Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Railways, Transport

GEFCO is thus putting its expertise in the Russian market at the service of businesses aiming to develop their presence in Russia.

GEFCO Spain and GEFCO Russia signed a contract, during the first quarter of 2014, with Spanish company Talgo, national leader and one of the main international actors in the manufacture of high-speed trains. GEFCO will guarantee the transport and distribution of six passenger trains for the Moscow-Berlin and Moscow-Kiev railway lines, as well as manage customs formalities.

Diego Díaz, Senior Buyer at Talgo, states: “When we received the order from our customer in Russia, it was clear to us that we needed a real logistics partner, able to ensure the delivery of the goods under optimum conditions, all the while providing us with great flexibility. Furthermore, we needed a strong partner with proven experience in a market as complex as the Russian one.”

To transport this exceptional freight, GEFCO Spain guarantees the multimodal transport of trains, already finished and assembled by Talgo, from Vitoria (Rivabellosa), via the Russian port of Ust-Luga (Saint-Pétersbourg). The Russian subsidiary then takes over and ensures unloading and transport by rail to Moscow. The subsidiary also takes care of customs operations.

Within this contract, GEFCO Spain also offers air freight services to Russia two to three times per week, for spare parts and components.

Pelayo Garcia Comas, Sales and Marketing Manager at GEFCO Spain highlights: “The ability of our sales network to anticipate customer needs has played a key role in securing this contract. Our international network, our expertise as a global logistics integrator, and the flexibility of our solutions which are adapted to each client’s needs, are the determining factors in our collaboration with an internationally renowned company such as Talgo.”

Despite the challenging environment, Russia remains one of the GEFCO Group’s priority growth areas. Its new shareholder, RZD, provides access to the Russian market, where the logistics sector is growing rapidly.

To accelerate its commercial development in Russia and more generally in central Asia, GEFCO set up a new structure at the beginning of 2014 to respond to the needs of international companies which are looking to grow their business in this region.

This new structure is made up of a business development cell with 50 logistics experts based in Moscow, and is organised by activity, with a particular emphasis on two strategic market lines: High & Heavy, and Oil & Gas.

GEFCO has been present in Russia since 2003 and achieved 6% of its global 2013 turnover of 4 billion euros in the region.