Transuniverse Forwarding and Naxco/OTEC (Prague) have entered into a strategic partnership for groupage traffic between Belgium on the one hand and the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the other. The aim is to expand and strengthen the flow of goods between the countries.
Belgium, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are important trading partners: each ranks roughly tenth among their respective export destinations. Belgian companies mainly ship goods suited to groupage transport, while Czech and Slovak companies export mostly industrial products that are typically moved in full truckloads. However, the share of groupage shipments to Belgium is increasing. With this new cooperation, the two companies want to capture these flows more effectively.
New partnership
“Because industrial goods make up such a large share of exports from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, an imbalance arises in groupage traffic. We therefore need a strong partner who specifically can capture, stimulate and expand the groupage and part-load flows to Belgium. Our previous partner provided excellent distribution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia but did not sufficiently commercialise groupage to Belgium, which reinforced the imbalance,” says Frank Adins, Chairman of Transuniverse.
“With Naxco/OTEC, we have found a partner that actively wants to develop groupage traffic to Belgium. With more balanced flows, dependence on the spot market will decrease, enabling us to achieve greater price stability. In the long term, this will also lead to more weekly departures (currently around three to four per week) and therefore better door‑to‑door lead times,” adds Traffic Operations Manager Alexander Bekaert.
Growing groupage traffic
Naxco Group, headquartered in Suresnes near Paris, has its roots in maritime services and freight forwarding. In 2022, it launched its Overland division to expand into road transport, initially between France and Central and Eastern Europe. “The focus is now also shifting to other Western European EU countries. The partnership between OTEC – part of Naxco Group since 2022 – and Transuniverse fits perfectly into this strategy,” says Robert Nechyba, founder and director of Naxco/OTEC.
Naxco/OTEC offers its customers a wide range of services, including groupage and part-load transport. “This market segment is growing rapidly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We already had a partner in Belgium, but that company focused too heavily on full truckloads, while we want to significantly expand our groupage activities. We are thus pleased to now have Transuniverse as our partner in Belgium, as it is a leading specialist in groupage,” emphasises Michal Skalický, Business Manager at Naxco/OTEC.
For more information about our enhanced services to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, please contact Alexander Bekaert, Traffic Operations Manager: 09/253 31 60 – alexander.bekaert@transuniverse.be
