening of an 8,000 m2 extension to its logistics platform in Bodegraven. Both events indicate the Group is building up its presence in the Netherlands. The opening ceremony, organized by Koen Torrekens, General Manager STEF Benelux and Christian Dooms, Managing Director STEF Netherlands, took place in the presence of about one hundred national and international clients from the agrifood industry. Group Chairman Francis Lemor, CEO Jean-Pierre Sancier and Deputy CEOs Serge Capitaine and Stanislas Lemor were on hand for the occasion.
The STEF Bodegraven site, located between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht in the middle of the country’s major food consumption area, doubled its capacity thanks to this new €8 million investment. As a result, this platform is now the main STEF hub for transport and logistics in the Netherlands.
A key player in the Netherlands, located to serve Northern Europe
STEF has ramped up its investments and business activities in the Netherlands, now grouped under a single commercial brand, marking a decisive new phase of the Group's expansion in Northern Europe. STEF developed its food transport and logistics activities by capitalizing on the know-how of Speksnijder Transport and Vers-Express, acquired respectively in 2014 and 2016, and on its minority interest taken in Netko company. Backed by these renowned and historic companies and its new brand image, STEF Nederland is designed to offer an efficient supply chain to serve customers in the agrifood industry, distribution and out-of-home catering.
- To meet its objectives, the company can mobilize a staff of 350 in the Netherlands and nearly 20,000 m2 of warehousing and cross-docking space in three locations:
- Raalte (northeast): a 2,500-m2 transport and logistics facility for chilled products (+2 / +4°C) Eindhoven (southeast): a 2,000-m2 transport facility for chilled products (+2 / +4°C)
- Bodegraven (central): a 14,500-m2 transport and logistics platform for chilled and frozen products.
STEF's Deputy CEO Serge Capitaine observed that "bringing our Dutch business activities under the STEF brand is a logical step forward in the context of our European deployment. Our platforms in Bodegraven, Eindhoven, and Raalte are all interconnected with each other and with the Group's other locations in Europe, allowing STEF Nederland to offer truly distinct solutions in a demanding market based on dynamic, exporting agrifood businesses. Today, we are well-positioned to provide efficient coverage of all production and consumption areas in the Netherlands. By setting up STEF Nederland and investing in the country, we have materialized our ambitions to develop consistant transport and logistics services for fresh and frozen food products in the Netherlands."
Christian Dooms, Managing Director STEF Netherlands, notes that "with the new 8,000 m2 extension to its Bodegraven platform, STEF Nederland offers its clients first-class expertise in logistics for fresh food products, thanks to new pooling solutions and 24/48h deliveries anywhere in the Benelux. Benefiting from the unique STEF's fresh and frozen products pooling network, STEF Nederland helps Dutch operators to access Southern Europe markets and European food industries to expand their business in the Netherlands."
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