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(Hamburg, 19.05.2020) Fenthol & Sandtmann GmbH (Fenthols) will be fully integrated into Raben Trans European Germany GmbH on June 1, 2020. The international logistics service provider Raben, headquartered in Mannheim, has held 50 percent of Fenthols shares since 2011. In November, the Raben Group signed a purchase agreement with the Ehrig family to acquire the remaining 50 percent of their shares, including the subsidiaries FKL Kontraktlogistik and Kraftverkehr P&M Ehrig. The antitrust authorities have since approved the acquisition. Following this agreement, Raben will take over all Fenthols locations in Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden, and Erlensee near Frankfurt am Main, as well as 460 employees. With the integration of Fenthols, two successful logistics providers are joining forces to create a larger entity and focus their core activities in Germany – in the heart of Europe. By acquiring the German Fenthols branches, Raben gains top-notch logistics locations. This merger also offers Fenthols a new perspective. “Thanks to the European standards, we are able to benefit from the cross-border know-how of the Raben Group and thus further enhance the quality of our services,” says Jens Hirschberg, branch manager at the Hamburg location. In recent years, both companies have already worked together very successfully.
Founded in Leipzig in 1827, Fenthol & Sandtmann GmbH is one of the oldest freight forwarding companies in Germany. The owner-managed company offers road, sea, and air transport services as well as contract logistics and achieved a turnover of 125 million euros in 2019. With the complete integration into the Raben Group, customers will now benefit from a significantly more powerful and larger network with 39 branches across Germany. Over 10,000 employees work for Raben across Europe. The group also has 8,500 transport vehicles and a storage capacity of approximately 1,150,000 m².
Raben Group gains locations in excellent positions
Due to the agreement with Fenthols, the Raben Group is expanding its range of services. In addition to gaining strategically excellent locations such as near Frankfurt Airport, the hazardous goods warehouse in Erlensee, Hesse, and the branch at Leipzig freight airport directly on the A14 are added. There, the subsidiary, Fenthols Kontraktlogistik GmbH, organizes storage and distribution logistics for numerous companies. By taking over the Fenthols headquarters directly at the Hamburg port, the Raben Group expands its portfolio in sea freight and thus strengthens its expertise in intermodal transport. The sea and air freight activities will henceforth be consolidated in a separate company, Raben Sea & Air GmbH.
This clearly indicates that the Raben Group is placing a new focus on expanding these activities independently of the existing European network.
Customers enjoy the advantage of a unified transport management system
Fenthols customers now have access to the customer platform “MyRaben” and immediately benefit from a unified transport management system. “This is a significant improvement because it increases process transparency. The entire logistics process becomes more homogeneous,” explains Jens Hirschberg. Customers can access complete transparency regarding status information through the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) tracking. Furthermore, Raben has a new Picture Confirming Delivery solution (PCD) – a service that allows for contactless delivery confirmation with minimal involvement from the recipient!
The implementation of the IT infrastructure and all other processes required close collaboration among all departments in the months following the signing of the purchase agreement. The four German Fenthols branches received support from teams of the Raben Group from various European locations. The COVID-19 crisis also complicated the merger process for both family-run companies. “However, due to the support and a precise roadmap, all necessary processes will be completed by June 1,” says Hirschberg. Partners will then become a strong team.
Raben invests dynamically in the German market
In recent years, Raben has dynamically invested in the German market and consistently implemented its long-term strategy to build an independent groupage network.
