VW chooses Savannah for Chattanooga imports
As Volkswagen prepares to ramp up production at its new US plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2012, it has announced that it will be using the port of Savannah for parts imports.
Volkswagen Group of America has chosen the port’s Garden City Terminal for the containerised shipments that will be used to feed annual production of 150,000 Passat vehicles when full production begins.
Volkswagen Chattanooga assembled its first car, a Passat SEL, last month.
“We look forward to this new partnership with the port of Savannah and appreciate the commitment the Georgia Ports Authority has made to work closely with our team,” said Laszlo Juhasz, general manager, Logistics at Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations. “We see the port of Savannah as a logistical link for our supply chain to provide efficient service that will benefit our Chattanooga factory.”
The GPA’s port of Brunswick also handles import Volkswagens that are distributed throughout the Southeast.
Deliveries on the American continent in the first four months grew just under 18% to 201,700 units in the wider North America region, of which 131,500 were delivered on the US market.
Gefco completes Gruppo Mercurio purchase
Gefco has finalised its acquisition of a 70% stakein Italian transport and distribution company Gruppo Mercurio following an agreement signed in April with Venice European Investments (VEI), the investment fund controlled by holding company Palladio Finanziaria.
The logistics subsidiary of Peugeot-Citroen said the acquisition, which it is handling directly, would enable it to step up its development in outbound automotive logistics and increase its international business, as well as facilitate greater competitiveness within the European network.
Gruppo Mercurio confirmed it will continue to function as an independent company but that synergies would be sought in providing services for existing customers.
ECG re-elects Baldissara president
Costantino Baldissara has been re-elected as president of ECG, the European association for outbound vehicle logistics. The unanimous vote at the organisation’s annual general assembly in Warsaw sees Baldissara, who is commercial and logistics director at Naples-based shipping group Grimaldi, take up the position for a second two-year term.
The other 12 current board members were also re-elected by the ECG membership, including Wolfgang Goebel, director of sales, marketing and logistics at Germany’s Horst Mosolf, who retains the vice president’s post.
Two new board members were also elected following the decision to expand the board’s maximum membership to 15: Roberto Volpato, chief executive of Italy’s Eliambrosetti, and Kirill Petrunkin, chief executive of FTC Autotechnoimport, who becomes ECG’s first Russian board member, reflecting the increasing prominence of the Russian market.
In his pre-election statement, Baldissara pledged that, under his leadership, ECG would “continue to promote dialogue among providers, customers, authorities and institutions about the critical needs of modern supply chains.
“In addition, our association will also maintain its efforts on standardisation and press forward with lobbying initiatives aimed at building a more efficient and environmentally sustainable LSP sector,” he said.
