Addition of Rosenau Transport unlocks significant growth opportunities for GLS in North America

Amsterdam, 8 October 2021 – General Logistics Systems (GLS), a leading parcel service provider, has agreed to acquire a Canadian logistics company Mid-Nite Sun Transportation Ltd that operates as Rosenau Transport. Rosenau Transport is one of the largest independent freight carriers in Western Canada and has a complementary service area to GLS’s existing Canadian business. The combination of the two businesses will unlock significant growth opportunities for GLS with new and existing customers in both the Canadian and US markets. The acquisition is subject to the customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Founded in 1957, Rosenau Transport has 24 owned hubs and depots throughout four provinces, generating unaudited revenue of C$175 million in the 12 months that ended on 31 August 2021. With this expansion of its existing operational activities in Canada, the service area of GLS now covers most of the Canadian population. It also provides a link to GLS operations along the US West Coast, as the Rosenau Transport network moves to GLS’s combined freight and parcel model. The total consideration is C$360 million, approximately €245 million on a debt- and cash-free basis.

Canada is the world’s ninth-largest economy, with a combined parcel and freight market of approximately C$25 billion that’s growing about 5% per year. GLS entered this market in 2018 through the acquisition of Dicom and operates a network of about 30 hubs and depots, with 1,400 employees. The company has delivered revenue growth of around 8% per year since the acquisition.

"The addition of Rosenau Transport to GLS complements and enhances our Accelerate strategy. With this acquisition, GLS expands its service in Canada significantly and aims to play a significant role as a national logistics provider for parcels, LTL, FTL and customers brokerage with US reach”, says Martin Seidenberg, CEO of GLS Group. “With its strong presence in Western Canada, high quality and entrepreneurial culture, as well as freight capabilities and parcel potential, Rosenau Transport’s model is similar to our existing Canadian business and provides an excellent fit. I look forward to welcoming Ken and the Rosenau Transport team to GLS and capturing the significant opportunities ahead of us."

Rick Barnes, President of GLS Canada says: “As we link two regional carrier networks together, with direct service to most cities and towns in the country, we will produce one of the most integrated transportation systems in Canada. The extended geographical reach will provide our 30,000 clients with a new national and international alternative for all of their shipping needs.”

Rosenau Transport will continue to be led by Ken Rosenau, President of Rosenau Transport, and will be fully consolidated within GLS for reporting purposes once the transaction closes. Ken Rosenau says: “Rosenau Transport is excited to join the GLS family and align with an industry-leading organisation that will open new opportunities and markets on a global scale. The combined transportation networks of GLS and Rosenau Transport will allow us to offer a comprehensive Canadian solution to better serve our clients. We look forward to working closely with Rick Barnes and the GLS Group to continue to champion our company’s motto – “Our Business is Built on Service, For our Customers, For Each Other and For our Communities.”

GLS, a leading parcel service provider, reveals its updated brand identity today. The brand refresh builds upon what has made GLS successful in the fast-changing world of parcel services and supports the company’s growth ambitions. At its core, GLS makes every parcel delivery personal with its seamless solutions. The refreshed brand identity reflects the company’s undertaking with a fresh, dynamic and digital-friendly look.

The brand refresh catches the eye with a striking blue and yellow. The yellow arrow that has long represented the company is incorporated into the letter G with a more compact design, punctuated by a dot symbolising GLS’s expertise, point-to-point mission and connection with its customers in the digital age. The polished look is strengthened by clear language with a fun, witty tone and style.

The brand refresh comes at a time of great change for the company. Customers are increasingly looking for easy, transparent and sustainable shipping solutions. In response to this growing need, GLS has been tailoring its network and services for more international, convenient, digital and sustainable solutions. The company aims to reinforce its cross-border leadership with a focus on growth in B2C services, whilst maintaining the company’s strong footprint in B2B. Because of its dedicated cross-border network with significant local market knowledge, GLS is confident in reaching its growth goal by 2025.

“At GLS, we have been delivering the most personal and seamless service in the markets and have built a strong foundation with our people and customers for more than 30 years. As customers’ needs and the parcel market are changing rapidly, it is time for us to change as well”, says Martin Seidenberg, CEO of GLS Group. “The updated brand identity reflects our work and ambition in a brighter and more leading-edge way. It’s dynamic, bold, modern, vivid and personal. It reflects perfectly who we are and who we will be.”

The updated brand will be rolled out gradually across all markets in Europe and North America, with an official start on 4 October.

• Commitment to zero-emissions delivery in twenty city centres
• Full compensation through acknowledged projects
• Building of sustainable depots

Utrecht, 4 February 2021 – Since this year, GLS Netherlands has introduced climate-neutral shipping – for all parcels sent within the Netherlands and abroad. Beyond its measures to avoid and reduce CO2 emissions, the company focuses on full compensation through VCS or Gold Standard projects.

"Climate protection is the central issue that will affect economy, logistics and society in the coming decades", says Milo Kars, Managing Director GLS Netherlands. "This makes it all the more important for us to continue to drive forward the ecological transformation of our company. In keeping with our commitment to offer a fully climate-neutral service, we offset 100 per cent of our remaining environmental footprint."

This is achieved in cooperation with the Climate Neutral Group via projects that meet the Verified Certification Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard, the world's strictest certification standard . These specifically selected projects demonstrably ensure environmental and social sustainability. GLS Netherlands, for example, invests in the local production of efficient wood stoves in Uganda, in the protection and preservation of the biodiversity of the Jacundá forest in Brazil and in a biogas project to reduce methane in the Netherlands. In addition, GLS supports sustainable forest projects in the Netherlands through the organisation Trees for All .

Reducing emissions systematically

As part of the ThinkGreen sustainability initiative launched throughout the Group in 2008, GLS Netherlands avoids and reduces its impact on the environment. This year, the focus is particularly on switching to fully sustainable and emission-free parcel delivery in the twenty largest Dutch city centres. Tthe logistics provider is investing in electric vehicles and a charging infrastructure at the depots. In four cities, eVans are already on the road.

Last mile solutions such as GLS' FlexDeliveryService and ShopDeliveryService help to ensure that parcels are delivered successfully at the first attempt and that no additional kilometers have to be driven. GLS Netherlands also uses environmentally friendly long trucks on long routes, uses new planning and simulation tools to optimise routes and is making its depots increasingly sustainable and efficient, for example with solar panels and recyclable building materials.

The ISO 14001 certified environmental management system is a cornerstone for the company to improve systematically and continuously. In addition, GLS Netherlands participates in Connekt's Lean & Green programme to optimise logistics processes and become more sustainable at the same time. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20 percent from 2020 to 2025.

Customers' contribution required

"Especially in view of the increasing demand for parcel services, our industry is playing an increasingly important role in tackling climate change", says Milo Kars. "However, climate-neutral parcel delivery also implies higher investments and costs – for new technologies, processes and concepts. This can only be achieved in close cooperation with our customers; sustainability also requires partnership."

After GLS Germany, GLS Netherlands is the second national company within the international GLS Group to transport all its parcels in a climate-neutral way.

In response to the extreme growth of e-commerce in 2020 and the record number of parcels transported in the main season, the parcel delivery company GLS Czech Republic accelerated the planned expansion of the national and international sorting centre in Jihlava. The new hall with an area of 4640 m2 will meet environmental standards and will increase capacity up to 2.5 times. The investment in the first stage, which will make it possible to process 50% more consignments during the peak season 2021, amounts to EUR 12 million and brings up to 100 new jobs. In the presence of state officials, the first column of the hall was erected in Jihlava today.

The year 2020 will go down in history not only as a coronavirus year, but also as a year of a massive transition to online life around the world. E-commerce and related parcel transport proved to be an indispensable part of the infrastructure at a time when the stores remained closed due to government regulations. GLS Czech Republic responded to the expansion of e-commerce by expanding the hub in Jihlava. The first column of the hall was ceremoniously erected today with the participation of the President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil, the Governor of the Vysočina Region Vítězslav Schrek, the Councilor of Jihlava Martin Laštovička and a representative of the Chamber of Commerce. The column also includes a copper box containing a message for future generations and describing the time in which this building is being built.

"We are glad that many brick-and-mortar stores and small tradesmen managed to enter the world of internet sales with our support. The high-quality and robust GLS network easily handled the extraordinary demands of the number of B2C shipments, the maximum of which reached more than double 2019. In order to be able to meet customer requirements, we began construction of the next stage of the international sorting centre in Jihlava. Start of operation is planned for autumn of 2021. The entire sorting centre is being built with maximum use of sustainable development practices and will continue to benefit the development of business in the region and the employment of its inhabitants," says Pavel Včela, Director of GLS Czech Republic.

Capacity increase by 2.5 times and up to 100 new jobs

“The investment in the hub, which in the first stage will reach EUR 12 million, will bring other benefits to the GLS transmission network by further increasing the international importance of Jihlava, which already has daily direct connections with nodes in Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia or Hungary”, adds Pavel Včela."The construction of the new hall will increase capacity by 50% at this stage, in the future it will be up to 2.5 times the existing capacity. Thanks to the expansion, up to 100 new jobs will be created in the region,”

The entire building will also meet GLS environmental standards. "Heat pumps will be used for heating, thermal insulation will be strengthened, rainwater and LED lighting will be used. The building will have a green facade and will also meet the conditions for the future use of emission-free vehicles or the use of the roof for photovoltaic panels" explains Pavel Včela.