Silvasti acquires Nurminen Logistics Heavy

Specialized transport company Ville Silvasti in Finland has acquired Nurminen Logistics Heavy from Nurminen Logistics Plc for an undisclosed sum.

The special transportation business and all 20 employees of Nurminen Logistics Heavy, which has a turnover of €6.5 million (US$ 7.2 million), will be transferred to Silvasti. The capacity of the company to provide special transportation and related project logistics will remarkably increase, Ville Silvasti, Silvasti managing director, told IC. Silvasti's turnover in 2015 will grow to approximately €20 million ($22 million) and the number of personnel to around 50.

Nurminen Logistics Heavy has experience in Finland in special transportation between Finland and Continental Europe, as well as activities in the Baltic countries, Russia and other CIS countries. Depots in Helsinki and Jyväskylä are part of the deal. The acquired fleet includes heavy prime movers, Goldhofer THP/UT axle lines with accessories, semi-trailers, lowbeds and more, with an average age of three years. The equipment will be subsumed into the Silvasti fleet and painted in its colours.

“The acquisition supports Silvasti’s strategy to hold the leading position in special transportation and related project logistics in the Nordic countries, as well as in special transportation between the Nordic countries and Continental Europe. We will now also create a strong basis for special transportation to Russia”, Ville Silvasti said.

“It is an honour for us to buy a company that has become something of an institution in the front line of Finnish special transport companies. Their employee skills and competence are at the top level, and it will be great to combine our forces to create something new and unforeseen in the industry. In this special business area, the significance of individuals is great”, Ville Silvasti said.

Hannu Vuorinen, Nurminen Logistics Heavy managing director, commented, “Existing customers of both companies will benefit from the combined and therefore much more extensive service portfolio. In addition to individual transportation tasks, combined transportation, including many different methods of transport, transhipments, storage, hauling and installation will be possible more flexibly than before. The co-operation with the Nurminen’s terminal for special and heavy transport items and forwarding services in Vuosaari, will also be continued and increased.”

Nurminen Logistics will continue with regular road haulage and the two companies have agreed to co-operate on their respective service offer.

The deal is particularly important for the Silvasti family business because it brings a company founded by Ville Silvasti’s father, Jukka, back into the family. “My father founded the company in the early 1970s and built it into one of the largest special transportation companies in Finland. The company was sold to Nurminen in 1988. As a young boy, I often accompanied my father to his workplace and became familiar with the business.

“After completing my Master of Science degree in automotive engineering and acquiring a few years of experience in work, I became interested in founding my own company and so I established transport company Ville Silvasti Ltd. As measured by turnover, our family business is now the market leader in special transportation in Finland and with this deal, its competence will grow even more. Thus, the circle closes, in one sense”, Ville Silvasti explained.

The acquisition will be completed at the end of September and Silvasti said he will continue to look for further growth opportunities.