Gefco has announced plans to expand its operations in Croatia following the opening of a subsidiary in the capital Zagreb. The new subsidiary is located near the port of Rijeka, which is the largest port complex in the country and the company will also be opening an office there in 2014, which will allow for further expansion into Western Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean rim.
The new facility in Zagreb has been distributing vehicles and spare parts for the PSA group since April, as well as local and regional tenders. In 2014, Gefco expects that its OVS department, which handles international flows, will start operations offering full-container-load, less than container-load, and airfreight services.
“Gefco OVS must take advantage of our global network presence to become respectable partner in this segment,” said Tihomir Skrtic, the managing director of Gefco Croatia. He commented that the port of Rijeka will look to improve its market for finished vehicles, but that this depended on OEMs and logistics companies’ flows and strategies. Skrtic told Automotive Logistics that plans to use the port as an entry and exit point for finished vehicles were scheduled to commence in 2013, with electric cars from China, but that the project has been postponed.
Positioned as it is on the borders of Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia and Albania, and only a short distance across the Adriatic Sea to Italy, Gefco hopes that its operations in Croatia would improve its maritime network and logistics platforms across the Balkan Peninsula.
“Despite the fact that our global competition has already been present here for a long time, with developed warehouse infrastructure and transport networks, we strongly believe that our expertise and client orientation will make Gefco a recognised and reliable logistic partner,” said Skrtic.
He went on to outline that foreign investments in Croatia, encouraged by the government because of its underdeveloped industry, convinced the company that the economy offered growth potential and that Gefco would orientate its subsidiary there to cater for the Balkan countries.
