Gras Group realigns its strategy and hands over the Ötigheim site to the Noerpel Group

• Gras Group invests and concentrates on its core areas of Neuwied/Koblenz, Mannheim and the Cologne region
• Noerpel Group strengthens its presence in south-west Germany
• Win-win situation for both family businesses

The Gras Group, headquartered in Neuwied near Koblenz, has a clear entrepreneurial focus: the company is continuing to drive its growth in the Neuwied, Mannheim and Cologne regions with targeted investments. At the same time, the Gras Group is handing over the Ötigheim network location near Karlsruhe to the Noerpel Group, headquartered in Ulm, on 1 January 2024. With this takeover, the Noerpel Group is strengthening its market position in south-west Germany and will then operate 14 locations in Baden-Württemberg alone. The contracts for the transaction were signed in November.

In 2021 and 2022, the Gras Group invested heavily in the expansion of its facilities in the Cologne area. For example, a 14,000 square metre logistics property was built in Kerpen and two forwarding terminals with a total area of 9,000 square metres in Frechen.

The Gras Group is planning to expand its modern logistics facility in Polch near Koblenz in 2024: the logistics area is to be increased from the current 56,000 square metres to 76,000 square metres. With these investments, the Gras Group is laying the foundations for further growth in its core regions of Neuwied/Koblenz, Mannheim and the greater Cologne area.

"At the Ötigheim site, there are too few synergies for our group of companies in the general cargo sector with our other companies," explains Horst Stockschläder, Managing Director of the Gras Group. "That's why we are handing over our Ötigheim network location to the Ulm-based Noerpel Group."

Perfect network expansion

"This is a good opportunity for our company and another logical step towards positioning ourselves as a market leader in southern Germany with comprehensive coverage," explains Lucas Noerpel-Schneider, Managing Director of the Noerpel Group.

The Ötigheim forwarding facility is located on a 21,000 square metre site. The handling terminal has an area of 4,500 square metres and 70 loading gates for trucks. Thanks to its location directly on the A5 motorway and the surrounding trunk road network, the terminal offers ideal transport connections for transports to France or Switzerland, for example, as well as for domestic German transports. After the Noerpel Group took over the ERKA forwarding company in Stuttgart on 1 January 2023, the nearby Ötigheim is now another location in the export-strong economic region in south-west Germany.

The Noerpel Group will continue to operate the Ötigheim site from January 2024 under the name Noerpel SE & Co. Operationally, there will be no changes to the existing structure: the branch will continue to operate as a regional depot for the general cargo cooperations IDS and Cargoline and will also be integrated into Noerpel's own international overland transport network. Michael Weidenbruch will manage the location as branch manager.

Win-win situation for both partners

Both family businesses will benefit from the transaction: "As the Gras Group, we are focussing more on our core areas and consistently expanding our services for our customers," says Madeleine Boos, Managing Partner of the Gras Group. "The planned expansion of our freight forwarding and logistics terminal in Polch will further strengthen our position in the greater Koblenz area." She is delighted with the successful agreement between the two companies: "We have enjoyed a friendly relationship with the Noerpel Group for decades and are therefore convinced that we have found the ideal successor for our company in Ötigheim," says Madeleine Boos.

Judith Noerpel-Schneider, Managing Director of the Noerpel Group, also sees the transaction as a win-win situation for both companies: "Following our acquisition of the ERKA forwarding company in Stuttgart and together with our company in Freiburg, we are realising the ideal addition to our existing
areas with the Ötigheim site near Karlsruhe. We are looking forward to the new 'family member' in Ötigheim and our new colleagues on site! And we are absolutely certain that, true to our motto 'Moving forward together', we will greatly expand the Ötigheim site."

The Gras and Noerpel family businesses have been working together in a spirit of trust for many years - including in the IDS general cargo cooperation. Together with the Geis Group and the Rieck Logistics Group, both are among the large medium-sized companies in IDS. Together with the companies Andreas Schmid, Krage Potsdam and Krage Gerloff Schwanebeck, they operate more than 60 per cent of the IDS locations.

From left to right: Christine Kamps (Managing Director of the Noerpel Group), Horst Stockschläder (Managing Director of the Gras Group), Stefan Noerpel-Schneider (Managing Partner of the Noerpel Group) and Jens Köster (Managing Director of the Gras Group).

About the Gras Group

The Gras Group offers forwarding and logistics services for industry, trade and commerce. Founded in 1949, the Gras Group today comprises Gras Spedition GmbH & Co. KG in Neuwied and Ötzingen (Westerwald), Gras Logistik GmbH in Cologne, Network Logistics GmbH in Mannheim and Gras Transpack GmbH in Polch. The Gras Group's services include transport concepts for procurement and distribution, B2B or private customer deliveries, contract and warehouse logistics as well as sea and air freight. The Gras Group employs around 490 people and generated a turnover of EUR 126 million in the 2022 financial year. Further information can be found at: www.grasgruppe.de

About the Noerpel Group

Founded in 1881, the Noerpel Group is today one of the leading logistics service providers in southern Germany. With 26 locations in Germany and Switzerland, 17 of which are in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria alone, the family-run company from Ulm is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. The Noerpel Group combines transport and logistics services with extensive co-packing services and its own personnel services. In the 2022 financial year, the Noerpel Group generated a turnover of around 600 million euros. Further information can be found at: www.noerpel.de

Media contact:
STROOMER PRConcept GmbH
Frauke Rieger
+49 40 853133-21
frauke.rieger@stroomer.de