ECU-LINE and Allcargo Logistics announces the 100% acquisition of Econocaribe Consolidators

DUBAI — ECU-LINE and Allcargo Logistics announced the 100% acquisition of Econocaribe Consolidators through their wholly owned subsidiary ECU-LINE. Announcing this in a press conference Mr Shashi Kiran Shetty , Executive Chairman, Allcargo Logistics Limited, India and ECU Hold NV, Belgium said that this is a major milestone in the history of both the companies. “While ECU-LINE was evaluating a synergistic organization to augment its current offering & enhance value for customers in the USA, Econocaribe undoubtedly was the best fit to be associated with, given their history and expertise as the leader across US market backed by our experience as global player in the NVOCC market place. This expansion has been pursued with the belief that we could together add a lot more value to customers who would be delighted to associate with us in the US market as we learn from each other and work towards integrating systems, processes and offering unified/enhanced services & products, making us a competitive & qualitative player. Hence, we have chosen a strategic future road map by integrating the top leadership of Econocaribe within the ECU organization structure. All the previous shareholders & management team shall play important roles in their respective elevated positions to drive a common vision which is to be the leading global NVOCC and for Avvashya Group to be a billion dollar enterprise by end of 2014. The combined revenue currently stands at USD 800 million. The new structure will help us to achieve our objective to be the global leader in the NVOCC market. This is a perfect platform to launch the future activities of ECU, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary,” he added.

According to Shanta Martin, CEO Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, Southern & East Africa Econocaribe is a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) with offices throughout the United States and partners throughout the world. “They specialize in freight consolidation, with receiving terminals located throughout the United States, and in FCL services. One of the major strengths of the company was its extensive export sailing schedule to over 125 destinations throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Econocaribe has guaranteed space with all carriers and private off dock warehousing at most destinations. Their core business is the handling of Less than Container Load (LCL), Full Container Load (FCL), and Airfreight shipments into numerous worldwide destinations. In addition, Econocaribe offers import LCL/FCL transportation services from over 60 origins around the world direct into the United States and Puerto Rico. We will build on this strength to reinforce our leadership position in the world,” he added.

Outlining the plans for Dubai operations Mr. Varuna Wirasinha, Vice President – UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain & Oman & Head of Air Freight – ME & East Africa said that Dubai being the commercial hub of the Middle East is one of the most promising markets. Dubai holds a key position in the growth plans of ECU and with Dubai winning the coveted bid to host Expo2020, the region is expected to contribute substantially in the growth plans of ECU.
ECU-Line specializes in the art of LCL (Less than Container Load) consolidation services, taking care of the customer's LCL shipments on a global scale. ECU-Line focuses on maritime consolidation services as their core business activity and servicing the global forwarding community covering small, medium as well as large companies. The foundations for the ECU-Line Group of Companies were laid in 1987. ECU-Line was established and started activities on January 1st, 1988 serving the Antwerp based forwarding industry in Belgium in the first stage, the rest of Europe and the world in the second stage. By January 1st 1991, the company expanded its premises with the construction of the Eurocenter warehouse and offices, the new location, which is still part of Ecu-Line's home-base today. In 1997 the Global HQ was founded under the name of ECU INTERNATIONAL NV, managing the strongly expanded group of companies. In 2006, the Ecu-Line group was bought by Allcargo Global Logistics Ltd, Mumbai, a partner of the group , which very soon resulted in further expansion and financial stability. In 2011, the chairman Mr Shashi Kiran Shetty has founded the AVASHYA group, a name that stands for “ transformation that delights”, and ECU LINE is a proud entity of this brand.