spain Archives

Logistics network conference sees record attendance

Posted on 18 November, 2021 by Keith McKinley

The Cooperative Logistics Network’s 2nd Virtual Meeting, held on 15th and 16th November 2021, has successfully concluded. The Virtual Meeting registered a record attendance, with more than 140 delegates taking part in the two-day online event. The Cooperative Logistics Network hosted around 5,000 videoconferences that allowed members to talk one-to-one with their partners, promote their companies, create long-term partnerships and expand the scope of their operations.

The impeccable organisation and the efficacy of their previous event ensured an even greater attendance for this year’s meeting. Every delegate got to schedule up to 30 one-to-one videoconferences with their partners to obtain international project opportunities remotely. The latest version of the meeting platform created by The Coop’s IT team made for an uninterrupted conferencing experience. Additionally, The Coop team was always there to help the members in case of any sudden technical hitches.

The event also included an online workshop where Andrea Martin, The Coop’s FreightViewer Coordinator introduced the delegates to all the newest features of The Cooperative’s member-exclusive quote generation platform. FreightViewer allows the agents to leverage the digital transformation in this sector for speeding up their work processes, integrate new initiatives, satisfy customer expectations and adapt to the changes in market demands and business scenarios.

“It was a well-organised Virtual Meeting and was seamless,” stated one of the Coop members in Chennai, India. “I could attend 29 meetings and I had excellent meetings with everyone. Apart from talking business, it was social and affectionate as well.”

Furthermore, this year, the Coop afforded a special opportunity for the delegates to engage in informal chitchats with the network partners during the coffee breaks. Agents had the option of accessing a room with up to five random partners and carrying on casual conversations. The Coop created this to foster the bonding among the network partners.

“The main focus of our event was to establish a good working relationship between members that is based on mutual trust,” said Antonio Torres, President and Founder of the Cooperative Logistics Network. “The fact that we have achieved a record attendance this year surely attests to the productivity of the event. I am confident that the meeting has more than fulfilled its objective of creating a synergistic relationship among the network members. Hopefully next year the situation will be conducive for an in-person meeting when we can once again come together under one roof to continue with the networking.”

Patrizia expands logistics footprint in Spain

Posted on 10 November, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Patrizia AG, a leading partner for global real assets, has forward purchased a logistics warehouse development in Illescas, Spain, for approx. €56m, on behalf of its institutional clients. The asset will have a combined surface of 92,000 sq m and is scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2023.

The investment was made on behalf of a Patrizia logistics flagship fund for its institutional clients and further strengthens the already significant logistics portfolio of the firm.

Martin Trodden, Fund Management Patrizia, explained: “We are delighted to add the Illescas forward purchase deal to our portfolio in Spain. The logistics sector has proven to be safe haven during the Covid-19 pandemic. As economic recovery takes hold, we are seeing continued growth in e-commerce and increasing demand from logistics occupiers. Despite many new entrants to this investment sector, our specialist logistics funds benefit from a long track record and unique market insight that allow us to find value in this asset class.”

“This acquisition will add another modern, flexible and competitive asset in the second logistic ring of Madrid to our growing logistics portfolio in Iberia,” Eduardo de Roda, Country Manager of Patrizia Iberia, explained. “We are particularly pleased that as part of our commitment to delivering net zero carbon assets, these buildings will have the highly coveted LEED Silver certification, based on their commitment to energy efficiency and to the environment.”

In order to deliver flexible assets, attractive for several tenants and able to provide increased asset management opportunities, the warehouses in Illescas can be divided into up to six modules from 14,000 sq m each.

Illescas is one of the main nodes of the second logistics ring in the so-called ‘central zone’ of Spain and has direct access to the A-42 highway that connects Madrid with Toledo. This area has become one of the most strategic and demanded by distribution and logistics companies due to its excellent connections, proximity to Madrid and the competitiveness of its assets compared to those in other nearby locations. Large consumer and distribution companies such as Amazon, Michelin, XPO, Airbus, Dia, Zalando, Seur and Correos, among many others, are already located there.

Since year end of 2019, the AUM of Patrizia’s logistics segment has grown by 84% to over €5.8bn. Besides being a ‘safe haven’ investment and a key contributor to local resiliency, logistics assets display a strong demand and low vacancy rates across Europe, and its yields consistently outperform those by other asset classes.

With this transaction, Patrizia further strengthens its presence in the logistics segment in Spain, in which it already has assets with a total area of more than 620,000 sq m throughout the country. As a whole, the logistics segment represents around 40% of the assets that Patrizia manages in Iberia, whose total value exceeds €1.4bn.

Forto makes first Iberian appointment

Posted on 22 September, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Forto, a leading provider of digitised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, is to expand into the Spanish market with a new office in Madrid. The new office marks a further step in Forto’s growth trajectory and expansion of its European footprint.

The company takes its first steps in Spain with the appointment of Angel Hierro as Director Iberia at Forto Logística España. Formerly Director of Supply Chain Solutions and Chief Commercial Officer with Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) (recently acquired by DSV Panalpina). Hierro brings more than 25 years of logistic industry experience to Forto. Before joining Agility, Hierro also held business and trade lane development roles with GeoLogistics and ocean freight positions with LEP International.

“We are thrilled to have someone with Angel’s understanding of the Spanish market and deep logistics expertise to drive forward our next phase of growth,” commented Michael Wax, Forto co-founder and CEO.

Hierro further commented on the potential he sees in the Forto offering: “The entire supply chain is transforming as we speak. Forto is uniquely positioned to drive this transformation. Forto’s corporate culture is based on sustainability and digitisation, coupled with an exceptional team of logistics and technology experts focused on bringing value to the supply chain. I am really excited about the opportunity to bring their offering to the local market.”

Forto teams in Spain include local customer account management, logistics operations, and technical engineers supported by Forto’s international network of logistics, operational, and technical teams around the world. Forto expects to continue to expand its presence in Spain and later also in Portugal by growing the team and its local partnerships over 2021 and 2022 and beyond.

Forto is leading a new generation of disruptive logistics companies, using its digital platform to simplify interactions, remove process friction, and increase supply chain visibility and transparency — in turn empowering customers with better insights to make smarter decisions. The company has also set the goal to make global trade more sustainable. Already more than half of Forto customers leverage the company’s carbon-offsetting offer, and Forto has implemented the “1+1 Approach” — a program in which Forto doubles the CO2 compensation of every customer to move towards climate-positive transport.

Leading brands across industries ranging from fashion, furniture, and electronics are working with Forto to manage the transport of their goods. Since its founding in 2016, Forto has consistently delivered rapid growth and broadened its solutions offering. Recent appointments of technology, sales, and finance veterans have strengthened the leadership team. Earlier in June, the company announced that it has successfully raised $240m in an investment round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Citi Ventures and G Squared, and strong backing from existing investors including Northzone, Inven Capital, Cherry Ventures, and Unbound.

With this round, Forto’s valuation now stands at $1.2bn.

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