Press Release

The Rhenus Group is strengthening its portfolio for the steel industry by acquiring the Robert Schmitz freight forwarding company

Rhenus Logistics, which operates around the globe, is enhancing its portfolio of services for customers in the steel industry, the steel trade and the steel processing business: the Rhenus Group is taking over extensive expertise in storing, procuring and transporting special equipment for the forging and cold rolling industry by acquiring Robert Schmitz GmbH. The latter has its headquarters in Hagen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Robert Schmitz Spedition GmbH & Co. KG is a partner that provides special services for the forging and cold rolling industry. The logistics and freight forwarding company, which operates across Europe and is based in the German town of Hagen, has more than 20,000 square metres of storage space available. Its core expertise lies in warehousing and providing multimodal transport services for wire rods, coils, slit strips and stamping products. These valuable and highly sensitive materials require particular handling and special storage conditions. The latest warehouse systems therefore deliberately heat storage areas and regulate the humidity of the air. 25 articulated trucks from the company’s own fleet are available to transport the special equipment where some individual items weigh as much as 35 tonnes. Most of the trailers have coil troughs to ensure that shipments are dispatched safely and efficiently. Robert Schmitz can handle more than 250 railway wagons every week at the company’s own sidings at its business site in Hagen.

Founded in 1926, the company has most recently been managed by the third generation of the family in the person of Hans-Georg Schmitz. The employees at Robert Schmitz become part of the Rhenus Group as a result of the takeover. The company based in Hagen will continue to operate as an independent firm, even after the takeover. “The Robert Schmitz freight forwarding company complements our portfolio of services in the best possible way and enables us to enhance our logistics services in the steel sector. We can supply items to the extended Ruhr region as far as the Siegerland and Sauerland areas in an excellent manner through our business sites in Duisburg, Dortmund and Hagen, as they cooperate with each other,” says Michael Appelhans, Managing Director of Rhenus Ports. Hans-Georg Schmitz believes that the move to the Rhenus Group is the right one. “Completely new prospects are opening up for our customers thanks to the Rhenus Group’s extensive network. We’re looking forward to taking the next joint steps in our working relationship with our new high-performance partner.”

About Rhenus

The Rhenus Group is one of the leading logistics specialists with global business operations and annual turnover amounting to EUR 7 billion. 37,500 employees work at 970 business sites and develop innovative solutions along the complete supply chain. Whether providing transport, warehousing, customs clearance or value-added services, the family-owned business pools its operations in various business units where the needs of customers are the major focus at all times.

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