APM Terminals acquires Italian reefer terminal

GF Group, an Italian importer and distributor of fruits and vegetables and the current owner of Reefer Terminal S.p.A. in Vado Ligure, will remain a customer of the terminal, according to a statement from APMT.    APM Terminals has acquired Reefer Terminal S.p.A. in Vado Ligure, in northwest Italy from GF Group, a leading importer and distributor of fruits and vegetables, including bananas and pineapples under the Fratelli Orsero brand.
   Reefer Terminal S.p.A. has been the largest refrigerated terminal in the Mediterranean for more than 30 years, handling 600,000 pallets per year, and is also “a world-class terminal for the handling of containers (275,000 TEUs, 510 reefer plugs, 14.5 meter depth and 465 meter of quay) and general cargo,” according to a statement from APMT.
   APM Terminals said it has “acquired the Vado Ligure Reefer Terminal as part of the port master plan to create new supply chains to markets in Northern Italy, Southern France, Switzerland and Bavaria. The Reefer Terminal is located adjacent to the construction site of the APM Terminals Vado port project which will open in January 2018 with 800,000 TEU annual capacity and a 17 meter depth to serve the vessels of the future.”
   Reefer Terminal S.p.A. will continue to operate as a terminal highly specialized in the discharge and warehousing of fresh fruit and vegetable produce.
   “This sale represents a further step in the process of refocusing on our historical business of import and distribution of fruit and vegetable produce,” said GF Group President Raffaella Orsero. ”We will, however, remain a Reefer Terminal customer with our weekly Central American service, operated with four GF Group owned refrigerated vessels. We are delighted to hand over the baton to a key operator like APM Terminals and we are sure that they will continue at the highest level of professionalism guaranteeing further development.”
   “The integration of the Vado Reefer Terminal with our new, future semi-automated container terminal enhances the logistics options for businesses and the shipping lines calling the Ligurian coast, serving all of Northern Italy and beyond” added Carlo Merli, chief executive officer of APM Terminals Vado. “We are building Italy’s port of the future with ideal access to Turin and Northern Italy manufacturing zones as well as consumer markets. Equally important, we will have the best port system and product in the market capable of serving container vessels, reefer vessels, RoRo and breakbulk vessels.
   “We are excited to introduce a new, better way to serve global supply chains with our reefer terminal and its ideal fit with our deepwater container terminal.”
   APMT said the Vado terminal will be the only port in Italy able to handle ultra-large containerships with over 18,000 TEUs of capacity when it opens in January 2018.