Italian Agent World Cargo Acquires Esse Emme

World Cargo, incepted 1991 and owned by Natalino Rocchi and Roberto Colucci, has developed into one of the major Italian players in freight forwarding specialized in time sensitive cargo transports such as aerospace parts, pharmaceuticals or automotive components.
While growing organically until now, the management has decided to reach the next level of development by acquiring competitors such as Esse Emme, this way expanding its reach in the domestic Italian forwarding market more rapidly. “The business of Esse Emme complements the time definite nature of the services rendered by World Cargo,” commented Rocchi and Colucci in a joint statement.
On the occasion of the acquisition, both managers further pointed out that particularly the Bologna office allows for expansion into a growing major industrial area. In combination with the existing World Cargo network of stations, “this gives us full nationwide coverage in Italy,” they say.
Esse Emme established in 1975 specializes in movements of pharmaceuticals, live animal shipments, and general cargo.

Interview
After the merger was cut and dried, we spoke with World Cargo Chief Roberto Colucci about the consequences of the acquisition for both companies and how their customers are affected by the step.

CFG: Generally speaking, what role do time critical shipments play in the Italian air freight market? 

RC: They are quite important, particularly in pharma and the automotive industries. According to our experience there is almost always a request for a time critical transport.
 
What’s the annual growth rate of these time sensitive products?

We note a constant increase due to inventory level reductions. In our particular case it adds up to approximately 30% per year.

How much revenue did World Cargo generate in 2017 and during the first six months of this year?

In 2017 sales totaled 12 million euros, while from January until the end of June we generated 6.7 million.

And in comparison, Esse Emme’s figures?
 
2017 – 6 million euros, 2018- (6 months) 3.2 million
 
Will each of the companies keep their names or will Emme adapt the World Cargo brand?

In this first phase yes, but at a later stage only the World Cargo brand will remain.
 
How much did the acquisition cost World Cargo?

This I prefer not to disclose.
 
Any plans how both company’s businesses will be synchronized?

We will move the Esse Emme employees into World Cargo gradually and also have them migrate to our IT system. In Milan where there are now two offices we are looking into a new and single building where we all will move under one roof.

Which synergies will the merger create?

There are many, starting from both company’s wealth of experience in the pharma business and also the sensitive transport of live animals. Also, grouping the two Milan offices into one new building, as just explained, will allow us to make the maximum out of this acquisition in terms of revenue, new employees, and additional sales people we intend to hire. Speaking of jobs: There won’t be any axing following the merger. Only a handful of employees will leave that are already facing retirement soon.
 
Where are the benefits of the takeover for World’s and Emme’s customers – if any?

Thanks to our broader network of offices throughout Italy and our global alliances like the Aerospace Logistics Group, we will serve our combined customer’s business needs and supply chain demands from a single source, offering dedicated and tailored support. Running a combined office in Bologna, which is an important industrial area, is also of great help because it brings us closer to our clients enabling direct and personal contacts. 
Further to this I like to mention that we intend hiring additional personnel and we now will migrate Esse Emme’s staff into our workforce, which will streamline our joint sales and operational processes, fosters mutual understanding and knowledge sharing.
 
Report and interview – Heiner Siegmund