Pioneering logistics firm Europa Worldwide Group is boosting its Oostende operation with a major expansion to its services, and an ambition to be the operator of choice between Belgium and the UK.
Its specialist road freight operation Europa Road is an established Groupage, Part Load and Full Load operator that optimises the flow of good between Belgium and the UK post-Brexit. Its service, underpinned by unparalleled customs expertise and a unique DDP product, is the beginning of a new era of transport between Belgium and the UK.
With over 1,300 staff, a turnover of €350M euros and a presence in more than 160 countries worldwide, Europa is a fast-growing independent logistics company. Its road freight division, Europa Road, has expanded from being one of the first to establish express services into mainland Europe, to being the market leader for Groupage in the UK. Established across the continent for optimising the flow of goods between Europe and the UK post-Brexit.
The company has been in Belgium since 2018, when it acquired Continental Cargo Carriers – a Belgium company with a long history for operating unaccompanied transport to the UK. On 1st September 2022, Continental Cargo Carriers becomes Europa Road.
The company already has over 100 years’ experience transporting groupage, part and full loads plus in-house customs expertise to ensure goods flow seamlessly. As one of the biggest players in road freight Europa specialises in moving goods between Belgium and the UK and has been investing in its fully tracked fleet of 300 trailers which make over 22,000 crossings per year.
Supporting its extended services is Europa’s unique post Brexit DDP product which was launched following 5.8m euros investment at the start of 2021, in response to the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU). This market-leading DDP product is a specialist solutions to ensure the frictionless delivery of goods to the UK as they did before Brexit.
Unlike traditional DAP shipping, this DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) product manages customs formalities without the need to engage the buyer, so goods are not delayed by additional paperwork, and UK customers not faced with unexpected additional fees.
Carlo Turner Non-Network and Continent Director leads the Belgium team and commented, “This is a major milestone for us and marks our biggest single investment in Belgium as we enhance our services. This is not just a change of name but the start of a new era from being an unaccompanied carrier of full and part loads to one that specialises in optimising the transport of full load, part load and groupage between Belgium and the UK underpinned by unique DDP product.
“Every day we will collect goods from across Belgium into a single hub. From there our fleet of accompanied trailers ships to our state-of-the-art groupage hub in Dartford, Kent which in turn connects out to each of our 16 UK distribution platforms. I am really excited that we will be offering scheduled, round-trip trunking connecting consignments Belgium and the UK every single day.”
Carlo manages a growing team of 47 staff, based locally in both Belgium and the UK, he is also looking to expand the local team in Oostende with the introduction of market managers in strategically important hub locations.
Andrew Baxter Chief Executive of Europa added “This is a huge step for us as we reinforce our service to customers looking to export from Belgium to the UK, by maximising own established architecture and IT systems to become the company of choice within the global logistics network.”
Europa Worldwide Group has three divisions – Road, Air & Sea, and Warehouse – and an ever-expanding global footprint. Already this year in the UK, three new local branches have already opened, bringing the total to 16, whilst internationally the Group has expanded into the Middle East and Asia, with new sites in Shanghai and Dubai.