Euroports: in the city and at the port
Euroports invested 10 million euros in their Antwerp terminals last year, on top of 15 million in the previous two years.
A 680-square-metre mural appeared on the façade of logistics company Euroports in the port of Antwerp during last year. With familiar images from the port, the artwork shows how Euroports is integrated into the city and the port. With PMV and others as shareholders, the Flemish company has the ambition to become a global port terminal operator with a strong market position. The operational result is already growing.
In 2007, Jean-Jacques Westerlund, who died last year, sold his port company, founded by his grandfather in 1904, to Australian investment company Babcock & Brown, which subsequently relaunched as Euroports. A consortium comprising R-Logitech (a subsidiary of conglomerate Monaco Resources Group) and Flemish and federal investment companies PMV and FPIM took over the group in 2019. Euroports is one of the largest maritime infrastructure companies in Europe, with nearly 40 water-bound port terminals along major trade routes. It is active in the transhipment and handling of more than 62 million tonnes of bulk, breakbulk, container and liquid products per year, and in setting up global maritime supply chain solutions, both for leading international companies in various industrial sectors.
Growth opportunities
The growth opportunity at Euroports was an important reason for the new shareholders to invest in the company in 2019. R-Logitech, PMV and FPIM combine great operational expertise with financial strength and local knowledge: in 2019, they were convinced that together they could contribute to the healthy growth of Euroports in a sector of strategic importance to the Flemish economy. After the acquisition, the headquarters were moved from the Netherlands to Antwerp, and initiatives to improve the group’s performance and streamline operations immediately followed.
Ambition
In 2020 and 2021, Euroports proved resilient to the corona crisis and was able to achieve strong growth in its operating result despite the crisis. Then last year, the global container crisis allowed it to respond positively to increased demand for dry bulk transshipment and freight forwarding activities flourished. In late 2021, it acquired a freight forwarder in Turkey and a port terminal operator in Finland, meaning Euroports now operates in Finland’s three major ports. Although for 2022 the positive market trend is expected to continue, 2022 will be a year full of challenges: inflation, further organic growth, additional acquisitions… In any case, the ambition remains unchanged: to become a global port terminal operator with a strong market position.
Bulk shooter
Euroports invested 10 million euros in their Antwerp terminals last year, on top of the 15 million it invested the previous two years. This included a superfast device that can load up to 1,000 tonnes of goods per hour into a ship: the first mobile ‘bulk shooter’ in Europe. The device lifts goods, such as minerals or fertilisers, upwards using a lift system. A flexible arm can then lower to very deep inside the ship, and with a ‘trunk’ it can distribute the goods efficiently over the entire surface of the ship.