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  • The new operator is now active.

22.07.2021 By: Christian Doepgen


Artikel Nummer: 37217

Triple whammy in France

Half a year after the official decision the ball is now in the Swiss court. The firm Alsace­terminal, a subsidiary of Swiss­terminal, can commence activities in the inland ports of Ottmarsheim, Huningue and  ÎIe Napoléon. Le Havre and Marseille are on board too.


 

 

Now the time has come. Frenkendorf-based Swissterminal originally announced its intention to take over the operation of the three French inland gateways in Alsace – namely Ottmarsheim, Huningue / Village-Neuf and ÎIe Napoléon – in January. On 1 July Alsaceterminal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swissterminal, started work in the three hubs. The firm underpinning this, Alsace­team, in turn, is a joint venture between the Swiss and the maritime ports of Le Havre and Marseille Fos.

 

Swiss­terminal will be forced to end of activities on the Westquai in Basel in 2029. The move into France is thus a key element of the diversification strategy of the firm, in which DP World has held a 44% stake since January 2020.

 

In a conversation with the ITJ Swiss­terminal’s chief executive officer, ­Roman Mayer, said that he is “convinced that this move offers the region great ­advantages.


We will free up the Westquai for urban development, and save costs both for the canton of Basel-Stadt as well as for Switzerland. There’s no need to construct a new port basin for us, or to sacrifice a nature reserve. We’ll have enough space for our logistics development in France.”

 

Swissterminal’s nomination of Jürg Wiggli, its deputy CEO, as the head of terminal operations in Switzerland is a part of its overall strategy. Romain Stemmelen, in turn, has joined the executive management team as its new CTO. ­Lionel Husser, chief operations officer for ports and terminals in France and mana­ging director of Alsace­terminal, has taken charge of activities in France. Last but not least, Andreas Jeppesen has been named COO of business and warehousing solutions; he will manage warehousing and corporate services at all sites in Switzerland and France.