What are your best-known solutions/products/services?

Pedro Ramos: Transfesa Logistics is the leading company in door-to-door logistics and freight transport solutions and the most important private railway operator in Spain. Consisting of more than 1 200 highly qualified professionals, it bases its differential strategy on a deep knowledge of the railway sector. It also has the most extensive transport network in Europe, backed by its solid alliance with DB Cargo, a leading international transport and logistics company

The best-known solutions of the company are focused on transport (intermodal door to door, rail and road), logistics, railway services, technological innovation. We have created also a railways training academy (Escuela Ferroviaria de Transfesa Logistics).

The company provides “door to door” transport services by road, train and combined rail and road transport from anywhere and to virtually any destination in Europe (components for the automotive industry & finished vehicles, general cargo, industrial,etc.). This is guaranteed by 720 DB Cargo offices in 36 countries in Europe.

Which industry sectors are your customers in, and which ones are growing fastest?

Pedro Ramos: The customers who trust Transfesa Logistics comes from many important markets such us automotive, consumer goods (food and drink, durable goods, refrigerated and frozen products), and industrial (steel, chemical products, paper and timber.

The automotive one has played an important role, with a sustained growth in the last decade. But, nowadays, the company has also strengthened its international presence in consumer goods routes.

What are your most recent product innovations?

Pedro Ramos: We have started a new project dedicated to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and transportation of fresh products by rail. For example, Transfesa Logistics has recently launched a new refrigerated express 72-hour rail connexion to transport essential, hygiene, and medical products from the terminals in Valencia and Murcia to London (Great Britain). There is also a new food logistics route to transporte olive oil to Belgium.

The implementation of the oil route is part of a strategy to develop door-to-door corridors from the south of Spain to numerous countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands. In terms of food, in addition to this and given the interest that Spanish gastronomy and vegetable garden arouses abroad, the company is currently developing a route for the export of this type of product.

In terms of innovation, Transfesa Logistics has added to its international traffic network the first train made up of 18 of the 100 new car-carriers manufactured in Poland. These units have the capacity to circulate both Iberian gauge (1668 mm) and UIC (1435 mm) and have been specially designed to respond to the new logistics needs of customers in the automotive segment.

What are the major trends and developments affecting your category and your customers, and how are you responding?

Pedro Ramos: Among our main objectives, we are focused on the continuous cost reduction and the improvement in the efficiency of our processes. We also have a firm commitment to environment and, for this reason, we work hard toreduce our carbon footprint.

How does business in 2020 compared to previous years? What’s your strategy for succeeding in the current climate?

Pedro Ramos: In this special situation, due to the global pandemic, we have registered a reduction of the activity in the automotive market. But, at the same time, the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is growing up rapidly. This is why we are starting some new projects such a “CoolRail powered by Transfesa Logistics”.

Can you tell us about any of recent customer contracts and how you helped the customer meet their challenges?

Pedro Ramos: The largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, Tesco, relies on Transfesa Logistics for the transport of Spanish fruit and vegetable products to be distributed to its centers.

We are supporting them to reduce CO2 and gaining extra transportation capacity in case of hard Brexit and congestions for going in and out of the UK happen.

What’s the latest news from your company?

Pedro Ramos: Transfesa Logistics has juts signed an agreement with Euro Pool System (EPS) to operate the CoolRail service. As a result of this alliance, the first direct rail connection for refrigerated products between Valencia and Rotterdam expands its coverage area to reach all of Europe.

The companies join forces to launch a new stage, in which the service will continue under the name CoolRail powered by Transfesa Logistics.

This new cooperation makes it possible to make a wider network available to the market, in addition to the main route to Rotterdam, with destinations to the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, Germany and Poland, among others. The new route from Valencia to London will help CoolRail’s British customers to have a fast, sustainable and economically attractive transport solution. Along the same lines, the commissioning of a direct train to Cologne will allow CoolRail to reach Scandinavia, Poland and the Czech Republic through Germany. The CoolRail service will use the vast infrastructure of DB Cargo, the main shareholder of Transfesa Logistics.

Can you tell us about any areas where you’re currently making technical advances?

Pedro Ramos: We are introducing great advances in transportation of fresh produce by rail. This strategy gives us the opportunity to show the fresh produce market that the railroad can be just as fast and reliable as road service. In addition, it contributes to achieve more environmentally friendly supply chains, since a train emits nine times less CO2 than a lorry.

Could you please share your views on Cold Chain Logistics Sector for our magazine readers?

Pedro Ramos: Quick, reliable and CO2 free connections are going to be the key for the near future of our cargo, especially for the cold chains. This is why we are integrating the fresh produce industry inside our intermodal network which has been delivering high quality service to the automotive industry during the last 25 years now.