Freightliner owner buys container terminal operator Pentalver

GWI UK Acquisition Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc (G&W), has bought Pentalver Transport Ltd from APM Terminals.

G&W already owns Freightliner. Its latest purchase operates off-dock container terminals, mostly under long-term lease. These are located at Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway and Tilbury, while it also has sites at Cannock in the Midlands.

Pentalver offers storage for containers on more than 100 acres of land, and operates lorry haulage using more than 150 vehicles. These primarily provide a daily service between Felixstowe and Southampton and its inland terminal at Cannock. It also provides services related to container maintenance and repair (including refrigerated containers), and is one of the largest sellers of new and used containers in the country.

G&W said its latest purchase was “complementary” of Freightliner, and that it expects the purchase will enable an enhanced UK service by providing rail and road transport solutions as well as storage. It said it would also “unlock efficiencies from shared services and enhanced asset utilisation from Pentalver’s trucking fleet and Freightliner’s existing fleet of approximately 250 trucks that currently provide local collection and delivery haulage from Freightliner’s inland terminals”.

Freightliner spokesman Lynn Crump said: “Freightliner is reviewing all options for the most effective and efficient movement of container boxes by rail or road. The ability to switch significant volumes to rail can be restricted by port, network and terminal capacity, as well the underlying comparative costs which have been further challenged by the recent significant reductions in the MSRS funding available to rail to allow it to compete effectively with road.”

Pentalver will operate as part of G&W’s UK/Europe Region. It has around 600 employees and will be run by its current Managing Director Chris Lawrenson.