The logistics company Lineage has decided to deepen its commitment to southern Europe by opening a regional headquarters in Madrid. Just two years after arriving in Spain, the company is aiming to strengthen connections with northern Europe while at the same time expanding its presence in the south. To achieve this, Raúl Fores Valles has been appointed Vice President of the new region.

Lineage Logistics is one of the world's leading providers of temperature-controlled logistics solutions, and is equally important as an investment group for industrial real estate assets. Since entering the European market in 2017, the company has built up a network of over seventy cold chain facilities in eleven countries. These include six facilities in Spain, two in Italy and three in France, which now form part of the new region that will be managed from Madrid.

Acquisitions in Spain
While expanding its presence, the US company has invested heavily in its transport fleet in southern Europe. It launched its business in Spain by purchasing warehouses from Frigoríficos de Navarra and Frioastur. In September 2022, the company reinforced its commitment by acquiring the Murcia-based Fuentes Group, one of Spain's leading providers of transport logistics services and cold storage, with 850 employees, 500 vehicles, six logistics warehouses and a cold storage facility.

According to Raúl Fores, “Spain is the gateway to southern Europe, and one of the main fresh produce markets on the continent. At Lineage we’ve chosen to invest in expanding our presence here to better meet the needs of our customers in Europe and around the world”, he explained, adding that, “Our new offices in Madrid will help us leverage our recent investments in freight forwarding and transport services to connect our customers to the world more efficiently”.

New specialised services
The aim of Lineage's investments in transport and freight forwarding fleets, reinforced by the recent launch of its new specialist fresh produce services, is to help connect Europe's food supply chain more efficiently and offer its customers a one-stop solution when transporting their produce.

The company’s other advantages include its advanced use of data, its modern cold chain technologies, and a network of strategic locations at Europe's busiest ports. These are all key factors that are beneficial for transporting food products within a temperature-controlled supply chain.

^{Photo: Lineage Logistics}