H.Essers acquires the chemical logistics activities of the Dutch Meeus Group
“This strategic acquisition is the largest in our company history and will significantly strengthen our chemicals segment and our footprint in the Netherlands”
Logistics service provider H.Essers, currently active in 19 countries from 77 locations, acquires the logistics and transport activities of the Dutch Meeus Group. It concerns in particular the logistics and transport activities in and from Bergen op Zoom (with a focus on chemicals, including hazardous goods) and the group’s removal companies. The acquisition is in line with H.Essers’ multi-year growth plan to continue to invest heavily in advanced chemical logistics and the further geographic development of its activities in the Netherlands. “The acquisition of the Meeus Group’s chemical cluster will significantly expand our warehousing footprint as well as our multimodal transport and distribution network in the Netherlands,” says Gert Bervoets, CEO of H.Essers. “We look forward to pooling the expertise of our companies: a win-win for both parties and our customers.”
Acquisition of chemical and removal activities
In concrete terms, this concerns the acquisition of the group’s chemical cluster and two removal companies (8 facilities in the Netherlands and 1 in France): Mepavex Logistics (warehousing and value added services), Meeus Transport (international transport between mainly the Netherlands and France), Meeus France, Meeus Freight Management and BGT (forwarding activities), Darvi Transport (Benelux transport), MCT (an inland container terminal), and the removal companies of the UTS network (UTS van den Berg and van Egeraat Verhuizingen). The activities of the three Hartog and Bikker companies (Den Hartog & Bikker, H&B Logistics and Bikker Logistics), which are active in the storage and transport of volume goods, are not part of the acquisition.
Investing in sustainable chemical logistics
The Meeus Group was founded in 1933 and was managed by the third generation, with Toon Meeus at the helm. “When we look at our chemicals activities, we see that our customers are increasingly looking for logistics partners with a broad range of services and a large geographic footprint. Joining forces and integrating our chemical cluster in a company such as H.Essers will result in a stronger presence in the market. Moreover, it gives me the opportunity to further focus on the development of the Hartog and Bikker companies,” says Toon Meeus, current major shareholder of Meeus Group. “I confidently look forward to the agreement with H.Essers, in which our employees and management will remain on board. It’s a unique opportunity to bundle our in-depth knowledge of chemical logistics and hazardous goods with a leading expert such as H.Essers, in order to join forces in a successful growth story at the service of our customers. Our companies also share the same family values, have a parallel corporate history, and both employ an asset-based strategy.” “I am convinced that with our shared focus on high quality, safety, compliance and sustainability, we are at the threshold of a bright future together. We both are committed to developing synchromodal and integrated logistics solutions,” Gert Bervoets adds.
Largest acquisition ever
With 411 employees and expected revenue of 57 million euros for this year, this is the largest acquisition ever in the corporate history of H.Essers. “The acquisition fits seamlessly into our multi-year growth strategy, with a strong focus on the further development of supply chain solutions for our strategic customer segments in Europe,” says Gert Bervoets. “In the same context, we previously acquired Zeebrugge-based Huktra and more recently the Norwegian-French company Tank Management, both of which specialise in the multimodal transport of liquid chemical goods.”
“The acquisition of the Meeus Group heralds a new growth phase that will allow us to significantly increase our warehousing footprint in the Netherlands, a phase in which we will be focusing on large, modern European distribution centres. Currently, it concerns 160,000 square meters of warehouse space – with enormous expansion potential – with which to offer our customers integrated logistics solutions ranging from storage, picking and packing, to advanced added-value services such as filling activities.”
With the acquisition, H.Essers is also strengthening its own transport and distribution network in the Netherlands. The Meeus Group fleet includes 110 trucks and 590 trailers and container chassis. “The inland terminal, strategically located between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, represents a geographically important reinforcement of our multimodal services, which are in full growth,” says Gert Bervoets. “In recent years, for example, we have invested strategically in the expansion of our synchromodal solutions with our own terminals such as Railport Genk and the future barge terminal Port of Limburg.”
“The acquisition represents a win-win for both parties. We are very much looking forward to welcoming all employees to the H.Essers family and building the future together,” says Gert Bervoets.
No further financial details of the acquisition were disclosed.