Transuniverse acquires freight forwarder Welpa Trans (Wommelgem)

Transuniverse Forwarding has acquired the forwarding company Welpa Trans based in Wommelgem (Antwerp). “This transaction strengthens our presence in the Eastern European traffic and brings in expertise in chartering”, says Olivia Adins, member of the Transuniverse management board.

Welpa Trans was founded in 1984 as freight forwarding company specialising in road transport and chartering. “We serve the whole of Europe, but our activities are mainly focused on Eastern Europe. We transport full loads as well as part loads and groupage shipments,” explains Linda Slootmans. She is a shareholder and director of the company together with Johnny Granacher.

“I am approaching retirement age and have no family succession. That’s why we looked for a partner with complementary activities that would give our company the best chances to continue to grow,” she adds.

says Olivia Adins: “A month ago, Transuniverse Forwarding already acquired Evergem-based APMEX. That transaction was intended to reinforce our position in the Western European groupage market, as well as in local distribution. With the acquisition of Welpa Trans, we aim to further strengthen ourselves with complementary activities”.

Eastern Europe and chartering

“First of all, Welpa Trans’ strength lies in the Eastern European traffic and more in specifically services to and from Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. These are important countries for us, where we want to increase our presence. With thicker flows, we can increase the frequency to these destinations,” she adds. “Secondly, Welpa Trans is specialised in chartering, i.e. buying and selling road transport capacity. Throughout Europe, we experience that this transport capacity is under pressure and is even decreasing in some countries. We can use this expertise to ensure that we can provide sufficient capacity and thus better serve our customers.”

“This expertise will also enable us to offer more services outside our core business – groupage – such as full loads, express transport or loads with special requirements. This will allow us to act more as a one-stop shop for our customers,” adds Miri Nedelcu, Purchase Manager at Transuniverse.

Independent entity

Welpa Trans employs four specialised staff. They will continue to work in the offices at the Rollebeekstraat in Wommelgem. Welpa Trans will operate as an independent entity within Transuniverse, in close cooperation with the colleagues in Wondelgem.

Welpa Trans has an annual turnover of 5.5 million euros. This brings the combined annual turnover of Transuniverse to approximately 80 million euros.

Increased scale

The acquisition of Welpa Trans, like that of APMEX, is part of Transuniverse’s strategy to achieve greater economies of scale. Increasing the scale is necessary to better absorb the sharp rise in costs and to improve capacity. “We expect the economy to cool down. This acquisition will allow us to maintain the frequency of departures and even increase them to Eastern Europe. It will also be possible to offer more return freight from this region. The other way round, Welpa Trans will be in a better position to develop groupage services,” concludes Olivia Adins.

Left Linda Slootmans, Director and shareholder of Welpa Trans, and right Olivia Adins, member of the Management Committee of Transuniverse Forwarding.
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