The Polish freight forwarding company Vector Global Logistics Sp. z o.o., based in Gdynia, is joining forces with Keswick Enterprises Limited, a private equity group from the UK managed by John Harvey CBE.
The partners have established a new company, Keswick Vector SCM Polska Sp. z o.o., which will focus on developing warehousing and transport services related to supply chain management in Poland. The venture will be based on Vector’s local market knowledge and Keswick Enterprises’ international experience in logistics, particularly dedicated to the clothing, automotive, food, and other FMCG and retail sectors. The company will begin operations with a 6,000-square-meter warehouse in Gdańsk.
Vector Global Logistics is a private company founded in Poland in 2000. Initially, the company was an agent for MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines), but over time it changed its business profile to international freight forwarding. Today, it primarily handles the organization of sea and air transport for importers and exporters (especially frozen products) from Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The company offers its own consolidation and less-than-container load (LCL) services from China and India, and provides importers with logistics services, including customs agency and road transport from Polish and German ports. Vector has its own companies in Hong Kong and Moscow, is a member of the Polish Chamber of Forwarding and Logistics, and holds AEO status. In 2011, turnover exceeded EUR 10 million.
Keswick Enterprises was founded in 2004 to develop and invest in supply chain-related ventures, where it can support them with knowledge and experience through active management.
The capital group includes Spatial (freight forwarding, warehousing, postal and courier services), Link Logistics (contract logistics), SGL (contract packing), and Keswick Management Services (consulting) in the UK, as well as Tibbett Logistics (contract logistics and intermodal transport) in Romania. In 2011, the group employed approximately 1,600 people and generated revenue of over EUR 90 million. Despite Keswick Enterprises’ long-standing activity in the South-Eastern European market, with a particular focus on Romania, this is the group’s first venture in Poland.
– Entering into a partnership with Keswick Enterprises is a strategic step forward for Vector, as the logistics needs of Polish and global clients seem to be more advanced than the product offered by the industry in Poland. The new venture provides us with direct contact with the Keswick management team, their knowledge, experience, and international contacts. In 1984, John Harvey, the current chairman of Keswick Enterprises, along with his partners, acquired Tibbett & Britten – a small logistics company for the clothing industry – and over the next two decades turned it into a group with an annual turnover of GBP 2.3 billion, pioneering global 3PL services – says Marcin Gruchała, Director of Vector Global Logistics and President of the Board of Keswick Vector SCM Polska.
– Along with our rapidly growing 3PL business in Romania and South-Eastern Europe, we now wish to turn our attention to Poland. Vector is an excellent company, and we are convinced that the combination of their knowledge of the local market and our expertise in the international supply chain will enable us to grow in Poland, thereby meeting the demand of local and international clients seeking top-level logistics solutions – comments John Harvey CBE, Chairman of Keswick Enterprises.