Broekman Group has announced the sale of its automotive division, including its car terminal at the port of Rotterdam, to ro-ro terminal operator C.Ro Ports for an undisclosed sum.
Raymond Riemen, CEO of the Broekman Group, and Anton Las, managing director of C.Ro Ports, signed the agreement yesterday (Wednesday 3rd) to complete the acquisition of Broekman Automotive Division by C.Ro, including all of Broekman’s operating companies.
“The sale of a single-focus terminal that only offered a limited synergy to the rest of the group is a logical next step,” said Riemen.
Broekman said in a statement it had developed from being a ship broker to a supply chain manager in the logistics sector and that recent acquisitions in chemical logistics and warehousing, along with the sales of company divisions, had been part of the development.
The company has been at the port of Rotterdam for 50 years.
Broekman Automotive Division will now operate under the name C.RO Automotive Division and Broekman Car Handling will become C.RO Automotive Rotterdam.
Broekman’s other divisions – Rotterdam Car Center, Rotterdam Car Terminal and Rotterdam Automotive Services, will continue to operate under their current names.
Broekman said that all of its staff, including management, and its customers will be transferred to the C.Ro Ports organisation.
“For the continuity of employees and customers it is a good thing and, furthermore, a great opportunity to benefit from the synergy of deep sea and short sea connections out of Rotterdam,” Sjors Bosvelt, general manager of C.Ro Ports (formerly of Broekman Automotive), told Automotive Logistics.
C.RO Ports will be expanding its property at the port of Rotterdam to include capacity for approximately 35,000 cars, 22,000 of which are covered spaces.
“It is the ideal location, one that will help C.RO Ports achieve its growth objective as an ro-ro terminal with more space and a deep-sea connection,” said Anton Las.
C.Ro already provides a range of port services for passenger car and high and heavy volumes, including handling and storage of new cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses. It also provides stevedoring, PDI and value added services, as well as customs clearance and the organisation of inbound and outbound transport. The company has vehicle preparation facilties at Killingholme and Purfleet in the UK, as well as Vlissingen in the Netherlands and Zeebrugge in Belgium.
