09-24-2009 Heppner strengthens its presence in the Rhône-Alpes region

For the inauguration of the new St Priest agency, Heppner convened existing and prospective clients as well as its European partners. Also invited were around twenty VIPs and industry representatives from the Rhône-Alpes region, including Mr. Jean-Paul Mauduy, President of the Rhône-Alpes Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mr. Philippe Grillot, National President of the Federation of Transport and Logistics Companies of France (TLF).
 
Paris, 24 September 2009 - Heppner, the leading independent transport and logistics company in France, is bolstering the scope of its activities in the Rhône-Alpes region with the announcement of the expansion of its Saint-Priest groupage agency near Lyon to 18,000 sq m.
Concurrently Heppner recently opened a new latest generation, Seveso classified 14,700 m sq logistics warehouse at Grenay near l’Isle-d’Abeau.
 
“These initiatives are concrete proof of our company’s development ambitions and Lyon and the surrounding region occupy a predominant place. Thanks to pertinent management and a sound financial balance sheet, Heppner is resolutely continuing to invest in pursuance with its development strategy and already looking ahead to the post crisis era,” stresses Jean Schmitt, CEO of the Heppner group.
 
The national and international Saint-Priest groupage agency becomes a key platform in the Rhône-Alpes region and one of the largest agencies in the group today.
 
As a result of joining forces with the Chaponnay agency and the completion of the expansion work costing 8 million euros, nearly 250 people now work at the Saint-Priest groupage agency in 18,000 m sq of building space spread out over 73,000 m sq of land.
 
With a volume of some 1,100 tons of merchandise handled per day and daily traffic of 300 trucks, the agency can take charge of the totality of the national and European flows of its clients thanks to its service offers in groupage, full and part loads and cross-docking. The cross-docking activity, deployed over 1,500 m sq of space, is booming despite the difficult period the merchandise transport industry is currency going through. The agency also offers a freight forwarding service located at the Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport.
 
Reinforced by this new organizational change, today the Saint-Priest groupage agency is the second largest activity hub amongst the group’s 45 agencies in France and ranked in the forefront of transport companies operating in the region.
 
Heppner strengthens its expertise in logistics with the opening of its new latest generation, Seveso classified platform at Grenay.
 
This new logistics site, built in compliance with the most recent and strict environmental norms, required an investment of 10 million euros.
 
The warehouse, specially designed to handle the storage and the order management of classified products from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, was opened last May after one year of construction work. The building’s ceiling is 12 meters high to store up to 27,000 pallets. The thirty or so employees use equipment adapted to this type of merchandise, such as three-directional lift trucks.
 
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The new site is the latest addition to the 19 existing platforms at Heppner’s large logistics activity hubs located at Châtres (77), Brie-Comte-Robert (77), Noisy (93), Gonesse (95), Saint-Ouen l’Aumone (95), Tigery (91), Houplines (Lille region), Strasbourg (67), Bordeaux (33) and Le Havre among others. Today Heppner is in measure to provide its clients with a total of nearly 200,000 m sq of warehousing space.
 
 
“The expansion of the national and international Saint-Priest groupage site is advantageous for the group and its growth in the Rhône-Alpes region and is part of the group’s strategic development plan leading up to 2010. The regrouping of activities at the Chaponnay agency will allow us to pool together operations and optimize our quality of service while all along promote economies of scale. Moreover, as a capital investment our new Grenay warehouse fortifies the role and contribution of logistics as a principal catalyst of growth for Heppner. The activity posted an 8.2% increase over last year, » explains Albert Abessira, Regional Director for the 12 Heppner agencies in the Rhône-Alpes and in the Southeast, and Managing Director Lambert & Valette, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heppner.