APM, Cargo Service merge Danish terminal

APM, Cargo Service merge Danish terminal    APM Terminals Aarhus and Cargo Service have agreed to combine their two facilities into one port complex.
   The companies have created a joint venture, APM Terminals Cargo Service A/S, with APMT owning 60 percent of the shares and Cargo Service 40 percent in the terminal.
   APM, an affiliate of Maersk Line, said the merger would allow the companies to better serve customers “through one long contiguous deepwater berth and one set of truck gates, and to obtain the operational synergies of improved use of land, equipment and buildings.”
   Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, is located in East Jutland.
   'The new agreement is an important step in offering the customers of APM Terminals and Cargo Service better access to Danish and Baltic markets while maintaining our focus on a safe work environment and a reduced environmental footprint,' said Martin Poulsen, vice president of APM Terminals Europe.
   Jakob Flyvbjerg Christensen, managing director of APM Terminals Aarhus, will continue as the managing director of the merged terminal.
   'This agreement reflects our vision to work together to make the Port of Aarhus the most attractive and competitive container port in Scandinavia,' said Flemming M'gelmose, chairman of Cargo Service Holding A/S.
   Cargo Service Holding A/S will continue as an independent company with a range of activities in Aarhus, including handling of project and heavy duty cargo with particular expertise in wind turbines and wind turbine components.
   Integration of the two terminals will start in September, with teams from both companies participating, and is to be completed by the end of 2010. ' Chris Dupin