Customers benefit from network expansion // Gebrüder Weiss sets additional milestone in its global logistics strategy

Lauterach / Bremen, July 29, 2020. Gebrüder Weiss has taken over large parts of the operational business of Ipsen Logistics. The globally active logistics company has thereby increased its presence in Germany and, at the same time, expanded its global Air & Sea network to include national companies in Belgium, Poland, and Malaysia. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities and the necessary approval procedures. It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Ipsen’s national companies in Morocco and Algeria continue to be cooperation partners in the GW network, but remain unaffected by the acquisition; the same applies to Ipsen Industrial Packing in Bremen.

“The planned acquisition is an important step in the development of our Air & Sea division. Gebrüder Weiss and Ipsen Logistics are a good match, not only geographically but also in terms of their understanding of service and culture. Based on this stronger global network, we are now able to offer both Ipsen’s customers and our future employees new development opportunities,” says Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss.

“Gebrüder Weiss’ national companies in Europe, Asia, America, and Oceania are ideal contact points for the customers of Ipsen Logistics who will now be able to enjoy global logistics solutions from a single source,” says Lothar Thoma, Managing Director of Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss. The comprehensive takeover of Ipsen Logistics’ business is part of a growth strategy being pursued by Gebrüder Weiss in the Air & Sea segment for several years now. The company only recently expanded its global Air & Sea network to include its own locations in South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia. “Expanding our network in Germany and entering the market in the Malaysia mean that our growth plans have been completed for the time being,” adds Lothar Thoma. “We now cover the most important logistics markets worldwide through our own companies – or through well-coordinated partnerships. We would now like to integrate and further strengthen this setup.”

Ipsen: From port service provider to global logistics company

Ipsen Logistics is a company that has grown from a former local port service provider to a globally active logistics group over the course of its history spanning more than 125 years. A total of 500 employees work in the Air & Sea division, 180 of which at the eight locations in Germany alone. They plan and implement worldwide air and sea freight logistics solutions for customers in a broad range of different sectors. In addition to providing transport services, these also include additional services such as customs clearance, warehousing, packaging, quality inspection or returns management as well as consolidated container services or multimodal pre- and post-carriage concepts to the seaports. “We provide our employees with the opportunity to take advantage of a new prospect and are pleased to have found in Gebrüder Weiss a buyer that will safeguard the continued existence of the company and preserve jobs,” say the two managing directors of Ipsen Logistics GmbH, Eduard Dubbers-Albrecht and Hans-Christian Specht.

Caption: At the signing of the contract in Bremen (from left): Hans-Christian Specht and Eduard Dubbers-Albrecht (both Managing Directors at Ipsen Logistics) with Lothar Thoma (Managing Director Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss) and Wolfram Senger-Weiss (Chairman of the Management Board of Gebrüder Weiss).

Source: Ipsen Logistics / Bettina Conrad