P&O Ferrymasters is planning a major expansion of own-asset road operations in eastern Europe by basing its hallmark Yellow Fleet trailers in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia for the first time.
The company is currently operating in Poland and the Czech Republic with euro liners, mega trailers and coilers repositioned from its western Europe fleet last September. Operations are centrally coordinated by the Katowice office in Poland and involve round trips to and from Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, Spain and the UK. Trades include a specialist service for dangerous goods.
By adding own-trailers to the existing charter network, the eastern Europe project underpins freight management contracts, strengthens the company's pan-European reach and also improves access to spot premium business in a growing market.
Carrier manager Ed van der Lely, the project leader, says: "There has been more and more customer demand to increase our presence in this strategically crucial region. We can now offer an enhanced geographical service that underpins existing contracts and provides the platform for business expansion."
Tight collaboration between company offices has been vital to the project, together with newly developed route and load optimisation software from Quintiq.
P&O Ferrymasters is one of Europe's leading logistics providers, offering tailor-made transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions. The company is part of P&O Ferries - which is owned by Dubai World - and employs 530 people at 26 strategic locations across 13 European countries.