In a move to expand in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, Germany’s Rhenus Group has acquired Melbourne family business, O’Brien Customs and Forwarding.
“The Rhenus Group will [now] have its own national company in Australia,” Rhenus announced, revealing that the local entity will trade under the name Rhenus Logistics Australia in the future.
Rhenus is reportedly planning to expand O’Brien’s current operation and establish the new entity as a key player in the Australian marketplace.
“The takeover of O’Brien and the founding of the national…enable us to cover the whole of Australia with our services,” said Jan Harnisch, Rhenus COO, Ocean Freight Asia.
“As a result of the acquisition, we’re gaining experienced employees with local expertise for the global operations of the Air & Ocean business unit at Rhenus Freight Logistics too.”
The €4.8 billion company also revealed it was planning to open “a number of new business sites” in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines this year.
The O’Brien family business currently handles air and sea freight consignments and provides customs and warehousing services. It was founded as a pure customs clearance firm by Jan and Shane O’Brien in 1996.