Culina Logistics Group believes that two recent joint ventures (JVs) have boosted the company's capabilites, as well as increasing turnover by around £5m in their first year.
The new operations are an Irish distribution business, Culina SHS (Ireland), which is a 50-50 JV with Cheltenham-based SHS Sales & Marketing, and co-packing division Culina IPS, another 50-50 JV with Featherstone, West Yorks, firm IPS.
The Irish operation went live in February, with the co-packing business following a month later. Culina predicts revenue will reach £6m for Ireland and £4m from co-packing in the first year, but expects substantial future growth.
Steve Winwood, commercial director for the group, says the decision to offer co-packing was based on customer requests.
As the big food manufacturers increasingly standardise products from factories, it is more cost-effective for the logistics firm to do it at the point of stockholding rather than attempting to add retailer-specific packaging at the production site, he explains. Culina felt it was better to bring in co-packing experts rather than attempting to do it itself, adds CEO Thomas van Mourik, as the capital investment and expertise required might have created a distraction for the logistics operation. The group's core focus remains Culina Logistics, which specialises in chilled and ambient shared user storage and distribution for food and drink manufacturers.
Thanks to the acquisition last year of Wincanton's chilled operation, it now boasts a £200m turnover, with 2,300 employees.
"As a result of that deal Wincanton has now exited the chilled arena for good," says van Mourik. As part of the deal, Wincanton took a 20% stake in Culina Logistics.
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